Kona Remote 160 Review | An electric powered Process

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Andi has been riding the 2020 Kona Remote 160, find out what he thinks of this electric powered Process here in his review.

Kona is one of the oldest names in mountain biking, and it’s also one of the brands that has been pushing the progressive geometry envelope longest too. Forget about Mondraker and its Forward Geometry and think further back to the 90’s and you might remember reviews talking about how Kona’s geo was leading the pack.

kona remote 160 review
Not an e-Process.

More recently the Process became the first range of bikes offering slacker front-ends and longer reaches. Although an older name in the market, Kona likes to sit on the cutting-edge, so it was no surprise when the Canadian company started to release e-Bikes too.

Liking to be a little different, Kona’s first e-Bikes were touring/adventure models, but not long after came the Kona Remote Ctrl. An alloy bike with internal battery and 3rd Generation Bosch motor.

Building on what Kona learned about the Ctrl, while not replacing it, the designers at the company have come up with this, the 2020 Kona Remote 160. If the bike looks familiar then it might be because you read my first look, or saw the bike in coverage from Eurobike. No, it wasn’t there where you recognise it from? Perhaps it looks familiar because it looks exactly like a Process only with a Shimano motor attached?

kona remote 160 review
The nu-skool is powered.

The Remote 160 is a burly 160mm travel bike that uses its Shimano E8000 motor to help it get to the top of tricky trails, where you can then switch direction and enjoy the ride down. It’s the type of e-MTB that riders considering a Commencal Meta Power, or YT Decoy might consider, so how does it compare?

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Specifications

  • Frame // Kona Remote 160, 160mm travel.
  • Fork // RockShox Lyrik Select Charger RC DebonAir 160mm.
  • Shock // RockShox Super Deluxe Select.
  • Motor // Shimano STEPS E8000 70nm
  • Battery // Shimano 504Wh
  • Wheels // WTB KOM Trail i35 TCS 27.5in
  • Tyres // Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ TR DUAL 27.5×2.8in front, Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ TR DUAL 27.5×2.8 rear.
  • Chainset // Shimano Deore
  • Rear Mech // SRAM GX Eagle, 12-speed
  • Shifters // SRAM NX Eagle, 12-speed
  • Cassette // SRAM Eagle 12-speed
  • Brakes // SRAM Code R with 200mm front / 200mm rear rotor.
  • Stem // 35mm Kona stem
  • Handlebar // Kona
  • Seatpost // Trans-X dropper post Internal 31.6mm
  • Saddle // WTB Volt Pro
  • Sizes available // S/M/L/XL
  • Price: £5699