kona kikapu delux vs dawg, HELP!

Hi there,

I am planning to buy a new mountain bike in the fall. I was wondering if you
could give me help with reagrds to which bike to choose. I am 6'2", and
weigh 180lbs. After carefully researching bikes from several companies, I
have narrowed my choices to the 2004 Kona Kikapu Deluxe
http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_kikapu_dlx.cfm , and the 2004 Kona
Dawg http://www.konaworld.com/2k4bikes/2k4_dawg.cfm.

I plan to ride the bike both on pavement, for pleasure rides in Vancouver
and surrounding areas, as well as on trails. While I have riden toy bikes
since childhood, I am not an
agressive rider, nor a brave rider, so I certainly don't expect to be
taking the bike of any big drops, or anything of that nature, but I do want
to be able to plow down rough trailes without worry. I also
want a reasonably lightweight bike that will allow smooth confident hill
climbing both on the trail and on the road. While racing is not on my radar
screen right now, it might be fun to try in the future. My immediate
inclination was to go for the 2004 Kikapu Deluxe, it has an great feature
set and good looks.

My only concern stems from some reviews I have read at www.mtbr.com of
previous and current model Kikapus/Kahuna bikes, inluding the King
Kikpau. Heavier riders have mentioned breaking thier frames during
basic cross country rides, and more than once has recomended that anyone
over 160lbs look towards the Bear/Dawg line of bikes instead because of the
stronger frame.. Because I wiegh 180lbs, I have been concerned about this,
and have thus begun considering the 2004 Dawg instead, although it the extra
extra five pounds of weight doesn't thrill me.

I guess my queston is, given my description of my riding style, and my
weight, do you agree that I would be better off to choose the Dawg?



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