Thursday, August 07, 2008

Big Dummy vs. Kona Ute



My LBS has one in stock, so here they are side by side. I haven't ridden it yet, but I will soon. I might write something afterward. Is anyone else curious?

Update 8-12: Still haven't gotten to ride the Ute yet. I should mention that this particular example is a 2008, and that the 2009 appears to have a better bag setup.

11 comments:

Kronda said...

Yeah. I'm curious as to just how many bikes you have?? :) And yeah, a comparison would be interesting too.

Yokota Fritz said...

Yeah, I'd like to know how they compare. I've been on the Big Dummy but I've never tried the Ute.

Michael Lemberger said...

Okay, ride report it is. I'll try to do it this weekend (but no promises.)

kronda: that's classified, so let's just say I could ride a different one each day of the week but fewer than I have fingers. Not including other family members' bikes, of course.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to your review. I want a Big Dummy, but the price of the UTE is attractive.

LvilleTex said...

So I am just another lemming following the bandwagon, or does one of these cargo bikes warrant serious consideration?

The Stouts said...

I hope that Kona works on a more useful bag setup for it. It seems strange to me that they built what seems like a well engineered frame for a load, but then didn't account for good ways to carry those loads, and chose 700c wheels for a platform, but who knows, maybe it comes together better than I think.

ponyheart said...

I agree, the Ute needs a practical way to carry things with their sweet platform. I have a big dummy and have grown very accustomed to loading it. I love it. The Kona looks a little smaller and maybe more nimble though thats totally based on looking at this one pic. Ride the hell out of it and write that comparison up; im so curious now. What tires are you running on your BD?

Michael Lemberger said...

Thanks to all for being patient.

Rob, I agree that the Kona's price tag would a little more agreeable to lots of folks.

Tex, I think they might, but it is one more thing to clog up the garage (and I know yours is about as full as mine.)

Stout, I think they heard you. See the 2009 Ute.

Beards, the Ute's wheelbase is indeed shorter, so I'm really curious about how that (and the 700c wheels) would affect the handling. We'll see. Also, I'm currently running Schwalbe Big Apple 2.35s on the Big Dummy and loving them.

Tom said...

No, I don't want to see a write up at all. ....

Tom said...

Just kidding. Yeah, tell us about it. I'd enjoy a chance to ride myself. Perhaps it will happen, until then whet the appetite!

morgan@cycle9.com said...

Hey, have you thought of looking at the Yuba Mundo? It's another longtail bike with price point similar to the Ute. It is designed by one of the founders of Xtracycle, who wanted to design a less expensive and more rugged version of the X. It includes the "wideloader" concept, which is super useful for carrying large/heavy/bulky items that won't fit in the bags.