Plus-Size Shredding In Ireland

If you’re in need of some mid-week riding inspiration, consider this an early Christmas present from Kona Bikes. Centred around a young Irish enduro racer called Leah Maunsell, this is great little video that showcases some of the beautiful riding landscape around Maunsell’s home in Cork, Ireland.

At just 17 years of age, Maunsell is a rising star in the enduro racing ranks, with two wins to her name in the Enduro World Series U21 class. Prior to her enduro racing debut, the young Irish mountain biker was already a thoroughly accomplished racer, having won no less than 4 XC National Champ titles. Needless to say, Maunsell is a rider to watch for the future.

In the offseason, Kona teamed up with Maunsell to put together a video of her shredding on her home trails, using the opportunity to show off the new Big Honzo 27.5+ bike. Check out some of the images and words from Kona below, and get yourself fired up for the weekend!

If this is what Cork is like all the time, we’re moving to Ireland!

The Kona Honzo was built for rugged terrain, and the Big Honzo is a natural extension of that initial purpose: all the fun of the Honzo’s snappy handling and progressive geometry, with the traction, control, and confidence of high volume 27.5+ rubber. In creating a video around this bike, we wanted to find a location that was suited to its character. We hooked up with rising enduro star Leah Maunsell and headed for her home county of Cork, Ireland.

Plus-sized good times on the moors.

The Sheep’s Head peninsula is a rugged sliver of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean on Ireland’s southernmost tip. Big views and big skies set the tone as the landscape undulates, offering up some of Ireland’s finest coastal views. The trails here run along the spine of the peninsula on a mix of upland and rocky outcroppings, setting the perfect stage for Leah’s outing on the Big Honzo.

Maunsell on her way to the beach.

Evolution

From a design perspective, the Big Honzo retains the successful DNA found throughout our Honzo line, with subtle adaptations that make it more than just a 29er with room for wider tires. A new yoke at the bottom bracket junction maintains the Honzo’s tight 415mm rear end, while the bottom bracket drop has been adjusted to optimize Honzo-like ride qualities around 27.5×2.8” tires. We call it an evolution of the bike everyone else is already chasing.

At just 17 years of age, Maunsell is showing incredible promise in the Enduro World Series.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for the Honzo. The original steel prototype was the first Kona prototype I ever had the opportunity to ride. I came back with the bike and told my co-workers something to the effect of “well, that just ruined every other hardtail for me”. It’s been a long road of evolution and expansion for the Honzo line and I’m grateful to be a part of it. The Big Honzo embodies all the traits that “ruined” other hardtails for me and I can’t say enough positive things about the bike.”– Ian Schmitt, Kona Product Team