If a solidly-specced, well-built, fine-handling mountain bike is what you seek, we have exactly what you want, and at a variety of price points to boot!

Our 2013 Kona do-it-all hardtails are in stock and ready to rock. A brief summary of each is below – have a read through and see which takes your fancy. Then just give us a call on 01822 618178, or drop in to check them out in the flesh!

First up we have the Scandium-framed Blast; the perfect high-performance xc steed for heroic adventures up hill and down dale. With Rockshox XC32 suspension forks offering 100mm of smooth, controlled travel (with lock-out capability), a 27 speed Shimano Alivio/Deore drivetrain, and consistently powerful Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, all your hard-riding plans can be approached with relish, rather than trepidation. From moorland epics to 90min singletrack hammer-fests, the Blast is THE bike, and at only £799.

Next up at £599 is the 6061-framed Fire Mountain.  Similarly specced with Shimano hydraulic discs, a 27 speed Acera transmission, and Rockshox XC28 forks with lockout?, the Fire Mountain offers an offroad-ready ride, straight out of the box. The frame delivers the trademark, grin-inducing ride beloved of Kona riders worldwide, and is the perfect machine for those on a budget to get out and explore the trails.

For a mere £399, you get the 7005-framed Lanai – as the Kona website says – ‘the ultimate entry-level bike’.  Suntour XCT forks take care of bump-absorption duties, whilst a 24 speed Shimano Altus drivetrain gives a full range of Everest-scaling gears. Tektro cable disc brakes provide ample stopping power whatever the weather or trail. As per the Blast and the Fire mountain, the Lanai comes with a lifetime frame warranty – proof of Kona’s build quality and durability. This is the perfect entry point into the world of mountain biking!

For those more inclined toward a stand-up-and-hammer type of ride, whilst still wanting the relative frugality and simplicity of a hardtail, the £729 Shred is the bike for you. With a much more aggressive 6061 frame and a 120mm travel Spinner Cargo suspension fork, the Shred is designed for doing exactly what its name suggests…shredding! Tektro’s new HDC300 hydraulic discs with a 180mm front rotor show that this bike means business, as does the 2×8 Altus drivetrain with bashring. Available in a more gravity-inclined size range (s, m, l), the Shred is as Kona say; ‘half dirt jumper, half trail ripper, 100% mountain bike’.

It’s not just me that shovels great articles onto our blog. We want everyone to become involved, if you have bought a peice of kit from us that you are stoked on write a few words on it and send it to us either on shop@dartmoorcycles.co.uk or as a message on Facebook. We’ll reward your efforts with a 10% discount off your next purchase.

Ed White has furnished himself with a few 2103 Troy Lee Designs (TLD) recently and here’s what he has to say about them;

After wearing out/destroying much of my riding kit in a glorious summer of dust, shuttles, and A-Line mega-trains (I was in Whistler…you mad bro?!?), the time came for investments to be made/gifts to be received. Here is a review of my newly-acquired selection of TLD kit…you can almost smell the 4-stroke from here…

D3 Carbon

After a diverting attempt at trying to shorten my already diminutive stature (by landing on my head), the time came for a new lid. Having worn and destroyed various ‘MTB’ full-face helmets, and having narrowly escaped a life in a wheelchair as a result of above crash, I was after something a little more snug-fitting and protective. Thus I came to the obvious conclusion of one of Troy Lee’s hallowed offerings; a carbon D3. With a much more accurate MX-inspired size range, the D3 feels nigh-on invincible, whilst being oh-so comfortable. Just putting it on out of the box made me realise how ill-fitting and flimsy my previous helmets had been. Then again, until such a product is developed and released, knowing what a proper-fitting helmet is supposed to feel like is obviously impossible. Thank you TLD…

The D3 looks fantastic, carbon or composite, fits better than a chamois-leather driving glove, almost reaches motorsport protection regulations (fewer vents and it allegedly would have done), yet weighs not a whole lot more than a common or garden MTB full-face, which in comparison offer the safety, fit, and aesthetics of a yogurt pot lined with a sock. Go buy a D3 if you haven’t done so already.

Air Glove

Remember the chamois-leather driving glove I mentioned above? Well The TLD Air glove fits better than that. No kidding. Because I have effeminate/tiny hands, I wear a Troy Lee small, and the fit is better than any glove I can remember using. I have short fingers but wide palms; previously I had used Troy Lee medium size, based on the palm fitment, and had finger tips flapping all over the place. Not ideal. This time I went by finger fitment and have been rewarded with just exceptional lever feel.  So many glove manufacturers put seams in all sorts of stupid places, normally exactly where your index finger rests on the brake lever, but not here. Furthermore, thanks to the Air’s one-piece palm, and stretchy rear section, the glove fits my palms beautifully, without having more idiotically-placed seams across pressure points. The white/red colour scheme does require regular washing to keep it looking phresh, but then again your partner/riding buddies will appreciate the lack of roadkill smell. Plus it looks PIMP! I’m clearly a glove connoisseur, and I love these. Point made…

Skyline jersey

Secret Santa delivered me a Skyline jersey, and I wrote him a letter saying cheers bro, you clearly know what’s up. The Skyline fits well (notice a theme here?), looks boss, is pure mesh bar the neck line, so wicks/breathes better than anything, and the sleeves are just the right length to develop brutal farmer tan when the time comes. It also has a small, super-stealthy zip pocket for essentials on the right hip, which to be honest I doubt I’ll ever use, but in the all-black jersey the pocket lining is bright turquoise with some crazy graphic shiz – a totally unnecessary style touch which is AWESOME. Plus the all-blackness means you can ride stealth without looking like a human coke can/racerhead/fanboy when you’re just out for a casual spin.

Troy Lee, I tip my (TLD) hat to you sir…

Thats right, after months of saying “Exciting things are coming, just keep checking” our range of road and cyclocross bikes from Roux have fianally arrived! And they have been worth the wait, everything about them is stunning, the look, the spec and the prices all add up to an amazing package whatever your budget or riding style.

We have 3 bikes in stock in the road range, our top model is the Vercours R9 at £950 withe full Shimano Tiagra groupset and Shimano R501 wheelset.

Next up is the Vercors R7 at £495 with Shimano 2300 shifting and FSA compact chainset.

If you ride in the winter a lot you’ll love the Roux Menthe, with its Cro-mo frame, carbon fork and relaxed Audax geometry and full mudguards its strong and comfortable and a great price at £675

Roux also cater for the off road crowd, with the Conquest 2300, the best value CX bike that we’ve come across! £525 gets you Shimano 2300 shifting, Maxxis tyres, Tektro cantilever brakes and a full arrangement of rack and mudguard mounts. Thats right, ity’;s not just for muddy blasts around field, it’ll make the ideal commuter bike if you live rurally, something we see alot of down here in Devon!

My Iphone pics don’t do justice to just how nice these bikes really are, come down and have a look, feel and as long as isn’t too wet (this is Devon!) a spin on the Roux’s. We look forward to seeing you.

CHRISTMAS OPENING TIMES

MONDAY 24TH 0930-1300

TUESDAY 25TH CLOSED (HO HO HO)

WEDNESDAY 26TH CLOSED (RIDING)

THURSDAY 27TH 1000-1600

FRIDAY 28TH 0930-1800

SATURDAY 29TH 0930-1730

SUNDAY 30TH CLOSED

MONDAY 31ST 0930-1300 (PARTYING)

TUESDAY 1ST CLOSED (RECOVERING)

WEDNESDAY 2ND 0930-1800

AS NORMAL ONWARDS

If you’ve been following us on here or on the facebook page you’ll know that we have a fleet of Kona 2013 demo bikes for you to try. Write us a review of the bike and earn yourself £10 credit in the shop. Simple!

Here’s Ed White’s take on the Kona Kitsune 120mm All mountain weapon.

Kona Kitsune 2013 – First Impressions, and a Lot More Besides

I have never ridden a five incher, preferring instead the shocking directness of solid steel, or the crude pounding of eight Glory-ous inches. Thus my first ride on the Kona was a whole new experience – turns out she was right all along; it really is a case of how you use it…

The first few miles out of the shop were up the road climb toward Grenofen. Both ends have a lockout switch; however, I had simply jumped on the bike to check the sag levels, smashed some air in the tubes, and set off. It did bob a bit, but even fully open the bike fairly well rockets uphill. With both ends locked out it could be ridden up the twenty-something Alp d’Huez switchbacks, if that’s your thing…more realistically it means that the Route 27 drag to Yelverton and beyond will be over before you know it.

The ‘economically’ treaded tyres certainly help; a Maxxis Ikon at the back is not the first choice for winter mud, but then again, as a Kiwi friend once said ‘If you’re not getting sideways, what’s the point?’ Quite so. That aside, you get up to speed bloody quickly, and the dipping moorland traverses were arousing indeed; damp grass, a decent gradient, and a lightly ribbed rubber stretched against the rim all came together to give my deviant Joker-smile a commendable coating of trail spaff.  OK, sorry, no more innuendo, but the bike really is fun.

Despite the Kitsune’s welcome rapidity uphill, the presence of ISCG mounts and Maxles both front and rear give an indication of what this bike wants you to do, i.e. stop fannying around, drop the saddle, get in the big ring, and hoof it.  I stumbled upon a double track descent to Double Waters which brought tears of wind draft and joy running down my face. I got to the bottom thinking that the bike was designed for that very trail; it was light enough to get up to worrying speed with ease, yet wide enough of bar, and stable enough of build, to really get shifting. Ditches were jumped, rollers doubled, flats pedalled like Hoy in the keirin, and gorse bushes clipped at such velocity that I quickly resembled a well-used voodoo doll. It was awesome.

What wasn’t quite so awesome was having to stop, get off, and get out a multi-tool to raise/lower the saddle height. Suffice it to say, it didn’t aid the flow of the ride, so definitely invest in a dropper post, or seat QR at the very least, to get the most out of this bike. Another investment, albeit less essential, would be 1×10 and a clutch mech.  I have ridden this set-up once in my life (on another of the 2013 bikes available to demo at the wonderful Dartmoor cycles; the Kona Process), and it changed it forever.  It is worth mentioning that I’m not exactly a tech fan, so for me to seriously advocate both a dropper post and clutch mech is praise indeed. That said, I didn’t drop a chain at all, and the shifting was faultless…

BUT…the inherent noise and consequent worry of a triple chainset is really very distracting, especially when you are pre-jumping into a fractured rock slab at Mach 3, and want to power-wheelie away, as all you trail heroes damn-well should do. The bike is certainly seems to demand such treatment. I have no idea how much it weighs, it’s irrelevant to me, but I do know that the Kitsune is light enough to do all-day rides without a granny ring, and going any faster would necessitate larger rotors, bigger tyres, and a pleasingly confused euro-style enduro helmet… just get 1×10.

Most importantly, such moments of ‘is my chain still on/can I get back on the gas’ obviously cost precious fractions of Strava time, and indeed risk a heart-rate drop below the optimal training threshold (for those of you who really know how to live). These alone are reasons enough to upgrade. Then again, anyone who uses Strava has probably already bought one of those electric-engine V10s…

Bottom line: The bike is rad; it is quick uphill, quicker across the flats, and if you have the requisite testicular fortitude, extremely quick on the appropriate downs (it is a 120mm trail bike, after all…no hucking to flat bro).  Ask yourself whether you really need 150/160mm for trail riding…you will be going so much faster in so many more places on this bike, and consequently having heaps more fun. It is how you use it that counts.

In a sentence: The right side of flighty, yet somehow just stable enough…get on the gas and stop bitch-dragging your brakes.