Looking at Kona Dews as I want a relatively upright commuter w/ fenders that's a good climber and will be comfortable for some light gravel trails and slightly longer leisure rides. The DL seemed perfect for me.
Test rode sizes of the Dr. Dew because no shops have the DL in stock. As a newer bicyclist, I felt confident on the small / more like it was an extension of me… but for a longer ride was concerned the reach might feel a bit cramped (maybe easily solved by a longer stem?). The medium also felt fine but perhaps less confident on it.
I've also ridden an older year medium Dew Plus for about 10mi and it felt good overall but the reach maybe long. The Plus was also noticeably less smooth over bumps than the Dr, but I don't know how much was the tires on it and whatnot vs. aluminum/steel differences.
The shop was pushing me towards the Dr. over the DL and specifically the benefits of a steel frame, which I maybe noticed myself. And it feels good to have rode the exact bike I'd buy (e.g. take the Small for another test) especially since I'm right in the middle of sizes – looks like the DL geometry is almost the same but not exact. And it's silly, but I'm not sure I'll love the green color of the current year DL.
But for a newer cyclist like myself, the DL I'm sure is perfectly great and I don't really need to spend $350+ more than I planned.
Thoughts on bike and/or sizing?
https://konaworld.com/products/dew-dl
https://konaworld.com/products/dr-dew
5'6.5" / ~30in inseam
by JamLikeCannedSpam