I have been looking for an entry level bike for some time and found 2 Kona bikes in my price range. I am not sure how to decide which bike would be more worth my money and give me a better ride. The first bike is the Kona-Honky Tonk (KONA 2009 - Honky Tonk), and the second one is the Kona-Jake (KONA 2009 - Jake). Also, if anyone knows a good entry level bike around the same price which would be better than either of these, please advise. Thanks.
Commuting (5-10km), sprint and olympic triathlons, and some road trips (350-500km) to start. The most important are the triathlons for me.
If you're going to use it mostly for tri's, you probably don't want either of the two that you mentioned. The Honky Tonk is kind of a retro road bike with shift levers on the down tube and the Jake is a cyclocross bike which would be a good choice for commuting, but maybe not for tri's. I don't know much about tri bikes, so hopefully someone else here will be able to point you in the right direction.
Yeah cross bikes are pretty lousy for tri's, they are too bulky and not geared high enough. Unless you're willing to buy a used bike I don't you'll find a tri bike in your price range. Your best bet would be to get an entry level road bike and add some clip on aerobars. For a bike in that price range I'd look into this one: Specialized Bicycle Components : Allez Double but if you're going to be riding it competitively I'd suggest saving up a bit more and finding a bike with a better set of shifters and derailleurs.
