Style 43

I am NOT a hipster idiot. I don’t wear spray on jeans, I don’t wear wild multi-coloured clothes from Brick Lane and I definitely don’t have a hairstyle. I felt it necessary to point this out before beginning to review the Kona Paddywagon 2008, as I didn’t want anyone jumping to conclusions. Essentially, I didn’t buy a fixed wheel as a fashion accessory like a miniature dog or a cool piece of electronic gadgetry. It was a way of getting from A to B quickly and for free, and they’re also a gaffle to ride as well, provided you don’t mind getting your shins cut to fuck at the beginning anyway.

Paddywagon retails at £450, which isn’t as pricey as it sounds. The frame is Dedacciai COM 12.5 Butted Cromoly which in English means good tubing and it’s butted to remove any excess weight from the bike, thus making it lighter. The gearing ratio is 42-16 which is a bit less than the bmx usual of 44-16, but this is because it comes without pedals. Were you to put SPDs on it you could definitely make it more like 50-16 but slowing down with no clips is a lot tougher when the ratio is higher. I’ve got DMR platform pedals on mine, but in the near future I’m looking to acquire some cage pedals so I can go brakeless.

That’s the other thing, this bike comes with a flip-flop back hub, so you can either run single-speed freewheel or single-speed fixed. So because of this, it also comes with both a front and back brake, so you fully have the option of running it with a freewheel. Personally, I would run it fixed ASAP because I don’t really see the point in a single-speed freewheel. I’m still running a front brake, the Tektro R538 to be precise, and it’s pretty dialled. The bars are aluminium, again lighter than their steel counterparts, which help steer the Kona Retro Road forks in black on the front.

Aesthetically Paddywagon looks the part. Simple graphics from Kona here, with a slick light grey frame and all black parts seals the deal. Obviously, being a Brick Lane-ite, how it looks is the most important thing. I would have loved some Nu-Rave Spazcore shit blasted all over it, with some oh-so-no-way spanglers, but I can live with it how it is. Actually, the most important thing is how it rides.

As with any racer, the turning circle is sharp so if you go wild you’re going to be eating a healthy portion of michelin starred shit, but that come with the territory. I’ve not flipped the bars yet, although I have slipped the pedals enough to learn not to do it anymore. The racing bars are a nice touch, although many people run simple, flat riser bars instead with a trigger leaver on them for the brake as opposed to drop racers. The cork grip is lovely though, if affords me none of the callouses my bmx does which is a good thing ‘cos chicks don’t dig rough hands. The gearing ratio is good for riding around town because it’s not too brutal when you’re pulling away at the lights, but not so slack that you can’t get a healthy speed up with it. The bike does have a massive floor though: the tyres. They are absolutely abysmal. I’ve had 3 punctures in the last two days, because the tyre compound is cheap and crappy and it isn’t as though I’m getting pinch flats from putting the tube in like a gorilla. The walls on those babies are thinner than (insert name of really thin celebrity here)! Any spec of glass…psssssssssss. They’re goners.

Even though paddywagon rides well, the problems with it are numerous. To replace the tyres is going to be at least £40, then you’ve got to buy pedals, and depending on which ones, could be anywhere up to £70 on them. Most people get new bars/grips/levers, which is £60+ but that’s more of a choice than the other two. Essentially, the real price tag on this bike is £450 + pedals and new tyres, and say that’s £550 altogether, you’re not getting £550 worth of bike here. I got Paddywagon at trade, so I didn’t pay this much for it, but had I had to, then I would not have gone with it mainly due to the price. But if you can get it cheap then its not a bad investment at all.

Jagshemash.

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