Introduction
After ten years and 45000km with the same bicycle and after one expensive and bad purchase, I decided I needed a new bicycle.
I decided to buy a Koga for the following reasons:
- per-customer configuration
- previous good experience with Koga
What follows is my review of this bicycle I designed for myself.
Photos
Specs
| frame type | GrandTourer-S Discbrake |
| frame geometry | suspension corrected (bottom end of the head tube higher up to make room for a suspension fork's travel, though in my configuration the forks are rigid); frame size 57cm |
| frame & fork material | triple butted and triple hardened 6061 aluminium |
| front hub with dynamo | Shimano DH-T8000 |
| rear hub | Shimano FH-M8000 |
| tyres | Schwalbe Marathon Plus 28" 37mm |
| brake calipers | Shimano BR-T???? |
| brake rotors | Shimano SM-RT81 |
| brake levers | Shimano BL-T8000 |
| rims | Ryde Andra 210 28" / Sapim DB Silver |
| mudguards | SKS Chromoplastics |
| gears | Shimano Deore XT T8000 |
| gear shifter | Shimano XT Deore SL-T8000 |
| chainset | Shimano XT Deore FC-T8000 |
| handlebars | KOGA Riser |
| stem | KOGA Signature Alloy |
| grips | Ergon GP3 |
| headset | ??? |
| pedals | ??? |
| saddle | Selle Royal Optica |
| seatpost | KOGA Signature Alloy |
| front light | B&M Lumotec lQ-QS (with standlight) (same as IQ-X?) |
| rear light | B&M Toplight Line Plus (with standlight) |
| rear carrier | Tubus Logo Classic |
| low rider | none |
| stand | Pletscher Comp 18 |
| weight | 13.3Kg (excluding saddle and pedals) |
The good
- MAJOR: you get no components that you don’t want (e.g. I ordered without saddle and pedals as I didn’t like the options available from Koga and sourced these components elsewhere)
- MAJOR: disc brakes will hopefully mean I don’t replace the wheels every five years
The bad
- MAJOR: the front forks are missing standard connection points for a mudguard and for panniers (the mudguard that comes with the bicycle is not adjustable except by bending its struts; standard front panniers cannot be used)
Suggestions to the reader
- Read Wikipedia’s description of touring bicycle specifications and then choose a bicycle with those characteristics (i.e. don’t put the cart before the horse!).
- Play with Koga’s bicycle designer even if you don’t want a Koga bicycle; it forces you to consider what you really want and why.
- If you intend to use the Koga-specific vendors in your area for repair work, then visit them. Did they seem competent?
Suggestions to Koga
- Please provide front forks with standard connections points for a mudguard and for panniers!