Kona Process in Ashland

Kona rolled through Ashland yesterday with a few bikes from their 2013 fleet and we hosted a mini demo night ride. All the bikes were spoken for so I had to ride my own. Which I had figured was going to happen.

A Hei Hei, 2 Process’s and a Satori were available for demo …

I have been excited about the Process for sometime now. It seems to fit my personality, get to the top of the mountain any which way, then point down to let the good times roll. I was anxious to try one. I want to say thanks to Jimmy from Kona for letting me take one out today after the demo. I woke up early to sneak in a ride before he had to head back north with the bikes.

Snow had fallen over night and left me a little bummed in the morning. I was hoping to be able to get a solid  ride on the Process. Oh well, I headed up the mountain and went for it anyways. Having the two chain rings up front on this bike was nice. It’s not meant to be a race bike up the mountain, you’ll have to work for it a little bit.

 Unfortunately the trails were mostly covered in snow and I didn’t get near the time I was wanting on the bike. With that said it was still a blast on the way down, worth every pedal stroke it took to reach the top. The Process has no gimmicks or ridiculous bells and whistles, rather parts that work well and from the looks of it can take a beating. I look forward to hopefully getting some more time on one in the near future.

Headed back to the shop to drop off the Process, would have loved another day with it!

Kona King Kahuna

Here we are again, we just sold another frame that is going to be built up through the shop.(Just want to let everyone know we do sell complete bikes. However costume builds are great fun.)

The King Kahuna, what a gorgeous looking bike. Some of you might recognize it as the bike that Cory Wallace piloted to win the solo category of the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo. This is Kona’s premiere carbon hard tail 29er. I suspect this bike is going to build up light.

The rear end is updated and has the 142×12 axle. The bike has a tapered head tube and short chain stays which should make it easy to maneuver. This build is going to be sweet, the owner has purchased the Rock Shox Sid front fork and carbon wheels have been mentioned.

Over the next few weeks parts will be headed our way so again stay tuned and following the build we will post a ride review for everyone to read. Over the next month we will have 3 Kona builds complete with ride reviews so if your in the market check back.

Kona Explosif 27.5 Just In !!!

Ahhh dang it’s almost that time. Spring is in finally in sight, we are getting more and more sun light. Soon we will be shredding everyday all day until we can’t ride anymore because we are just to tired. This is the time of the year when customers start ordering their bikes for the 2013 ride season. We have already had a few frames come through and are anxiously awaiting their builds. Just a few days ago we got another.

The Kona Explosif Steel Hard-tail frame which happens to be a 27.5 wheel size. What a cool bike, just looking at the stats and seeing the bike in person you can tell this is a great bike for Mt.Ashland. Whether your a beginner and want to get some cardio from climbing and enjoy the  decent or your a shredder of the knar and want to clean up your fundamentals on the decent. This bike is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with this geometry …

NiteRider Lumina 650 just arrived …

 If you don’t have a light or just need one for your helmet these little guys will do the trick. With 650 lumens and self contained at $140 this light really is a bargain. We have several available just in time for our Wednesday night ride. http://www.niterider.com/lumina-650-2013/

One user’s review …

Strengths:    No cord! This is the first cordless light I’ve used that is bright enough for night MTB rides. I am using it as a helmet light, and it is just soooo much easier when you don’t have to route a cord to a battery in your jersey or hydration pack. The USB charging is awesome also. I can charge the light from my computer at work before riding at night. Light output is outstanding. The included helmet mount is working like a champ so far.

Weaknesses:    Light can be difficult to turn off sometimes.

Bottom Line:   

The Kona Process DL First Ride …

Review from bikeradar.com

Kona’s designer Chris Mandell knew it was time to hit hard with a newly designed frame and fresh approach towards pinning the downhill and cruising the climbs, especially with the current boom in gravity enduro riding. After his impressive work on the Kona Operator, we couldn’t wait to get our grubby mitts on the Process.

Ride & handling: Fast and stable downhill machine

The Process climbed extremely well for a bike that feels so capable on the downs, with minimal shock movement even with it was left fully open. The top tube length offers enough room to remain comfy when getting the power down, but the slack head angle and high front end can make it tricky to keep the front wheel on the ground when the ups get steep – this is when the DPA adjustment on the fork comes into play, although we tended not to use it that much.

The downhills are where the Process really comes into its own, though. The slack head angle and long front centre make for an extremely stable ride – we felt much more in control in a given situation on the Process than on many other similar bikes.

The cockpit has enough room to move around in comfortably, with the Process performing best with a slightly front-end-heavy, aggressive riding stance. The rear end of the Process is massively confidence inspiring – it feels as though it’s packing more travel than its 150mm (5.9in).

Even in the most unforgiving, hard-hitting terrain, the Process stays stable and predictable, with a serious amount of traction even in chattery flat turns and rocky chutes. Carving turns is a massive amount of fun too, with predictable sliding and no funny business from the suspension. We’re yet to find the limit of this one.

Frame & equipment: DH geometry with a super spec

Built from Kona’s 6069 Race Light butted aluminium, the Process puts out 150mm (5.9in) of rear travel through Kona’s distinctive Walking Beam four-bar Linkage system. The measurements certainly hint that the Process is built for serious high-speed shredding.

Our 18in (medium) test bike sports a 1,170mm wheelbase, 66-degree head angle and 345mm bottom bracket height – long, slack and low. Other notable features include a PF92 press-fit bottom bracket, ISCG 05 tabs, tapered head tube, 12x142mm rear end, and routing for a dropper post.

Our top-end test bike has a spec that hits the spot. RockShox bring the suspension, with the Monarch Plus shock and Lyrik DPA fork featuring the RC2 DH damper. Gearing all comes courtesy of SRAM’s X0, as do the brakes, though these are the new Trail version.

A Stan’s wheelset keeps the weight down and adds tubeless compatibility, and it’s wrapped in Maxxis High Roller 2 tyres, which happen to be some of our favourite rubber. The RockShox Reverb Stealth seatpost tops it off for us – it offers neat routing and no hose to get in the way.

This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.

Just arrived, come check it out. Should turn out to be a sweet build. Stay tuned.

We are excited to personally see how this bike handles. From its looks we’re guessing the Process will be a great bike for Mt. Ashland, more than capable.