Just ordered this Kona Rove from my local shop. I’m 100% brand new to gravel biking and was having the hardest time finding a bike in my size (48-49) and staying under my $1500 budget. Even REI wasn’t able to order anything for me. Finally went to one last shop in my city and they had a few 48s for me to test ride. Landed on a Kona Rove in this colorway. How’d I do? Good enough for a beginner? Any recommendations? Bike should be here in a week!!
by bananabread-99
36 Comments
Kona is killer
You’ll need to share the specs if you want any kind of meaningful input.
Solid bike. I think has shimano sora groupset, that in todays economy is the sweet spot in terms of price/performance for non racing bikes. It looks like has a 11-34 cassette (sora supports up to that), so if you live in a place with a lot of hills that should be enough too.
Maybe in the future things people often upgrade in this entry level bikes is the crankset (those generic are not that good).
I hope you enjoy riding your bike!
It’s a great do it all bike. Enjoy it
In have this bike in the 2021 model. Only difference is the colour and the tires as far as I’m aware. It has been a great bike. Only issue had was the headset bearings etting rusted out. Not sure if it was a factory or. Bike shop issue but it looked like they didn’t have any grease. The ood thing is that it just used basic caged bearings. Super cheap and easy to replace. Probably avoidable if you check hat there’s grease in there when you get it.
its a great bike that works on everything from pavement to light mountain bike trails. Lots of mounts so you can put racks and other things on it. The saddle was comfortable but I ended up getting a Brooks anyway but ended up keeping the saddle to use on a different bike because I found it pretty comfortable.
Ended up upgrading the wheels but the stock ones were fine. No real issue with them.
I have this bike and I have ridden i so so much since I got it… There are some parts on it that explain why its not more expensive but the frame is solid af, I did upgrade a lot of parts by now but I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t like that bike a lot 🙂
I personally didn’t like the prowheels cranks and chainrings as it was shit quality and replacement parts not available in my area, so I replaced that pretty much first but the sora shifters/derailler are still running after 3 years of intense usage.. pretty much every other part I have upgraded by now, including 700c dtswiss wheelset
I think you’re gonna have a great time, its a true rugged adventure bike that could be upgraded over time to be a lot faster too, which is ideal to go from beginner to enthusiast over time 🙂
Great comfortable and versatile choice.
Great! Love Kona.
Don’t have a rove but have a sutra LTD and I honestly love it so much, only complaint is it’s weight. Makes the steep climbs a lot more difficult than on my roadie.
One thing to look out for though is rust, unfortunately my front fork chipped and is rusting hard and fast, will probably need replacing soon.
Love Kona but the current generation of Kona frames uses house brand tubing. Not necessarily a bad thing but it’s not the same tubing pre-acquisition Kona used and was known for. Still a great bike for the price, though.
I’m trying to find a used one near me…. Proving to be difficult…..
My boyfriend first “grown up” (as he called it) bike was a Kona and he will give that thing up when you pry it from his cold dead fingers haha
I know people love mech disk brakes, but not for me. That’s a deal breaker. If me or my load is heavy, I want best feel and stopping power that hydraulic brakes have. Also more even wear.
I’ve got the model before this one I think in (forest green) and I still love that thing. I bought it second hand, upgraded the wheels to 700c carbon and the only thing I would like to upgrade now is the brakes/groupset to Hydraulic. But if you have the same tektro brakes it is possible to get them working ok, not as good as Hydraulic tho.
I ride year round, even harsh winter days in -20-25° no problem, but that’s when the mechanic disk brakes fail.
Will never sell my rove
Great starter bike. Good bones, ok brakes and groupset. Plenty of room to upgrade when parts start wearing out.
Look at polygon
Hydraulic disc brakes seem
Like a must once you hit this price point
Killer bike.
Overall, good bike. May be a tad overpriced, but if you like it, $100 will not matter.
GOOD
I have this AL700 from 2022. Almost 3000kms on it. Just swapped in new tires and have replaced
chain and cassette from wear. Love it. Going for a long ride tomorrow am.
Hell yeah
The one to do it all, awesome bike.
Have the rove, great bike. Kinda wish I got something lighter sometimes but honestly, it’s great. Also I see it for 1300USD on the kona site, not sure why this is almost 80$ more expensive “on sale”
That’s a great bike. Kona’s solid
Literally picked up my Rove from the shop today! So far so good!
My rove was my first “good” bike and I’ve been very happy with it! I’ve upgraded nearly all the parts on it now, but with the stock components it’s still quite capable as an a “do everything” sort of bike. My only complaint at the price point is that it uses mechanical disc brakes rather than hydraulic, but you’ll still have a good time on it. Enjoy!
I LIKE IT
I love my rove, great bike and cool brand with history.
Very good bike
Super dope. Looks super similar to my Primos Dame I bought recently and it’s been amazing. I ride so much more now that I love my bike.
Huge thank you to everyone for all the positivity!! So excited to get out there and ride, and feeling even better with everyone’s kind words 😁 taking all the recommendations into consideration for sure!
Doesn’t look like it’s worth the price
Im sorry for you that you bought bike with not a 1x drivetrain in year 2025. Hopefully it has at least powerfull hydraulic disc brakes.
I got this exact bike last year and I love it. I was completely new to gravel biking and my first ride on it was 4 hours lol, fantastic bike. The only thing I’ve found is that it can be slightly heavy for hill climbing, but I’m comparing that to my carbon road bike so I probably just need to stop complaining lol. Very solid bike, I’m not looking to upgrade it anytime soon
I bought a Rove DL frame (silver)earlier in the year and built it up with 105 and DT Swiss 1800 wheels, Brooks C17 seat. I love it. It’s a great mid-level frame, hope you enjoy yours!