The 10 Best Kona Bikes You Can Buy Right Now
Kona, as a company, is a bit of a wild company that in a lot of ways defies expectations. It’s an instantly recognizable global brand, but one that’s still owned by the original founders. It’s a brand that grew from a grassroots style of riding in British Columbia in the late ‘80s, but had international sales and manufacturing from the start. Kona isn’t a huge entity compared to some other global bike brands, but it enjoys iconic status. They’re best known as a “freeride” bike company, but have made road and 'cross bikes since the beginning. And their city bikes are some of the coolest, most practical options around. The surprises go on and on, but that’s all part of Kona’s charm.
The Early Days
Kona started in 1988, in Vancouver, British Columbia by bike industry veterans Dan Gerhard and Jacob Heilbron. In the early years, the duo worked with Joe Murray to create custom steel hardtails, but had a deep connection to the North Shore’s progressive bike scene. As riding on the North Shore evolved, Kona evolved with it, building bikes for riders who were pushing the limits of mountain biking. It built the first “freeride” bikes that had triple chainrings and burly, durable frames with five inches of travel. The result was a bike you could pedal up a mountain, but just as easily huck off a giant wooden ladder bridge. Kona was the first production company to feature a sloping top tube design on a mountain bike, which helped lengthen the cockpit and lower the center of gravity; “low and slack” has been Kona’s mantra from the beginning. Later, the brand helped establish the “all mountain” category with the Dawg, which had four inches of front and rear travel but came in under 30 pounds. Through it all, Kona has always been a brand that sits firmly on the rowdy side of biking.
Modern Innovation
While Kona’s headquarters has moved from Vancouver to Washington, the brand’s design focus hasn’t changed much over the years. It’s still obsessed with building progressive mountain bikes meant to evolve with the sport, and it’s going deeper into its alternative view of road biking (we see you, Libre). In 2017, it revised one of its most popular platforms, the Process, giving the trail bike more climbing prowess with an updated, stiffer suspension. Speaking of suspension, the brand focuses more on reliable performance that complicated linkages (hint: it’s all about oversized bearings). And Kona is building bikes that rip for riders on opposite ends of the spectrum who are typically ignored: kids and riders over 200 pounds.
Even after 30 years, Kona maintains the renegade attitude you’d expect from one of longest-running rider-owned bike brands. You can feel a little of that in each model. There’s an option for almost every type of rider, but these are our 9 favorites.
Honzo DL
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Price: $1,999
The right bike for: Beginners and experts who want a rockin’ hardtail
Kona made a name for itself by producing progressive hardtails and it still has a knack for that niche. The Honzo isn’t just for beginners—it has the geometry and components of an all-mountain machine with a 120mm RockShox Sektor RL fork, SRAM NX 11-speed drivetrain, and a low and slack cockpit that takes a page from the beefier Process. Kona makes eight models of the Honzo, including some with carbon frames. This one is aluminum, which keeps the price down, helping it earn a spot on our list of the best hardtails of 2018.
Libre DL
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Price: $3,999
The right bike for: Cyclists who want to ride any road, anywhere
It’s not like Kona to just make a road bike—that would be too narrowly defined. Instead, it’s newest model, the Libre, is a pavement bike that can also attack the dirt. This bike is built for adventure, with a SRAM Force 1 drive train that has a big range of gears and Easton EA70AX 700c wheels that can handle the roughest roads (and some singletrack) in your neighborhood. The Kona Verso Carbon Touring fork accepts multiple racks and fender options for carrying gear, and the geometry is borrowed from the Sutra, a comfy touring bike made for all-day missions.
Kona Rove
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Price: $849
The right bike for: Budget-friendly adventure
It’s easy to be suspicious about a sub-$1,000 road bike that claims to be an “all around” adventure machine, but with the Rove, it’s the truth. We fell in love with this gravel-friendly bike because of its stability at high speeds, and responsive feats of climbing. The aluminum frame is heavy, sure, but it’s agile and built for abuse, thanks in part to the 32-spoke wheels and Schwalbe Delta Cruiser Plus tires. It’s a budget-friendly bike that performs on any road, and its aluminum-butted frame provides a clean aesthetic to accommodate a reliable Shimano Claris group.
Kona Super Jake
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Price: $3,999
The right bike for: ’Cross racers who want an intuitive, race-ready bike
Kona’s top-tier cyclocross racing bike, the Super Jake, is a stiff and compliant carbon bike that handles with precision through the corners and looks damn good on your shoulder when you’re running over obstacles. It comes stock with SRAM Force 1 components and light Easton EA70AX wheels and Vittoria Terreno Mix tires that make short work of the mud that frequents cross courses. The Super Jake is built for cross racing, sure, but it wouldn’t look out of place on an all-day adventure ride either, which is one of the reasons it won an Editor’s Choice award and made it onto our list of best cyclocross bikes of 2018.
Kona Process 153 27.5
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Price: $4,999
The right bike for: Enduro-lovers who want to rip down gnarly trails
Another 2018 Editor’s Choice award winner, the Process 153 27.5 is an enduro machine that offers a lot of bang for your buck. The carbon frame, which is new for 2018, has aluminum stays for added durability and is built around the Beamer suspension platform with 16omm front/153mm rear travel. The SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain is peppy on the climbs and the Guide R brakes have proven stopping power in a pinch. Kona improved the pedaling prowess of the Process, but this bike is built for the sticky bits—the rock gardens and jumps that give lesser bikes trouble.
Hei Hei CR LD
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Price: $4,699
The right bike for: XC racers who catch a little air
Cross-country and marathon races are getting burlier every year, and the Hei Hei CR LD is built to handle the abuse. Kona’s Race Light carbon frame and 1x12 speed SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain combine for a featherweight, responsive ride that’s complimented by 120mm travel in the front and 100mm in the rear. Because sometimes the fastest line in a race is also the most fun, this bike won't hold you back from hitting a drop, popping off a rock or taking the A-line of the creek gap.
Sutra
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Price: $1,499
The right bike for: Looking awesomely vintage on really long rides
Aesthetics matter, but looks aren’t everything, which is what makes the Sutra so enticing. It’s a beautiful touring bike, with the kind of details that make you want to pedal through wine country. But the chromoly butted frame is also fixed with the features that make your wine country tour enjoyable, like fenders with mudflaps, bar-end shifters, a Shimano Deore triple chainring and beefy 700x40c tires. It comes equipped with a rear rack and room for a front rack and all kinds of options for extra cargo cages. The Hayes CX hydraulic disc brakes are a welcome addition, and that beautiful Brooks B17 saddle is Instagram gold.
Ute
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Price: $1,499
The right bike for: Easily hauling a ton of gear
You might say it’s hard to get excited about a cargo bike, but only if you’ve never ridden the Ute. At 42 pounds, it’s one of the lighter cargo bikes available, and stylish details like the curvaceous Handplant bar and wooden rack platform in the rear gives it instant cruiser street cred. You have options for add-on panniers, seats and foot rests, which makes this bike as capable as a minivan. You want to haul kids? Groceries? Bricks? Watermelons? This is the tool you need.
Dew-E
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Price: $3,299
The right bike for: Cyclists who want pedal assist and no-frills functionality
Like most large bike manufacturers, Kona is flirting with electric-assist bikes. It’s building an impressive line, and we love Dew-E, which made our list of best E-bikes in 2018. It has the stylish looks and simple lines of a classic touring bike, with a few handy details to boot, like fenders and built-in front and rear lights. But it’s the Bosch 400w motor that makes this bike a commuter’s dream, giving you just the right amount of assist through the 9-speed drivetrain. And yeah, we dig the kickstand, too.
Operator CR
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Price: $5,999
The right bike for: Riders who love to crush downhill trails
The Operator is a highly customizable downhill bike that was built to rest at the top of the podium. The bike has two positions—the longer increases chainstay length by 15mm and reach by 10mm—so you can fine-tune the machine to your needs. It comes stock with 29er wheels, but you can run 27.5-inch if you prefer. The frame is built from Kona’s DH Carbon with aluminum chainstays and comes with a SRAM GX DH 7-speed drivetrain, a RockShox Boxxer World Cup fork (190mm of travel), and RockShock Super Deluxe Coil RC World Cup rear suspension (195mm of travel). Go big, go fast.
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