SAD NEWS
Rumours of Kona's Demise May not be Greatly Exaggerated
It's not entirely hyperbole to say I owe my current life in some ways to Kona. No, not the Kent Outdoors-owned company that was just another brand in their portfolio, purchased at the height of the pandemic-induced bicycle craze, but the OG Kona. The Kona that in the early 2000s, when I was working in The Best Bikeshop in the World selling Explosifs and Humuhumunukunukuapuaas, we heard crazy rumors about. Things like, "They're selling 7 Stinkys a day out of The Cove!" I have no idea if that was actually true (there's almost no way that's true, but tell us your stories below) but what was true was that I knew my first "real" bike after my Gary Fisher was going to be a Kona. Robbie Bourdon, Joe Schwartz, Fabien Barel, Rasta-themed Stinkys, glow in the dark graphics... Kona was f*cking cool. I scraped all of my grom dollars together, and bought a purple and green Stab Dee-lux. I was gonna be John Cowan, no-handed lander listening to AFI and all.
That was the bike I rode on my first day in the Whistler Bike Park, before visiting The Cove itself, and being directed to the Myrtle Park dirt jumps with my Kona Shred. I think we also rode Corkscrew - Pingu that day, back when Corkscrew was mostly logs topped with old tires.
Kona was just cool.
I was never cool like any of the actual Klump riders, but Kona helped me out with a grassroots program for that bike, and 15-year-old me thought they were the coolest brand ever. That bike went through several iterations; all of them were awesome (at least... in the context of bikes in the time period).
Fast forward a couple of years and I stopped in at Kona HQ in Ferndale, WA (where they had relocated after inception in Vancouver, B.C.) on the way to the mecca that is the Whistler Bike Park to see some friends. On the way back south, I cruised through Simon Fraser University, as I was shopping for post secondary institutions at the time. Holy shit... you mean the North Shore is right there, and I can ride bikes right out my dorm room door? And there's a bus to bring me back up? I'm in.
That was now more than half my life ago; I moved from Wyoming to BC to attend SFU, finished school, got a Coiler Delux, got a job, got a girl, had a kid, and despite falling out of bikes for a little stint around 2012, it's basically still the same story: I live here for the skiing and biking. And that's at least partially thanks to the Konas I rode during that earlier period of my life.
I've reviewed a couple Konas here at NSMB. Last year I wrote about the Process 134 and despite liking it, coined it as a "Boring Bike." And yesterday, I wrote about another Kona I like, the gravel-oriented Ouroboros.
The Process 134 is a nice bike that does a lot of things reasonably well, still uses Kona's faux-bar linkage design that I used on that first Whistler Bike Park trip, and... it just kind of blends into its competitor's bikes without any real differentiators. It's just there, as an option; contrast this with the earlier aggressive, boundary-pushing bikes that were maybe a bit kooky and unique and if you don't live in the right place, you're probably not going to need it. You also might not understand it at all. Contrast this with the earlier Process 111, a bike far ahead of its time, and hopefully you can understand what I'm on about.
In some ways, the Ouroboros represents all that made Kona great in its heyday. It's also an interesting metaphor for its current state.
Kona employees were instructed to take the booth down almost as soon as it was erected.
After yesterday morning's well-received Ouroboros launch, news quickly started swirling that Kona had taken down its booth at Sea Otter. While insiders were tight-lipped, it had been a bit of an open secret that the current owner, Kent Outdoors, had been shopping the brand around, and that maybe things were a bit tough. I'd wager you don't run a two-for-one promotion because sales are awesome; you do it because you're sitting on mountains of inventory, in a serious cash crunch, or both. I'd note that Kona isn't unique here, with many brands running big promotions, and rumors of enormous warehouses of inventory. With confirmation of an all-hands townhall meeting for Kona employees Thursday morning, signs weren't good. You don't pull up stakes on the eve of one of the biggest events of the year without serious reason. (Kona had a 10x20 booth space at Sea Otter partially set up and staff had been flown in from around the world when the news was broken. The booth was disassembled and the space left vacant before Sea Otter even began. And everything had already been paid for. -Ed.)
I reached the appropriate media contact at Kent Outdoors by phone on Thursday afternoon and was told that there was nothing he could share at this time, but there would be a press release regarding Kent and Kona tomorrow (Friday).
While we await official word from Kent, we've heard from multiple sources that Kent told Kona employees this morning that they were "winding the brand down". What that means in the short term is unclear (although evidently Kent will attempt to find at least some employees homes at other portfolio companies, if they so choose).
I'm speculating here, but I imagine Kent has reached a point where they no longer see the brand as a going concern, and are looking to cut costs back to as close to zero as possible in the hope they can find a buyer for Kona's IP, remaining assets, inventory, and brand equity. This is little consolation to the cadre of great people who are now looking at an uncertain future at best, and unemployment at worst.
Kona was an edgy, unique brand pushing boundaries; on occasion that heritage still shone through. But it also fell victim to being just another company scrolling along the bottom banner; a place where it's just a P&L line item discussed in board meetings.
So what went wrong? Certainly, the post-Pandemic slowdown played its part here; it's tough out there for brands in the wake of an insane craze. As I eluded to earlier, in early 2022, at the height of the craze, OG Kona founders Dan and Jake sold the company to Kent Outdoors, an entity owned at the time by private equity group Seawall Capital.
There's probably a metaphor here with the mythical Ouroboros and capitalism. Private equity bought in at the height of revenue and popularity, and in the pursuit of continued profits managed to eat itself, cannibalizing the parts that made Kona cool, and by turning out some generic, Boring Bikes launching years late due to supply chain constraints and other management issues eventually may have been the company's undoing. We'll find out more tomorrow.
Yesterday's Ouroboros launch is interesting to think back on. In an unusual move by a brand, after I received the bike, the launch date was postponed indefinitely. And then suddenly, it was back on, with about 36 hours notice. My pet theory - which is entirely, utterly, and completely unsubstantiated - is that the Ouroboros launch was done without Kent's approval by Kona insiders, wanting to show a product that they were (rightfully) proud of. Something true to the roots of the brand, and what made it successful in the past.
Perhaps this was more symbolic than the team meant it to be.
We'll update this post as soon as we have any official word from Kent or Kona about the current situation, in the meantime you should reach out to any of your friends who work at the brand, and offer a bike ride and beverage.
If you've got any great stories about Kona, please share them below - extra bonus points for photos. I'll just be over here with this on repeat.
Comments
Mike Ferrentino
1 week, 5 days ago
Once upon a time, I wrote a column in a magazine. It was a new magazine, and Kona jumped on board as an advertiser. Single pages, every issue. Given their choice of placement, they requested that their ads run alongside my column, before any of us had actually met in person. Then, when I met Dew and Dik for the first time, it felt as if I had encountered some freakish brothers/spirit guides that I had been missing since childhood.
Flash forward about a decade to interbike. I'm standing in the Kona booth with Dew and he asks if I'll be at the Kona bowling frenzy that night. I apologize, and cop that I will be dining with some of the latest corporate owners of the magazine (this was probably corporate owner number 3 by this point). "Ohhhh, buddy, don't worry, we'll be going late. Come by after! And until then you'll need this to deal with those fucking suits"... whereupon he pried open my jaws with one big strong hand and rammed a hit of blotter LSD into the back of my throat with the thumb of the other.
That's just how they rolled.
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Jan
1 week, 5 days ago
happy bicycle day!
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pbass
1 week, 4 days ago
I think we need to know your recollections of how that evening panned out!
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Mickey Denoncourt
1 week, 4 days ago
When I heard they had fired Barry Wicks around this time last year I knew it was all done.
When they private equity goons push out the Children of NORBA, it’s all done.
Is a mountain bike brand worth a damn without a real race team?
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Wapti
1 week, 4 days ago
Good times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo0Rzf616DY
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Dan
1 week, 3 days ago
Ah, so my priceless Kona memories from the last 20-ish years… Just one as I think about a longer post here… in the early 00s my riding buddy was a demo driver for Kona, and on our way to Whistler Bike Park, we’d pull off I-5, let ourselves into the Ferndale warehouse, pick out a couple of Stabs, then rally them at WBP for a few days before returning them late Sunday night on our drive back to Seattle… We had our own DH bikes, sure, but why bother when you could use a much nicer bike for free?
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Mungbeanz
1 week, 5 days ago
Private equity is ruining the world we knew and loved.
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Lacy Kemp
1 week, 5 days ago
This.
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Smoke
1 week, 5 days ago
7 Stinkys a day? Maybe not every day, but yeah....that happened sometimes. Or the old Midnight Madness sales when we would sell over $100k back when the average bike sale was about $1000. We always use to say about Kona, "best sticker kit in the industry." But the lack of innovation and the decline in quality really hurt them. From what was once an elite brand to whatever this current iteration is supposed to be it's been a slow, steady, and sad decline. When I heard they'd pulled out of Chaz's shop I wondered if they were on the way out (and hearing Chazzies side of the story was more than entertaining). Hopefully any of the gang still hanging in down there gets a soft landing.
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Mark
1 week, 5 days ago
My first real mtb was a Stinky I got at one of those sales - the place was packed and the staff almost seemed overwhelmed with the demand.
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Dan
1 week, 3 days ago
This comment has been removed.
KavuRider
1 week, 5 days ago
Such a bummer. My first real mtb was a Kona Stinky. 2000 year, creamsicle, with the glow in the dark logos and grips. I had Kona ads on my wall, watched NWD1 over and over and I lusted after the 1998 Stab DeeLux (I still want one).
My Stinky, Monster T, Tioga seat and all. I pedaled it everywhere.
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Cr4w
1 week, 5 days ago
The best Monster Ts. I had some of that generation too. They were amazing.
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KavuRider
1 week, 5 days ago
My favorite fork ever! I bought mine from a guy in CO through mtbr in '01. Had a huge hash in the left stanchion. Oil poured on compression down the leg and onto the brake caliper. Knowing nothing about bikes yet, I just tied a T-shirt around the seal and would just fill it up with oil every so often.
Ah...the Grom days.
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Perry Schebel
1 week, 5 days ago
i also had an OG monster (7"). whist plush, the damper was certainly... unsophisticated. with no bottom out bumper, so hit full travel with a nice metal on metal clang. and yeah, when the seals went (fairly regularly it seemed), they just gushed impressive volumes of oil. i used to stuff windings of an old shoelace under the dust wiper to stem the flow.
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Andy Eunson
1 week, 5 days ago
Sad day indeed. I have to assume that Dan and Jacob have no financial worries and may even be retired now. I worked at West Point Cycles in ‘83. That shop was owned by Jacob and another guy at the time. I actually lived with Jacob for several months one winter in a house he was renting. Pippin Osborne (RIP) of Syncros fame was the other roommate. Part of the West Point Group which also owned Bayshore Bikes and Bikes on Broadway which was managed by Dan. I had to fill in for Jacob for a week or two in the warehouse space over top of BOB which at the time housed Rocky Mountain Bikes which I believe Jacob started. I moved away from Vancouver to Toronto for 88 to 90 and came back. By that time Kona was growing thing. Kona had a style and attitude that was the best in the industry. Kona sold lifestyle as much as bikes which was a big part of their success.
I rode a OG Hei Hei rigid titanium bike that I bought used off Paul Sim (RIP) who owned The Bike Cellar where I also worked at one time. It had certain issues but rode well. I owned a first gen Jake the Snake cross bike and enjoyed that immensely. I felt compelled to buy it because Jake the snake was my roommate in the mid 80s. Jacob was Canadian cyclocross champion from 81 I believe. A picture of him racing cross in his BC jersey hung at West Point when I worked there.
I rode the Hell of The North a bunch of times. Fun race. Really hard too. The best race t shirts and swag though. Remember the poo buttons anyone?
My wife had a first generation Explosif. Unfortunately she did the opposite and imploded the bike hitting the far side of a ditch. Top tube and down tube had acute kinks, the seat tube had good bend and buckle at the end of the seat post and even the chain and seat stays were bowed. That was until then a great race bike. She won a lot of races with it.
I’m sure many of us are thinking this is another example of some shareholder group sucking the life out of an entity for money. Mismanagement for short term gains. Just speculation of course but still.
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Cr4w
1 week, 6 days ago
I only owned one Kona. I bought it in 1995 from Cycle Logic in Toronto. A wine red steel Explosif made of Reynolds tubing with an 8-sided down tube. It accompanied me on my migration to BC and is the only bike I ever regretted selling. It came with a rigid fork but I ran it with a Lawwill Leader which I still own.
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Ripbro
1 week, 6 days ago
I loved my Kona bikes from the late 90s and early 2000s. My first real mountain bike was a Kona Munimula. I went for that red beauty because it had rockshox Indy XC. The elastomer felt so good in the summer heat, and felt way better than my buddy’s Girvin. I would get the Kona catalog and poster each year from my local dealer. Ultimate drool, 1999 Kona Stab Deluxe with the bent downtube.
Then New World Disorder came out and we were ‘freeriding’ out on the Alberta prairies. Got a loading dock? We were hitting it, busting parts and having a blast. Picked up a Kona Roast shortly after, with double wides and took that to Whistler Bike Park in 2000. Great memories.
Later I got a job at a local shop and sold a bunch stuffs and stinkys. It was a special day when Dik Cox came in to the shop. As a kid, I couldnt believe that was his professional name.
The bike industry owes a lot to Kona and it was my favourite company growing up. Magic links, Process Geo, etc. They were innovating for better or worse. Loved them.
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DirtSnow
1 week, 6 days ago
I have a lot of love for Kona as a brand.
Growing up in the Paris of the Prairies, I recall going to our local bike shop, Doug’s Spoke and Sport, when it was time to upgrade from my grom Gary Fischer. There I fell in love with my first Kona, a late 2000s Kikapu Nine. I had no clue how the suspension was supposed to be setup and generally ran 2-5% sag in the rear as I was very used to riding hardtails.
This bike set off an entire Kona love affair for me. I was fortunate to upgrade a few years later to a Kona Kula Deluxe. This green rocket ship cut the crap (rear suspension) and allowed me to pursue mid pack excellence in the Saskatchewan xc race scene. Doug even helped me get a Kona grassroots jersey and a deal which helped out a young racers parents tremendously. I also was able to spend time on a Kona Hei Hei and even a Kona King Zing carbon road bike, which although I cracked it, Kona replaced no questions asked.
In 2020, I purchased a Kona Process 153 Al DL to reward myself for getting my dream job as an ICU nurse and to get back into mountain biking. 2020 was not an easy year to start working in critical care, but that Kona let me burn hours pedaling up the Seymour road to keep my thoughts free and my focus clear. Eventually that bike was stolen and spent 3 weeks living on the streets of Vancouver until VPD found and returned it to me in a worse for wear state. When I shared the story with the folks at Kona Canada they hooked me up with all new frame hardware. Nothing a little TLC at my local bike shop couldn’t fix. That bike is hopefully still being enjoyed by its new owner.
The time I spent on a Kona has shaped my entire riding ethos and enjoyment. Those Kona bikes meant freedom and flexibility. It has been sad to hear of the troubles in the brand as of late. I hope the legacy of Kona continues and that brands continue to provide the same care and attention for their customers and shops like the old Kona did.
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Perry Schebel
1 week, 6 days ago
never actually ridden a kona, but briefly owned a frame (full suspension thing; can't recall the model) - that i won at one of the (legendary?) kona hell of the north races in the 90's (for a lowly sport class win). back when xc was peaking; turnout was big, prizes were deep, and the trails were properly tech. rad events.
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Jman
1 week, 5 days ago
Oh man, such good memories from The Kona Hell Of The North on Seymour back in the 90’s! Still have the 10 year 1998 anniversary frisbee!
Multiple laps up Old Buck, racing down Severed D and a banger party to match with MC Dik screaming into the megaphone with that orange toque. Good times!
Raced a King Kahuna back then, eventually sold it with a Z1 and a front disc brake, man I miss that bike! Also best culture and tee’s in the biz, from Motörhead to the Judas Priest one.
Heartbreaking to watch them circle the bowl this last while for a brand that really defined the culture of that time, (along with the Cove boys of course).
Thanks Kona, a long sweet ride indeed.
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Perry Schebel
1 week, 5 days ago
such a good race. one of the years i snapped my rear brake cable & had (fond?) memories of riding severed on front brake only - on a ~2" fork, probably 70* h/a, and full extension seatpost. we were hard bitd, i tell you.
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Flatted-again
1 week, 5 days ago
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to find a used honzo esd frame. I was getting burnt out on life, and I decided to build it up to pull myself out of the rut I was in. It’s now my favorite bike. I commute on it most days and blast around in the hills on it when I can.
I scrounged up a “long sweet ride” top cap for it too. Don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it now.
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Dan
1 week, 3 days ago
Pretty cool to see so many others interested in finding a used ESD. For me, the brick red frame is the one to have, though at this point I’d take a black or purple one.
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eM pathy
1 week, 5 days ago
I am an insider of sorts. Known an ex-employee who started there 26 years or so ago! This is not a happy story, nor was Kona ever really a professionally run company. The truth, and hate on me if you want, is that a bunch of clueless profiteers looking to buy up the world were apparently too stupid to understand the basic facts coming from their own business degrees, exactly because short-tem greed is stupid as it gets. Too many of these people, none of them could give a crap about the grass roots story or the people at the margins like me that followed that early wave of weird loner guys on steel hardtails just trying to get down the shore at all, and all that led too. I rode so many trails that are now long gone, and many of them on Kona bikes. But what happened here was that the owners fleeced not only Kent but most of their long term employees, my friend among them. The fallout here ruined my friendship and closes my life of riding in BC on very bad terms. I am a vulnerable and impoverished person now, almost 60, 10 years of advanced degress worthless, barely able to afford to keep a single bike going, and that is not for fun, it is my "car", sigh. So, let's not put a dress on the pig here. This industry, like too many, has left the real people behind and mostly chases fat cats and media looks, the lack of standards and pointless innovation is unsustainable too, along with this so easy to predict bust and boom it is just more of why we need to reform our economic and industrial systems much more radically. I am sickened by what cycling has become, it does not value me, and what happened here was that greed coming from 2 directions will now ruin the legacy of Kona, as well as the prospects of all the employees already so poorly laid off to even get here (you have NO IDEA!!!), and now the rest go too. Trust me, Kent were a bunch of idiots here, this was a bad move, Dan and Jake et. al. took the money and ran, and the people and the brand left behind have been tarnished by this, end of story. BIKES DON'T NEED COMPUTERS OR AI EITHER. Sickening industry now, made its own bed here.
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Scott Jamieson
1 week, 5 days ago
20yo me working in bikeshop. Middle-aged man walks in with literal wad of cash.
"What's the coolest bike you got?
Ummm this Kona Stinky Deluxe?
"Great, I'll take it. Put in the back of the pickup will ya?"
Even though I personally couldn't afford that bike, I was proud to sell them every time :)
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dknapton
1 week, 6 days ago
Kona was THE brand back in the day. I never owned one but so desperately wanted a 2005 stinky when I got into biking. Would be such a shame to see them go away so hopefully someone can buy them up and continue on the brand
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lance-h
1 week, 6 days ago
My Humuhumu has been a bomb proof daily driver in the worst weather Canada could throw at it. Style and grace.
Raijin also proved to be a top shelf bike build to last. Wonderful ride feel.
My honzo wasn’t bad either!
Dik Cox for president
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Adrian Bostock
1 week, 5 days ago
Cooper touched on this but to me what made (makes?) Kona cool was that they always had one super niche bike in the mix. The Ouroboros fits this mould and it’s been lacking from their lineup for a few years.
I have owned a half dozen or so Konas. a couple Coiler’s, a couple cross/gravel bikes, a couple Process’s including a 111 which is one of the best bikes I have ever owned. I found my GF a very used Unit some years ago when she wanted a lite adventure/commuting bike. That has turned into a Rove. I lusted over, but never owned a carbon Honzo.
keep mountain biking weird.
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Dave Smith
1 week, 5 days ago
There's not much left to say about the legacy that is written all over the sport by the people who nurtured that brand for years. I have some lifelong friends who have either worked directly for Kona or ridden for the odd cog over the years so my thoughts are with them and the lunacy they inspired in all of us.
This moment is still burned into my brain ~20 years later.
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Perry Schebel
1 week, 5 days ago
such an iconic moment in freehucking history. what's watson up to these days?
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Dave Smith
1 week, 5 days ago
Had a beverage with him a few weeks ago. He's consulting on various projects and generally just being a Cove dad.
We were talking about old man injuries and how he remarkably escaped the big crash days with only minor scrapes and bruises.
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Brad Sedola
1 week, 5 days ago
My first Kona was a Sex Too with Maguras. Quadra 21s. Was awesome for its time. Kilauea with color matched Marz bomber. Gorgeous bike. Kona King Kikapu. Stinky Deluxe.
At one point they sent me a letter saying they wouldn't warranty any more frames for me. Forced me to jump to Rocky Mountain.
They were an iconic brand, and its sad to hear they may dissappear.
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the prophet
1 week, 5 days ago
My Kona tale;
Back in the early 2000's I was splitting time between working at Sierra Nevada Brewery and one of the local bike shops that was a Kona dealer. The rep was there a week before Sea Otter and discussion turned to beer and I let it slip that I could get free kegs and would be going to Sea Otter next week.
We worked out a deal and I brought down two kegs, one Pale Ale and one Bigfoot, for the Kona booth. You mix them and it's called a "Pale Foot". Like a high octane Black & Tan that is around 8%.
Needless to say things got rowdy, the Kona folks were always down to party. Shit went down when the exhibition area closed to the public each day, stuff of legend.
RIP
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rusm
1 week, 5 days ago
Well I know what I'm drinking tonight!
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Dan
1 week, 3 days ago
Undoubtedly the fine folks at Sierra Nevada sponsored more than one Sea Otter event, but I hazily recall one year when “Ride to the Hills” was released and I was able to attend the screening. The Sierra was flowing freely, and I was a few pints deep and halfway through the showing of the movie when I realized I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Wade. My jaw dropped as my eyes darted between the Godfather on screen, and the somehow totally normal dude standing next to me.
I know I have a photo somewhere of me and my pals post-screening, taking a Sierra-infused whiz on the front tire of the orange Roach van…. Ah shenanigans…
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RNAYEL
1 week, 5 days ago
Only Kona I ever owned, served me well through 4 seasons of WBP and numerous Cypress laps before having kids. It was a smooth Operator
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Poz
1 week, 6 days ago
Those magazine ads are emblazoned in my memory. Had an bright green oxygen race for a while in the early 2000s and eventually pushed that bike into "freeride" as was the parlance of the day. That poor XC race bike took an absolute hammering (no pun intended) until I finally got myself on a Norco Fluid.
But yea, back then especially, it was such a cool brand. Always edgy and fun.
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Andy Eunson
1 week, 5 days ago
Wasn’t the Oxygen Race a Rocky Mountain?
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Poz
1 week, 5 days ago
lol I came here to fix that. That was reminiscing for my rocky. The kona was a munimula
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taprider
1 week, 3 days ago
Hammer was a Rocky too
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Shoreboy
1 week, 5 days ago
My first (or maybe second?) mtb ever was a '97 Kona Kilauea with a color matching Marzocchi Z2 fork. Loved that bike. It didn't take me long to upgrade the cranks to the original (5 bolt!) RaceFace turbine cranks and XTR V-brakes (my first purchase ever from JensonUSA). Been pimpin' out bikes ever since. Thanks Kona!
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Craig Lehr
1 week, 5 days ago
I finally registered my account in order to speak.
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Lu Kz
1 week, 6 days ago
I only have one example of a personal experience with Kona and it wasn't even my bike. My dad rode a yellow early 90s Kona kilauea when I was a kid. I was raised on bikes, just not with the concept of 'mountain biking', which I suppose would have been irregular for Ontario at the time. I think the yellow Kona was my dad's first "new" bike, and that's important because he's always been the perpetual thrift machine - he purchased his first new car last year at 71. Everyone else got used but well put together bikes (shout-out to Backpeddling in Guelph, still keeping it real 30 years later), so that just made the Kona extra special!
I grew up behind that yellow Kona. First it was directly behind a trail-a-bike. We'd ride down to the market weekly to pick up fresh groceries. He'd pull me out of standardized testing to go on mini bike trips for a few days at a time (when you're a small child, standardized testing has literally no impact on your grade). I was a lucky kid. Later, I'd follow it on my own set of wheels doing the same sort of thing as before. Eventually in my teens, it got stolen after my dad had left it locked up somewhere. I don't even remember him being that angry. Kids are often self-absorbed though, I'd be devastated.
I heavily coveted they very first short-lived 26" Kona Process when it came out. It was my "halo" bike for a time, which looking back is kind of funny now that I know $20,000 bikes exist from the likes of Specialized and Trek. I didn't have a ton of money then so the idea of a vaguely $3,500 bike was pretty wild.
I never managed to snag one for myself, but the brand left a lasting impact on me. Seemingly more than any of my all-time favourite personal bikes. I'll never forget that yellow Kona.
Anyway, I think I'm going to phone my dad. Cheers Cooper.
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JohnC
1 week, 6 days ago
Had an Explosif in the canti-brake days but my favourite Kona product were the original shorts with the stretch inserts in the crotch and along the butt below the waist. Were they the first with a gussetted crotch? Roach perhaps? They were awesome and my friend Stew had the long pants which I envied (both purchased from the Cove). Wore them way past their due date to the point where the stretch in the crotch was too far gone resulting in unexpected moments of the shorts getting hung up on the saddle when riding off the back...sad to retire them but they were great. I even think the Kona rubber logo was glo-in-the dark.
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TristanC
1 week, 6 days ago
What is going on in that booth picture? Am I having an aneurysm?
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katko
1 week, 6 days ago
some persons were deleted but not their shadows obviously :)
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Deniz Merdano
1 week, 6 days ago
It's my take on the current state of affairs at the company formerly known as Kona. Gone but here, here but is it??
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Mark
1 week, 5 days ago
Very apropos - well done.
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Velocipedestrian
1 week, 6 days ago
Kona was core because they leaned into the Grom Dollar market, so good.
[edit: matt blood red Scrap, with a 150mm Sherman]
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Bagheera
1 week, 6 days ago
Had various iterations of the Bear DEE-Lux/Dawg Dee-Lux frame, because I kept breaking them. GF's first bike was a Kula, which she raced in an XCM, next bike was a secondhand Stinky for "freeriding". Lots of my friends hat Stinkys and various DJ bikes. Kona was cooooool back in the days. LBS still has two ca. 2002 titanium King Kahuna frames hanging over the door. Good times.
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Alex Leich
1 week, 6 days ago
Still have my OG stinky hanging in the garage. I bought it off a rental fleet for $300. It was clapped but boy was it ever the cats pajamas.
Next was a Dawg Deluxe, featuring FSA wheels and Hayes strokers. Got the job done.
Their most interesting bikes in recent years have been their “alt bikes” and I think it says something about what a big brand can do when they take the blinders off. Shame to see them out- now onto the hunt for a used ESD
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Connor144campbell
1 week, 6 days ago
It’s definitely a shame, but for me kona stop around 2010 or so. The only modern kona I want to buy is the honzo ESD in purple.
I grew up watching all the NWD videos with clump team riders , John Cowan, Andreau and Luis Lacondeguy, Paul bassagotia, Fabian barrel, Tracy Mosely etc. my dad had a 2004 kona coiler deluxe he got in 2008, that was awesome, then he got a 2005 kona hoss for commuting to work sometimes and gave it to mum. I always thought Kona was the coolest brand because of this. Sadly my dad died when I was 9 and I didn’t mountain bike for a few years. I started mountain biking again in 2020, and I would ride the 05 kona hoss on trails which was great, I then wanted to keep the kona tradition going so bought myself an 04 stuff (white) frame, built up with marzocchi bomber mx comps, hope hubs etc, single speed, and I learnt to jump on that bike - then bought an 07 scrap and transferred the stuff onto it and that was great too, now all those parts are on my 00 roast. (By the way I never sell any bikes or frames) so I now have these frames: 04 stuff, 06 scrap, 07 scrap, 05 dawg deluxe.
Full bikes I have are: 2000 kona roast, 09 bass I just built, and the 05 kona hoss is still going strong with a mega gear range 22,36t chainrings, 11,46t cassette 10 speed
Now would like to find an ESD frame if I have spare cash at somepoint.
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Todd Hellinga
1 week, 5 days ago
RIP, I had a amazing green Lava Dome in 94/95 that was my first foray into a real deal mountain bike and it certainly fuelled a lifelong passion. Raced downhill for a season on it and then got a Kilaeua to replace it. Had the rasta Stinky-Deelux when I got back into racing 2000/2001, and an army green Stuff that I then used for years after moving to Whistler in 2002. Tested a Honzo for this fine site in 2016 too, hard to believe that's on the closer side to a decade ago now!
https://nsmb.com/articles/kona-honzo-cr/
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Sandy James Oates
1 week, 5 days ago
I got my first Kona Explosif in 1989 with P2 forks and Dr Dew brake lever extensions, then moved up to a Titanium Hei Hei. Raced XC in Winnipeg for Good Guys Cycle. We even got Joe Murray to come up and ride with us. I still have one of my Explosif frame with the splash paint job.
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mk.ultra
1 week, 5 days ago
That Ourobourus headbadge is sweet. Reminds me of Neverending Story. But yeah super weird to announce a new bike as the brand is dying.
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HMBA106
1 week, 5 days ago
It feels appropriate to pay homage. Kona had a solid 15-20 years there of being at the top of the game. The coolest riders, the raddest branding, the best bike names, innovative (if not always practical or reliable) bikes.
Circa 2009, I was a pre-teen who was becoming absolutely enthralled with mountain biking. Kona was the shit at that time. Two of my buddies had Stuff 2-4's which we all thought were sick. One kid in my town that we didn't know showed up at the dirt jumps on a fresh Kona Stinky, and we all judged jealously from our hardtail thrones as he struggled over the smallest tables. The local shop (s/o Freewheel Cycle, also since passed) distributed free Kona catalogs, and I spent dozens of hours poring over those pages - having done so in those neurodevelopmental years means that their images are still etched into my memory. Coilair, Dawg, Hei Hei, Hoss, Kahuna, Lisa, Minxy, Stinky, Stab, Shred, Stuff, Five-O, Jake's, Humu's, I could go on but those are highlights. I recall checking konaworld.com every day in the summer to see if next year's bikes had dropped onto the website yet. I never owned a Kona myself but I always wanted one to be sure.
After the Magic Link bikes flopped, the Process series crushed, being ahead of their time and fun to ride at a time when that still didn't seem to be an emphasis for most bike companies. Also s/o to the Entourage of that time, the Stinky successor released as a last-ditch effort to keep freeride alive.
I have to say that as much as corporate takeover will be blamed for this loss (and I don't disagree), we must acknowledge that mountain biking itself (and mountain bikers themselves) have changed over these last 10 years where Kona's cachet began to wane. DTC's have flourished in market where Kona's were routinely bagged for their poor spec value "me: but it's a Kona". The average mountain biker now probably doesn't want to be on a bike called the Dudu, Stinky, or Coiler, in this age of vague buzzword names like Torque, Slash, SBxxx and HD6 (RIP Mojo).
It's true that our market is over-saturated with similar options and brands pumping out near-identical products with different stickers on the downtubes, but it's sad to lose a brand that soared so high and has been here since the beginning.
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Lu Kz
1 week, 5 days ago
Re: the names of the past
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Mike Rock Smith
1 week, 5 days ago
I never actually owned a Kona bike, but definitely lusted over them in my early years of mountain biking. When I was about 14 or 15 (circa 1998 I think), I have a distinct memory of taking the bus from my high school (Moscrop Secondary, in Burnaby) all the way out to Cove Bikes on Gallant Dr, deep in the cove. That's quite the solo adventure for a 14 year old on public transit! It was all so that I can check out the Kona bikes in the bike shop, and scheme up my dreams of what I wanted to save my pennies for, and beg my parents about!
However, ultimately I ended up getting a used Rocky Element (the white frame with blue colorway) that had been slightly 'shore modified' by the previous owner. I then got to have Wade (who was wrenching at the Cove back then) install some fresh parts on it for me, including a Black Spire 'ring god'. I left that shop so fuckin' stoked, the vibe of that place definitely set the tone for my life in mountain biking. Despite not owning a Kona, it's still very much a brand that's part of that whole thing for me.
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Peter Leeds
1 week, 5 days ago
I remember this time very well. I had Wade lace me up a set of Mavic 521 Ceramic rims on Shimano XT hubs (the old style, think early 90's) and ran those wheels for years. He told me in a hushed voice he would "cut me a deal" as I was getting two wheels. I wonder how many others were told that at the time.....granted, they were selling Marzocchi forks for full price when they were getting them for OEM pricing and got into some hot water but that is another story......
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Peter Leeds
1 week, 5 days ago
I have lived and ridden the Shore a very long time. Long enough to remember the Cove back when it WAS in the Cove. Back when they sold Marin bikes and 90% (or more) of their world bike warranty claims came from the Cove. Kona was there too....and the shit. They were a bike to be had. And wanted. Hardtail, in either AL, steel or Ti, was a must. Until FS came along. And it HAD to have a Marzocchi Z1 up front.
But like all things, it got popular, had to keep up and couldn't. More importantly, and a lesson here: when non-bike people (think corporate types) take something over they have NO IDEA how it runs or works, you are doomed. I have seen this first hand. I suspect they never kept the good people around or asked ideas as to why it worked in the past. All they saw was an IP that could make money and went for it, thinking the legacy was enough. This is a point: too many bike companies right now are running on reputation rather than commitment. Guess where that gets you......
And Kona was something you saw ALL THE TIME on the Shore. I can't remember the last time I saw a Kona, anywhere (especially on Seymour, its home base). I am certainly sorry the brand is essentially dead, but not sorry as to why, since it is predictable. They will disappear. If you don't see them in any numbers on the Shore, you have no hope. And at one time, they were one of the big 3: Rocky, Norco or Kona.
Times change.
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Dogl0rd
1 week, 4 days ago
Interesting, I started MTB in South Dakota more recently in 2017. The shop only carried Rocky and Kona. I told the dealer I was thinking about getting a Stumpjumper. The owner was like oh no, and proceeded to tell me what a sick brand Kona was. Definitely fit my skate vibe more than big S did, so I bought a 153.
I noticed the shop doesn't sell Konas anymore, the owner must have been fed up with them...in light of his passion for Kona, that was the writing on the wall for me
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primodeelux
1 week, 5 days ago
I could see Cove selling 7 Stinky’s in one day……or the boys at Bow Cycles. I know Simon’s Cycles, where I use to work for 12yrs, sold 5 of those rasta Stinky’s one Saturday……they were all pre-sold……we couldn’t get enough of those rasta Stinkys……Dikkie was shuffling those bikes around to fulfill our order requests……hands down best rep and all-round great guy. #DikFawkinCox
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Sven Luebke
1 week, 5 days ago
Great article Cooper, thanks! Sad news indeed, I hope a new Kona can rise from the ashes.
My only Kona experience shows how local the brand was, and how tight the community still is.
I bought an orange Cowan DJ frame used at the Gearswap a long time ago, and tried installing my 135QR rear wheel after buying up all the other bits I needed (Including a dirt cheap nearly new brown Bomber from Wade).
My rear wheel simply didn’t fit - the frame dropouts were too narrow. I went to Cove and asked if DJ frames maybe had a 120 mm rear hub I needed to get.
“Lol, no. You bought “that kids” bike?! There’s your first mistake.” - Shaz (Names have been changed to protect minors and innocents)
I truly appreciate said kids honesty after knocking on his door and speaking to his father. I’m sure he’s reading this - sorry bud, it had to be returned.
I now follow said kid on IG, not sure if he knows it. Local shredder, aren’t we all?
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SixZeroSixOne
1 week, 4 days ago
Kona UK will continue to buy bikes direct from factory
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Dan
1 week, 3 days ago
What’s also really interesting from that post in Singletrack World is that UK dealers could have access to as-yet-unreleased bikes from the Kona catalog. cough cough G3 Processes cough cough.
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Andrew Hewitson
1 week, 6 days ago
I had a kona stuff that was bright gold. It went through many iterations. With Jr ts and double tracks for riding cbc, bomber z1s with slicks as a commuter, dj3 as a dirt jumper and lyriks as a xc bike. That bike rode everything. Then after probably 15 years of being beat around the shore a guy in San Diego paid me $75 plus shipping because he was so sentimental about that frame. I sent him 100 photos of all the damage because I was worried he would think I ripped him off because the bike was so well....loved. but he didn't care. He just loved that generation of stuff and that gold color so much. I'd like to believe that Stuff is on it 10th or 11th reiteration somewhere in California now.
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Owbugger
1 week, 5 days ago
I still have 4 Kona's. Sold 1.
-My dad's Kilauea from '94 which I inherited and turned into a single speed racer..
-A Hahanna from '95 I bought after my dad's bike got stolen! Fortunately about half a year later I passed it in the street and it was just standing there, unlocked. I took it home laughing out loud all the way back, in complete disbelief I found it.
-I bought my first Kona in 2012, a Kahuna Dl, rode it over it's limits. Had to rebuild it after almost half of it got stolen (long story, but I live in Antwerp, things get stolen a lot). Made a reversed mullet out of it (no kidding: kept the 29" in the back and put a Surly 27,5+ fork in the front with a 2.8 tyre, worked like crazy on the singletracks here in Flanders.
-Bought the still infamous Process 314Dl in 2016. This bike is something else. Everybody always talks about the 111, but the 134 still is my to go to Enduro bike. Okay, I bumped the fork to 160, and put in a different shock (CC DB Air), and okay, I slackened the HA by 2°, but now, when I see the Chromag fully for example, it almost has the same geo numbers.. It's SUCH a fun bike, I ride it till I break it.
-Last but not least, 4 years ago I was able to buy a brand new Kona Honzo ST from 2015. The black one. Gave it the same treatment as my Process (140mm front, -2° HA), and I ride EVERYTHING with it.
When I read the news I was really sad about it, but at the same time, I would never buy a Kona again from their line up from the last 5 or so years. They became a bit too bland. The progressive, quirky side kinda disappeared.. and they got expensive..
But still, it will be a big loss, such an iconic brand..but especially for the people who lover doing their job working at Kona.
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Lynx .
1 week, 5 days ago
Don't have any "great" stories, but I do have a 2018 Unit which I bought when my 2008 Monkey had more than earned itself a rest and the geo, even with the B+/29x3" setup and quite short Reach just wasn't doing it for the stuff I was gaining confidence to try on a full rigid. Bought frame only in early 2018 and just transferred all parts from the Monkey, which I then built up with older parts as my commuter. First ride I didn't like the B+/29x3 setup, felt too slack and too low, so decided to see if a 29x3" would fit in the back and it did with stays slammed all the way back. Rode it like that until last year when after over forking my Phantom to slacken the ESTA to run a straight dropper and coming to like the slacker geo, threw the 650B+ wheel back on the Unit to get a similar feeling. Love the bike, expect to keep it for at least 10 years riding if not 20 and yes, the 111, like the Phantom were some bikes ahead of their time - have to mention the Phantom as not sure which of the 2 came out first.
Here she is on the inaugural ride 650B 2.8" rear/29x3" front
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Mark
1 week, 5 days ago
I think the brand itself is too strong for the company to just disappear. Someone will keep them going. Maybe Smoke will take over and revive them?
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Sven Luebke
1 week ago
Smoke for president!
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ShawMac
1 week, 5 days ago
A used 2007 Kona Dawg brought me back into riding in about 2012. I thought I needed to replace the fork (Bomber XC) that was leaking around 2017 and ended up with this ridiculous but plush 180MM Bomber 66. I called it the DawgX.
I used to lust over the Stinky-D in my previous riding days of 2000-2004, so this beast was the next best thing I guess.
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mrbrett
1 week, 5 days ago
Worked at a Kona dealer in Ontario from 1996-2014 in at least some capacity. I must have sold thousands of those things. I’m going to miss them if this is all true …
Still looking for a mint creamsicle Stinky for my collection, like I had in the peak-Kona days.
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maxc
1 week, 4 days ago
Four of my favourite Konas. A rigid black Lava Dome with glow stickers and grips was the first mountain bike I had that rode properly. A Coiler Dee-lux again black with 5” Bombers, gold caps was my first full suspension bike and it rode trails like it was cheating. A green Process 153 with production geometry ahead of its time. And a yellow coke-can-thin scandium Kula Supreme that refused to die despite my best efforts.
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FlipSide
1 week, 5 days ago
The rasta Stinky Dee-Lux (was it 2000 or 2001) was my dream bike for a while. I never got one, but I eventually got on board: My wife rides a 2020 Process134 and I ride a 2022 Honzo ESD.
Seeing such an iconic brand at the verge of disappearing is very sad news. :(
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JT
1 week, 5 days ago
The '97 Chute frame I bought off a guy at Hayes opened ideas of what MTB could be, tickling and freeing up the BMXer I still was. It was a solid departure from my Bontrager Race and my attempt at being a somewhat Serious Cyclist. It rode like an overgrown BMX so saw a lot of time street and park riding in addition to playing bikes in the woods. Airing out of the vert wall at the park on Tioga DH 2.3s seems soooo silly now, but it was what I had, so I just run wut I brung. Ran it with a 130Z1 as was the norm at the time but also dabbled with the MrT off my Bullitt while the Progressive 5th Element was being repaired under warranty (again. And again), and that set up was silly fun. I longed to live in a place that I could justify owning a Stab as I was ogling their catalogs in Bike and MBA. The nature of their brand (go all out, have fun) appealed to me in a way no other non-BMX bike co's at the time did. We built jumps, drops, skinnies, and decidedly not IMBA approved fall line routes in backwoods bum trails and rust belt hills in former industrial areas. That bike saw it all and could be considered a catalyst to me giving a lot of shit about riding to this day.
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Kyle Dixon
1 week, 5 days ago
Wow, 12 yr old me circa '97 is pretty dang sad at that news, and current 38 yr old me agrees. And to drop the news on Bicycle Day? Sheesh... uncool vibes abound.
Growing up in Edmonton, reading all the magazines, following early Pinkbike, Kona and Rocky Mountain were my two dream brands that young me always thought were the absolute Pinnacle of Cool. Syinkys and Stabs, Slayers and Flatlines all danced in my dreams and hucked off ethereal drops amongst cedar giants all throughout my teenage years. Between trying to hunt up an 'ESD and Coopers Ouroboros article yesterday, it had kept that teenage lust slowly smoldering in the background as a "When I've got some extra cash" pipedream.
Its a tremendous bummer to hear another story of corporate greed killing off One of the OG Fun, Cool, Original and Funky as all hell brands on the scene.
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kekoa
1 week, 5 days ago
Being from Hawaii, I always loved the Hawaiian names in the early 1990’s. Had too much fun trying to get the AZ ship I hung out at how to correctly pronounce ‘humuhumnukunukuapua’a’ and would shake my head at the ‘haole’ road bike.
Later came home and worked at a shop that sold Kona’s and really enjoyed when they came to town. Thought Kona did some really cool stuff as a brand. Sad to see them go.
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Sven Luebke
1 week, 4 days ago
Kona intended to be put up for sale.
I’m not dead yet!
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kent-outdoors-announces-100-million-credit-facility-from-eclipse-business-capital-to-support-growth-strategy-302122413.html
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Dogl0rd
1 week, 4 days ago
Yeahh, but when you let everyone go and start from nothing it's kind of just a name. Like Crest toothpaste lol
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Dan
1 week, 3 days ago
Agreed. The soul of the company will be gone without any continuity in staffing. It really breaks my heart.
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Kerry Williams
1 week ago
In my younger days, when I first got into mtb (back when fully rigid bikes were the norm), Kona was a very desirable brand and like a lot of people, I lusted after them a lot. As I aged, other brands came in and out of my life and around my late 40's I finally got my first Kona. It was a 2017 Process 153 and was it ever awesome. The geo suited me very well and I took on features like I had never in my life. Of course, that meant a serious leg break due to overzealous attempts to keep up to the bike's capabilities, but hey, that's on me. Kona's brand image of fun over race results also really hit home for me too and I had some gear to show people the brand I aligned with. Even though the Process was the only Kona I've ever owned, it'll always be one of my favourite bikes I've owned over the years.
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Chris W
3 days, 10 hours ago
I missed the boat with the pre 2010 Konas, they were a rare brand in NZ.
The On-One 456 I had in the UK inspired the purchase of a Honzo in 2016, and I finally felt like I had found my soul-mate bike, after a string of GTs, Giants, and Specializeds.
Now I'm sitting at my home office desk, looking out the window at my Process 111, pining for the trails. It is still a great bike that I ride anywhere and everywhere.
In the shed are his 'n' hers Roves, and a pink Makena waiting for my kids 6th birthday.
I hope Kona lives on!
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