u/New_Adventures_182 — reddlx

Hey 👋

I thought it would be good to share my experience of the Kona Dew so far and the tweaks/upgrades I’ve carried out so far.

It’s a Kona Dew Deluxe in size large. I’ve had the bike for a few months now, after picking it up for an good price. I use it as a commuter and to transport my son around (with a bike seat on the back). I’m doing about 30-40 miles per week on it, mainly on bike paths and around town.

Current upgrades:

Michelin Power Adventure 650b tyres - the WTB Horizons that came on the bike were 850g each so I wanted something lighter. I went for these Michelin tyres and so far really enjoy them, about 500g each, and give a bit more performance. I didn’t see many reviews for these tyres before buying but pleased so far.
Schwalbe SV21A Extra Light Tubes - to save a bit more weight (roughly 60g per wheel).
DMR v11 pedals - the stock Kona pedals I found to be quite slippy in the wet. These DMR pedals are awesome.
DMR Deathgrips - I’ve used these grips on my other bikes and personally think they are great.
WTB Volt seat - the stock Kona seat was a bit wide and uncomfortable for me, the Volt is really comfortable. Note, the brown seat in the images was my interim seat from my old bike. I did like the look of the bike with the brown seat.
Specialized Trial stem - this was to reduce the reach of the handlebars for my riding position.
TranzX security skewers, removed the quick release skewers and replaced to save some weight and reduce chance of stealing wheels.
Shimano brake pads - switched the stock pads for better braking.

Tweaks:

Removed rear bike stand (to save a bit of weight) and I never used it.
Removed rubber ‘fenders’ from the mudguards.
Removed excess reflectors and dork disc (spoke protector).

Results / Review:

This is a super comfortable and stable bike, for my purpose (commuting / Dad bike) it’s effective. I find it can be a bit slow and I’ll often max out down a hill. But the upside to this is that it climbs hills easily. It rides like a MTB for the road, which I like.
My thinking has been to shed weight where I can easily, this is due to carrying my son on the rear bike seat and the extra weight that brings. This approach seems to have worked. When I don’t have my son on the back the bike feels more alive than when it was stock.

Plans / Recommendations:

Front Rack - looking for a lightweight front rack that I can strap a backpack to, any recommendations would be great.
Possibly thinking about upgrading the handlebars and seatpost, any recommendations?
Kids Ride Shotgun front seat - as an alternative to the rear bike seat for when the weather is better/drier.

Would be great to get any thoughts on the above and if there is anything else worth doing to the bike. Thank you for reading :)