This bike was several months from concept to completion, mostly due to laziness on my part. Now that it’s done, I have to say it’s the kind of rig that makes me wonder why I have three other bikes at all. Granted, the full suspension mountain bike isn’t going anywhere…but the carbon road bike, and steel mixte commuter should be shaking in their boots right now.

When Chris King offered their components in a limited run of purple, I knew I wanted, but didn’t have a bike for it. Soon after the King order deadline, I got word that the Kona Rove would be offered in a titanium, frame-only option and it was all downhill from there. I’ve always wanted a titanium bike, but don’t see it as the best material for just any kind of bike. This all-purpose Rove would benefit from titanium’s peculiar mix of strength, compliance, light weight, and longevity. My friendly neighbors at Cyclepath were kind enough to let me purchase one of their purple headsets, and Tonkin floated some Retroshift purple anodized shifters my way. Things were really coming together! I’ve been curious about Retroshift for a while, and this is my chance to get acquainted. At the moment, there are very few carbon, disc-ready forks available, so the choice for a Whisky matte-finish, straight-blade variety didn’t take long. While I could spend some significant time and money to build a gorgeous, custom wheelset, I chose the quick and easy route to test out Stan’s NoTubes Iron Cross, disc-ready, tubeless-ready hoops. The other bits of stem, seatpost, saddle, tires and pedals came from my old ‘cross bike. Throw in some ‘cross-specific, yet road-worthy Shimano gearing and highly coveted CX75 mechanical disc brakes, and we’re ready for serious motoring AND stopping on a dime at a fighting weight of 20 pounds.

I’ll get back to you with a full report after a month of commuting and adventuring on the new Kona Rove. Happy Birthday to me!