Kona Stinky 2010

Tagged: ,

Viewing 6 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • #102043

      Alright folks,

      Looking for some quick key pointers here or advice that could help me make some decisions. I have had my eye on a kona stinky 2010 in town (is there a delux version of this or just one model?) and plan on riding it around. The reason I am looking at this bike is because I like to basically beat the hell out of the bike when riding. I like looking for rough lines around town, woods, etc. and just smashing through it. I TRY not to do to much damage to the bike but all my past bikes would just get destroyed. You could blame my technique but it is what I enjoy doing. I thought the stinky would possible be a great fit but I am worried that the weight of the bike might make going on adventures a lot of muscle work. Maybe not? I live in VT and there are a lot of mountains but nothing within a few miles. All the fun adventures around town have their uphills (VT is hilly). I go to school in Burlington and can’t just drive to a mountain every week. Is this bike really to much DownH to be useful for me? If I can’t go and have a good time after class flying through time with it I might be a little upset. Reviews say it is to heavy and anything with incline is no good…but is that true or is that just weakness 😆 ?

      I am a ‘semi-beginner’ in DH/freeride but I know what I am doing when it comes to trail riding (have rode a lot). This would be my first BIG bike and currently my only bike. I haven’t had a bike for a couple of years due to financial issues (college). Would I be making a mistake cashing in on this beastly bike because it is a freeride/DH bike?

      Also, I don’t know ANYTHING about sizing. Any tips on that? I know what is comfortable and that is it but at this price tag I want to make sure I know what I am doing.

      ..maybe I am wasting my time on this forum and I should just got try the bike now 😃 .

    • #102044

      Hey,

      The Stinky (there is a Deluxe model, as well) is OK to pedal, although in it’s stock form it is a pretty big beast up any hills, it really is designed more for lift-serve/shuttle kind of riding. You can build them up into a more trail/pedal-friendly package, but that can get expensive quickly.

      I would look into the CoilAir or an older Coiler if you want something you can knock around, yet still be able to ride up hills and on trails. There is a lot of stuff in/around Burlington that is pretty fun to ride.

    • #102045

      Well, I tried the Stinky 2010 (not deluxe) and the heaveynes wasn’t bothersome at all.

      The rear suspension didn’t seem stiff enough.

      It also was a 15.5 and seemed a little small because I am 5’1”. When I checked the standover it was almost to high so going any larger would be a problem with this bike. Should I avoid this bike because of this??? This seems like a big enough problem to completely move on and look for a different bike. From what I hear from other people many DH/FR bikers like smaller frame. The bike seemed generally comfortable but not perfect. Any ideas on other bikes like this? Also, say I fell for it and got the bike and decided the front shock wasn’t big enough. How often do people put 200mm front shocks on stinkys?

    • #102046

      How exactly was the suspension not stiff enough? Too much sag? Seemed to wallow in a compressed state? Blew through the travel too easily? A lot of that can be due to the shock setup (Preload, rebound speed, spring rate, etc). All of those things can be dialed in to suit your weight/riding style.

      I would say for your height you would be looking at a 15" Stinky. Standover height is less important than Top Tube Length to make the bike fit correctly. You said that the bike was mostly comfortable, so that’s a good start.

      Konas (and freeride/DH bikes in general) have pretty high standover heights for a given seat tube size (my 17" Kona Dawg has almost an inch higher standover height versus my old hardtail, I’ve been riding it hard for over three years and it’s never been a problem).

      I take it by your forum handle and stature, that you might be a woman? Maybe look at women specific bikes, I know Kona makes a freeride bike, the Minxy.

      Norco makes the Vixa, and Transition makes the Syren.

      As for your last question, yep the Stinky can handle a 200mm fork. My sister who’s 5’6" and rides the 15.5" Stinky frame has a 200mm Boxxer World Cup on the front of it. She loves it.

    • #102047

      Haha, I read the response and quickly scanned where I wasn’t clear in my posts. I accidentally missed a ‘1’ in 5’11”. My bad. The suspension was nice on the stinky and it was nice and light but it did feel significantly small. The shop guys said it would be over-doing it if I downsized that much. So I had to give up on that idea. They don’t have another size for the stinky either. This is a bummer cause I really liked it.

      Yeah, the suspension was super nice just it felt like it would bottom out on anything big. I realize now that a lot of this plays into suspension setup.

      On the other hand, I tried out the specialized (unused, 2009) bighit 1. I know it is DH bike but my instincts tell me the clunky feel is why the price is so low. I felt like I had to put a lot more effort in controlling the front when taking her on drops, unlike the stinky where I felt pretty confident controlling it on drops. Right away I noticed that when you come off the drop the front end wants to drop right away. This is frightening. I got the hang of it but it takes effort. Maybe it was just the difference between riding a super small stinky and riding this heavy/larger bike. They said the bike would be a good size and they brought the price way down from $1700 to $1250! Is this just a ornamental sales trick to get me to buy a unwanted bike or a good deal? I have some time to decide. Since there isn’t another size in the stinky I am considering roughing it with this bike (Note that the seat post to stem length was only about an inch larger than the small stinky). Not to many reviews out there for the bike. Correct me if I am wrong but It seems there is a general consensus this bike is clunky and heavy but good intro level bike for a great price.

      I will probably take it if this bike is indeed a decent bike that will be provide a hell of a good time and has room for improvements and that it is likely I will get over the dropping issue.

      Tough decisions. Maybe I need to just look elsewhere. I am not sure where else to look? I don’t really want to resort to used because I know they are beat to hell.

      Gotta say I appreciate the help. I noticed that there is an aggressive and semi-rude attitude towards beginners in the FR/DH sport. I think it’s because people get so wrapped up in a hobby that they don’t realize how harsh they come off to newcomers. Friendly/helpful people do more. Thanks.

    • #102048

      I have been researching constantly and it sounds that the awkward feeling on the bighit other than its heavyness is from the rear travel being bigger than the front travel. Would this cause this?

      Would upgrading the front shock help alleviate this or would it just be wiser to be patient to wait til another deal comes along?

      I saw someone say the Bighit 1 is really a worthless bike and that it has crappy components. They also said if you are gonna bother with the bike it would be best to go for a bighit II.

      The lift summer/fall lift season is pretty much over in VT so I’m thinking there isn’t any reason I can’t wait it out until I find a bike that suites me better. Hopefully I’m not beating this thread to much 😕

    • #102049

      Hey no worries, we all have to start somewhere and it sounds like at least you are doing your homework.

      At your height, the 15.5 Stinky is definitely on the small side, a 16" or 16.5" would probably be a better fit (I’m 5’8" and I’d probably ride a 16" Stinky). My guess is that the 15.5" Stinky had a softer coil spring for a lighter rider, so a slightly heavier spring rate would probably improve the suspension feel.

      As for the Bighit. I’m sure the frame quality and geometry are fine, components can always be upgraded over time as they break or as you tailor it to your needs. I have an old Bighit Comp (back when they still had a 26" front wheel and a 24" rear wheel) That thing is a tank and is a manual/wheelie monster.

      It is true that if the front fork has less travel in the rear, it can make the front end feel odd and if you lengthened the front axle to crown length (i.e. raising the front end up some) you will get slacker geometry (decrease the head angle) and make the front end easier to pull up over things and off of drops.

      If I were you, I’d continue to take my time. FR/DH bikes pop up on the Burlington craigslist pretty frequently. Maybe rent some bikes (I think Killington rents Kona, Sugarbush rents Banshee, and Kingdom/Burke rents Trek or Giant) at various lift serve places to find what geometry, size, and component spec really works for you.

Viewing 6 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.