Jones Plus LWB vs Surly Karate Monkey
Both published charts held against each other, on the specs that decide what the bike carries.
The short answer
The Plus LWB takes tire clearance, the rack path, bottle positions and price; the Karate Monkey takes dropper compatibility. Which matters more is your route, not a scoreboard.
Assembled from the differences below rather than written over them, so it cannot drift from the table. Every figure is the manufacturer's; nobody here has ridden either bike.
Where they differ
6 of the 7 things we can compare come out differently. The rest are close enough not to decide anything.
Widest published tire
7mm more on the Plus LWBThe frame figure, not the fork's — forks are routinely cut for more rubber than the rear triangle. Loaded, tire width is also seat-pack clearance: a big tire and a sagging pack compete for the same space.
Rear rack
Plus LWB is the one you can bolt a rack to without hunting for partsRead from each maker's own mount wording. An adapter is a real cost the price tag does not mention, and 'not published' is not the same as no — it just is not something to buy a rack on.
Frame bottle positions
2 more on the Plus LWBThe maximum the maker publishes across sizes. Worth knowing before you buy a frame bag, because a full-frame bag covers most of them.
Dropper post
only the Karate Monkey publishes dropper routingA dropper cannot be strapped to, so fitting one rules out almost every seat pack and leaves rail-mounted bags at a fraction of the volume. It is a capability and a constraint at once.
Chainstay
60mm longer on the Plus LWBThe gap between seat tube and rear axle, which a rack, panniers and your heels all share. Longer is more room for a load; shorter is a more compact bike. Which you want is a preference, not a winner.
From
$109 between themManufacturer's cheapest complete build. Every spec above belongs to the frame and does not change between builds of the same model, so the cheapest build of the right frame is usually the right answer.
Side by side
Including the rows where the two are level, because a spec that doesn't separate them is still a spec you might be checking.
| Jones Plus LWB | Surly Karate Monkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Widest published tire | 83mm on 700c / 29in | 64mm on 700c / 29in, 76mm on 650b / 27.5in |
| Rear rack | Bolts straight on | Not published |
| Fork cargo mounts | Published | Published |
| Frame bottle positions | 3 | 1 |
| Dropper post | Not published | Compatible |
| Chainstay | 483mm | 423mm |
| From | $1,740 | $1,849 |
| Sizes | 3 | 5 |
| Frame | Steel | 4130 Chromoly, Natch tubing, double-butted main triangle |
Drawn to scale
Largest published size of each, built from the charts rather than illustrated. The front triangle is the part that decides frame bag fit.
