Concern for Kona as staff take down stand at Sea Otter

Breaking News

by Mark Alker April 18, 2024 80

The annual Sea Otter Classic race and expo is the traditional new season starter event. Based in California it attracts racers and some of the world’s biggest bike brands every April where they get the chance to show off their new bikes and bits in the real world for the first time.

We have Hannah out there at the moment and she has pointed us towards some unsettling developments with the Kona stand, which after setting up shop on Tuesday was seemingly disassembled on Wednesday with apparently no comment from staff as to why they were leaving the site.

The bike industry trade website BRAIN is reporting that the CEO of Kent Outdoors, owners of the Kona brand, told employees on Wednesday to break the stand down. They also report that employees have been told to expect a ‘town hall’ meeting on Thursday.

Speculation that the brand may be in some form of cost cutting mode is as yet unconfirmed but recently they have been moving to a direct to consumer sales model and have been offering two for the price of one deals on some bikes in their range.

Kent Outdoors bought the Kona brand from it’s founders 2 years go. The brand’s HQ was moved from Ohio to Utah following the buyout.

That’s all we can report for sure at the moment but we will update this news story as more information is available.

Kona, kona bikes

Related

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

More posts from Mark

Overview Chat Bike Members News Women

This topic has 80 replies, 67 voices, and was last updated 8 months ago by kuco.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 80 total)

Concern for Kona as staff take down stand at Sea Otter
neilupnorth
Full Member

😳

Posted 8 months ago

4

footflaps
Full Member

Very sad, been around from almost day 1 in the mid 80s.

Posted 8 months ago

chrismac
Full Member

Let’s hope it’s not the end of the brand.

Posted 8 months ago

somafunk
Full Member

Doesn’t Utah have some very suspect business practices?

Posted 8 months ago

4

northernmonkey73
Free Member

Sad times if they do cease trading. Fingers crossed for all the staff at Kona

Posted 8 months ago

kerley
Free Member

Sad. Still remember my early nineties Cinder Cone and even rode around northern France on it.

Posted 8 months ago

1

thegeneralist
Free Member

Hope they haven’t Kikedapu.

Posted 8 months ago

1

tonyd
Full Member

I still have an early 90s Cinder Cone and ride it almost every day! It’s my favourite bike.

Posted 8 months ago

4

Sea-Urchin
Full Member

Sold Kona for many years and still have all my favourite bikes and clothing..!

I’m wearing my flannel shirt as I type this.. Really hope they are OK and pull through this.

Posted 8 months ago

5lab
Free Member

I expect the brand will continue as its got a lot of depth to it. might not be the same folks running it though

Posted 8 months ago

2

Ben_H
Full Member

Holy cow – I’ve bought three (discounted!) Konas in the last 12 months. One of my favourite brands. 🙁

Posted 8 months ago

4

Northwind
Full Member

They’re one of the big brands that I’ve still got a lot of time for, they make a load of rock solid middle of the range bikes that are good value, and loads of interesting stuff too. Too many models, mind, and their ebike selection looks pretty dismal compared to others, that’s got to be a big deal in 2024. Hope they’re OK

Posted 8 months ago

53

sc-xc
Full Member

Doesn’t Utah have some very suspect business practices?

They’re not all saints.

Posted 8 months ago

2

kimbers
Full Member

As a huge Kona fanboy this saddens me

Might buy a Euromillions ticket and see if I can buy the brand

Posted 8 months ago

Daffy
Full Member

Everyone saying how sad, but when was the last time you considered buying a Kona and how many of you own one?

Posted 8 months ago

1

IHN
Full Member

they make a load of rock solid middle of the range bikes that are good value

Maybe this is the problem. Kona, back in the day, wasn’t ‘rock solid middle of the range’, it was something special.

Posted 8 months ago

woodster
Full Member

I’ve liked every Kona that I’ve ridden over the years. Hopefully they’re not gone, I’m sure the brand will survive if nothing else.

Perhaps they have lost their way a bit of late (see above), can’t say I see many recent ones around.

Posted 8 months ago

didnthurt
Full Member

I’ve owned three Kona bikes and loved them all, the last one I bought was a single speed Paddy Wagon for my 40th Birthday, sold it a couple of years later as I hardly used it.

It’d be a shame if they disappear but they’ve always been a bit of an odd one for me. A Canadian company whose name (and many of their bike names) based on Hawaiian names and places but made in the far east.

Their frames were quality but their specs were often a bit crap IME.

Posted 8 months ago

7

munrobiker
Free Member

Didn’t everyone feel this was inevitable? They’ve been charging insane money for their bikes for a while without really keeping them cutting edge and you never saw any out on the trails. The prices really were out of this world compared to other rivals in bike shops.

They used to be everywhere – new riders getting about on Cindercones, people loved the Process range and once upon a time Stinkys were the default bike for anyone doing anything vaguely gnarly that didn’t have much money. I can’t remember the last time I saw a new one though.

The takeover seemed to be an opportunity to grow but really they just stagnated.

Typing that, it sounded very similar to what people were typing on the Orange thread…

Posted 8 months ago

kimbers
Full Member

Everyone saying how sad, but when was the last time you considered buying a Kona and how many of you own one?

ive got 7 and I bought a Honzo DL last year (tho that was s/h) my last new new bike was a Kona process in 2019 😁

spec wise they’ve been over priced of late but usually their lower tier is much better vfm with a deore groupset.

Maybe this is the problem. Kona, back in the day, wasn’t ‘rock solid middle of the range’, it was something special.

i think the Honzo dl is something special, probably the most versatile bike ive owned

Posted 8 months ago

cakefacesmallblock
Full Member

We have two Konas in our current ‘fleet’.

My Unit is the simplest, yet favourite bike I’ve ever owned. Mrs CFSB has a Honzo DL ( horrible unwieldy thing in my view) which is her pride n joy. It will be a sad day if they go under.

Good luck, for the sake of all the staff and folk who rely on them to run their businesses in the uk.

Posted 8 months ago

AD
Full Member

Loved my Cinder Cone – it was (I think) a’96 in a gorgeous bronze colour.

Had a Paddy Wagon for commuting and I’ve still got an A-Ha frame hanging on the wall.

I hope there is an ‘innocent’ explanation for the stand disassembly 😟

Posted 8 months ago

funkmasterp
Full Member

Always liked the look of their bikes but a lot of them seemed way over priced for the spec.

Posted 8 months ago

thelooseone
Full Member

My first proper mtb was a Kona, a 95 Lava Dome. I’ve had 6 Konas over the years, currently own a 2019 Process. Will be a sad day if they go under, if I had to pick a favourite bicycle brand, it would be Kona.

Posted 8 months ago

1

Bruce
Full Member

We currently have four Konas and I have owned another 3. I hope the company survives.

For me the sadest thing would be for the name to end up being sold to and ending up on BSOs

Posted 8 months ago

Rubber_Buccaneer
Full Member

Everyone saying how sad, but when was the last time you considered buying a Kona and how many of you own one?

Me. Love mine. But I think they’ve been on the slide since they were sold unfortunately.

Posted 8 months ago

2

johnny63
Full Member

Doesn’t Utah have some very suspect business practices?
They’re not all saints.

deserves more credit ! 🙂

Posted 8 months ago

1

squirrelking
Free Member

Everyone saying how sad, but when was the last time you considered buying a Kona and how many of you own one?

Fancied a Unit or Big Roam ST, own a Dew which has done many miles and I’d recommend then to anyone (and often do).

Am I sad? Maybe. Am I surprised? Not in the slightest. Would be hilarious if it was sold and the original owners bought it back for less than they were paid for it though. Sadly I doubt that will be the case.

Posted 8 months ago

2

Kuco
Full Member

My first proper mountain bike was way back in 89 a Kona Cindercone. Really wanted an Explosif but that was out of my budget.

Posted 8 months ago

3

sotonkona
Free Member

This doesn’t sound good, they announced a new and slightly burly gravel bike a couple days ago! It would be a real shame for them to go under, they’re a brand I’ve loved since the 90’s, they carved their own path for a long time and didn’t really stick to convention. Sadly they stagnated for a while and made a few poor decisions. They’re deemed a big brand but they never had the volume and buying power of Trek, Spesh etc. so they just couldn’t compete at the prices they charged – in latter years spec never justified the price.

Anyway, I’m 11 Kona’s in and currently on the Process 134 29 Carbon, it’s covered 7000 miles in 2 years on everything from sessions at FOD to the whole SDW in a day to XC races, it’s an awesome bike, for me the one to do it all. I’ve been looking forward to what they make next, I hope they get through the other side and don’t forget the essence of their brand.

The UK team and particularly their shop in Chertsey are brilliant, hope whatever happens next these guys aren’t impacted

Posted 8 months ago

Daffy
Full Member

I’m just playing devil’s advocate. I own a Kona and have owned 3 in total, but if I were to look for a bike of almost any type these days, Kona would not be near the top of my list of first places and I’ve bought 5 bikes in the last 4 years. That’s a sad fact that’s possibly mirrored in many others.

Posted 8 months ago

vlad_the_invader
Full Member

I’m not sure whether I dodged a bullet or not, but a couple of months ago I was in the market for a Kona Unit X (it ticked all the boxes) but I never got to try one, as no one had my size and nobody at Kona could locate anything in XL or give me any sort of time-frame when they would have stock.

I hope they don’t go under but at least I don’t have to worry about any potential non-warranty

Posted 8 months ago

crab
Free Member

Very sad to hear. Hope they’re not muni mula-red as a company. (I’ll get my Hawaiian print coat)

Remember getting smoked by Fabian Barel on Le Pleney around 2004 when the stinky/stab was one of the best bikes.

Posted 8 months ago

3

politecameraaction
Free Member

“They’re not all saints.”

Don’t worry about Kona – I just know that something good is gonna happen.

Posted 8 months ago

1

robertajobb
Full Member

Another who started with a Conder Cone in the 90s – same as Kuco, the Explosiv was ther real object of desire, but too many sheckels by far for a poor engineer.

Posted 8 months ago

t0mislav
Full Member

I’ve loved three Konas and the old crew has been part of the sport for decades. But bigger companies and private equity kill bike brands. In 8 months the Kona name will grace Chinese catalog e-bikes. Reference Schwinn, GT, Mongoose, etc. Selling two-for-one FS bikes is not a sign of financial health.

Posted 8 months ago

1

matt_outandabout
Free Member

when was the last time you considered buying a Kona and how many of you own one?

I was saving for a Kona Sutra LtD when my Genesis came up locally at 1/3 the price second hand but unused. My head ruled heart.

I mean, just look at that paint job.

Posted 8 months ago

matt_outandabout
Free Member

And I also think that thier MtB’s were not great value since they were sold.

Posted 8 months ago

spooky_b329
Full Member

I’ve had a Lava Dome, Kula, Explosif, and my wife has had a Fire Mountain, Cinder Cone and a Caldera. The first one I bought would have been 1997 when I was 16 I think, last one 2005 (the Explosif…mad to think it’s 19 years old…and 19 years since I’ve bought from them).

I was pretty close to buying a Unit single speed but weirdly it came down to the good value Unit and the rather spendy Shand Bahookie. Ended up spotting a 2nd hand Shand so never got the Unit.

Generally I don’t like the way the bikes look anymore, they don’t seem to stand apart from all other brands.

Posted 8 months ago

breadcrumb
Full Member

I have an oldish Kula frame in the rafters and a 2014 Unit, that may get a set of drops whacked on it at some point.

I used to lust over them in the early nineties. Back when Marins were a bit more special too.

Posted 8 months ago

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 80 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Overview Chat Bike Members News Women