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Kona Honzo Steel vs Big Unit for Single Speed

10K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  dbisers311 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I am a new Kona convert, and am just falling in love with their bikes.

I am just about to plunge into single speed territory, and wanted some advice.

From what I understand, the Big Unit is meant for a 100 mm fork, and is made of scandium. My biggest concern about using the BU is that it will be a harsh ride. I am coming off of a 2015 non-boost Trek Stache and can't stand the harshness of aluminum. I am sold out on hard tails, but guess I'm at the point where I'm too aware of frame feedback, chatter, etc.

So, I ask: Does the BU ride harsly with a lot of chatter through the frame and can it be ran with a 120 fork?

As for the Honzo, I think it's a no brainer. Steel (good ride quality?), 12x142, trail geo, and 120 mm fork...but obviously heavy. Will I hate this bike for singlespeed?

My goals are to have a sufferfest, simple bike that I can train hard on. I am not timid with long nasty climbs or long mileage.

A good ride for me is 30 + miles with 3,500+ feet of climbing with tons of single track. I am riding more agressive these days as my skill develops.

I am pretty much sold on the Honzo, but they're out of stock while I can get a BU today. The Honzo Ti is out of my budget.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!
 
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#2 ·
I ride a Big Unit with a 120mm PIKE for my XC training and racing. Other bike is a 153DL. The Honz is going to be way heavier and I've heard that the geo makes SS tough.

I love the Big Unit. Did a 50 miler with 8800ft on it this year. Most of my rides are straight up and then down for a couple 1000 feet. I like the stiffness of AL as the bike climbs like crazy and if you're an active descender than there shouldn't be any chatter.
 
#3 ·
I have a Kona Honzo and I love it I have done big rides on it with several thousand feet in elevation gain days set up single speed... that said it is a tough bike to commit it to single speed duties it loves to descend more than climb its a heavy frame but you wont worry about the weight so much as you will want more high end gears for higher speed descents. If you are worried about Scandium being harsh worry not the material has a lot of the same qualities as Titanium the Big Unit looks like a great frame I toyed with the idea of getting one in place of my Karate Monkey.
 
#4 ·
Why not consider a Unit? With a 100mm fork, its geo is very similar to the Big Unit, but chromoly.

I ride a Kona Unit SS w/ Reba 100 and a Kona Honzo 1x11 w/ Pike 120. Both chromoly. Both use the same dropouts (so the drivetrains are swappable).

The Unit is the better climber. It's my commuter, bikepacker, and workout trail ride. Loads of fun, cheap, and simple.

The Honzo is better for trail and all mountain riding. Definitely prefers descents. Cost me about three times as much as my Unit.

Never had a problem with weight. Both bikes probably weigh less than my all mountain fully.
 
#5 ·
I run a SS Honzo with 140mm Pike.

Not a race bike, but honestly I have actually KOM climbs on the damn thing.

Interestingly I love SS XC racing and just bought a Stache 5 29+ to make into basically a Honzo light with bigger tires and lighter weight. You can not feel the Al frame with 3.0 tires...... I am seriously concerned once I am done with it my Honzo might not see much ride time......
 
#6 ·
All great feedback - thanks everybody! Sounds like it's a toss up either way.

Because I can't find a honzo xl steel frame, I went with a big unit and I'm going to run it with a fox 34 @ 120 \ 51 offset.

Going to commit to this for a few months, and then keep an eye out for a honzo xl steel frame. The fox 34 @ 120 will move over to the honzo if I don't like the BU.

I ran into somebody riding a steel honzo, and the weight wasn't too bad. Maybe about the same as a full susp alu bike with dropper, etc...which is something I can live with.

Thanks!
 
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