Forum menu
If Kona made a newer version of the A they'd have my wife's kidney in no time.
Shit bikes for sure!
i miss my 04 Kona stinky dee lux to this day, it was one of the best do all bikes ive ever owned and a real pleasure to ride (yea up hill too)i still kick myself for selling it ... Kona are great bikes IMO
new uns look ok..
the spec on the bikes was typically not very good for the pricepoint
Have to say the new full-sussers certainly look pretty good (2+2, tanuki, abra). It's funny that the like of Cotic/On-One/Ragley seem to be occupying what used to be Kona heartland stuff.
All about perception really. My father dumped my old Kona a few years ago after a long spell of idleness in the garage. (92 Fire Mountain). Great little bike that made mountain biking really fun and could outpace so much more expensive kit just by virtue of the small frame/snappy handling. Think the only thing for it is to see what ebay/retrobike turns up.....
original kona- cool steel hardtails with racy dropped toptube, and a reputation for being well specced for the money.
late 90s kona, completely synonymous with the birth of "freeride", dig out an early Kranked etc and richy schley, andrew shandro etc are all on Stinkys.
later kona, spec went downhill and became less value, halfords picking them up lost the niche cognescenti image.
Still got my '94 Lava Dome and Mr MC only sold his '04 Coiler to buy his dream bike (which he owned and liked less than the Coiler...)
Konas used to seem somewhat exotic, in the era mentioned I would have been daydreaming about owning one while looking through magazines. Then i think the branding changed, the exotic was replaced by availability through mainstream channels. I remember seeing one a year or so ago with a black and White jaggy paintjob and naff red fonts on it. It looked like a toy. Regardless of how it handled or how well made it was it just looked cheap and more suited to littlewoods pay weekley than a serious bike. Comparing it's looks to simular priced bikes from other manufactures it looked out of place, as though Kona had forgotten some of what they knew. However past succses shows when Kona try hard at something they get it right, the new ranges look great by comparison and I hope Kona continue to sell well regardless of the channels they use.
I'm so set in my ways, that I don't like anything after 91, and you still can't beat the original 88/89 Explosif (£699.99 in 1989) & Cinder Cone 😉
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Coyote - nice video
here are my konas ile expect abuse as they are after 1997 :D[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Are there other people out there who don't like the pregnant downtube arrangement?
Was it a Giant DH bike that started that off? Rob Warner era?
I can see the need for shock clearance, but beyond that, why use more metal than necessary? Greater length of tube, and I'm sure it could be thinner gauge and be the same strength if if it was straighter?
Bikes look best good they're purposeful. Most bikes are, and the best looking ones are purposeful as hell. Those 90's steel xc hardtails for example.
Nice brace of Konas there Mr. Brightside!
I was born Into the Early 90s mb scene and Konas were the shizzle. I finally got my explosif 5 years ago and here it is.
[img] 
[/img]
I'm selling it at the moment. But half of me wants to find a quite corner for it in the loft - then build it back up for some classic single rack action.
But I also want a FS - I've got a long travel hardtail, an xc machine being built up at the moment and the Kona. Am I being greedy?
Don't know much about the new ones but the steel frames are as good as you can get.
Do not sell it.
Even if you've been made an offer you can't refuse, surely you'll regret selling that? Early Konas just scream singletrack fun, especially compared to the Muddy Foxes of the era. I wanted a splatter Cindercone more than anything, but never got one.
It's got Smoke and Darts on it! Don't sell it!
[b]ARRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I"M SOOO CONFUSED
[/b]
I want to keep it but - I also want a yeti asr5 [b] or [/b]a cotic hemlock [b]or[/b] pace 405
I've got a Klein Attitude race (building/updating to xc spec ) and a pace 305 at the moment (hardtail trail monster)
So do I sell the 305 frame and build the bits onto a FS or keep everything and have a angry wife - she's not buying the - [i][b] well you've got loads of bags and shoes analogy[/b] [/i]
Simple, change the wife.... Good explosif's are hard to come by, and that looks lovely
They made some decent bikes in the late 90's too - here is my 853 '98 explosif - I bought it in 1998, and I've ridden it every week since then. I've owned a lot of machinery in the interveening period, the explosif still seems to get used the most, becuase it is so much fun:
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
[img] 
[/img]
Nasty nasty paintjobs these days IMO, which is shame because that and the pricetag mask some pretty good bikes, which never get the recognition of much more niche machinery.
I had a 98 explosif as well - it was too small for me really, so the wife - used it once or twice. Then I sold it to get the one above.
So she's just told me to stop whining and sell it or keep it - just to shut up about it!
[b} Is that a win?[/b]
If I keep it the FS project will be delayed - but then I'm not riding much anyway as we bought a *project* so most of my spare time is spent on DIY.
Is it sane to have 3 mbs that you don't ride much?
I have a blue 98 explosif frame for sale if anyone is interested, 17"?
sell the Kona and the 305 and get the Yeti.
you'll miss them but its a worthwhile replacement
Over the years I've had;
Kona Muni-mula '99
Kona kahuna '03
Kona Stinky '05
Kona Coiler '07
Kona Smoke '08
Loved them all (apart from trying to do XC on the stinky!).
Used to buy them in the end of year sales but they don't seem to be as reduced now, currently running a Prophet as the frame was cheaper than any second hand Dawgs I could find. I would still like another one though.
The halfords thing is rubbish, pure bike snobery, I'm sure people buy maxxis / panaracer tyres, camelbacks, thule roof bars, wd40, Sony car stereos etc etc despite them being sold there... I would check all the bolts / qr's etc on any bike I bought there before using it though!
I quite like the current dawgs but they are way overpriced. they do have an undestrucable feel and you see a lot of guides using them which must mean they're reliable. i think a lot of it is fashion and marketing .
eyerideit dont sell the kona you will regret it and never replace it. In 5 years time there'll be another cool FSer you like and I bet the ASR will never mean the same to you (whether you buy it or not) as the Kona.
Remember the n+1 rule. Tell the wife to google/wiki it.
So can anyone enlighten me as to how a bike co. producing metal as cool as a '67 Alfa Spider Boat Tail turned into the Kia of the MTB world in 10 short years?
Wtf?
You ridden a new Kona or just looked at pictures online?
My 2007 Heihei is absolutely brilliant. Love it to bits.
Ignore the dozens of Stinkys you see being ridden by teenagers on uplift days. Much more to the brand than that.
I can see the need for shock clearance, but beyond that, why use more metal than necessary? Greater length of tube, and I'm sure it could be thinner gauge and be the same strength if if it was straighter?
You see, I agree with you nedrapier, I'm normally a fan of straight tubes, simplicity, purposefulness. Yet seeing that Kona, it instantly hit me as a strong awesome looking bike: it made me want it. It took me a while to work out why I liked it.
I've realised a big part of it is the raw, no stickers, no logos, plain metalness of it. If Kona (or any company, really) had the balls to keep their bikes like that, I think there's a whole load of people out there who would be really drawn to that, and it would give a company that image of rough and ready bike-tool-gear, if you know what I mean.
gnore the dozens of Stinkys you see being ridden by teenagers on uplift days
no dont my stinky is brilliant on uplift days!
I still miss my Stinky. What a ****wit I was for letting it go.
I had a 88 Cindercone great bike but the U brake was shit why didn't they put cantilevers on the rear, the U brake just collected mud.
Is it just that FS has moved on - either genuinely in terms of technology, or disingenuously in terms of hype - and Kona hasn't? Either they haven't updated their suspension platforms or they haven't shouted about them.
On the hardtail side, I had a 2001 Kona HeiHei for 4 years and loved it; it was my first "proper" bike after a couple of GTs and secondhand Rockhoppers. But nowadays it doesn't stand out so much - the skinny steel frames are kinda rare, and the geometry has been copied by everyone else.
Mr MC only sold his '04 Coiler to buy his dream bike (which he owned and liked less than the Coiler.
+1 for coilers. Love my '06.
Is it just that FS has moved on - either genuinely in terms of technology, or disingenuously in terms of hype - and Kona hasn't? Either they haven't updated their suspension platforms or they haven't shouted about them
Er - did the Magic Link pass you by then? The most innovative suspension design in years and years...
Is the Magic Link any good? What does it feel like to ride?
ADH - did I take that photo of you in the quantocks... that pink bike in the background looks familiar 😉
I loved Konas... my first full suss (manomano) bit after 98 and then a couple of retro ones and a Stinky that was brilliant at chicksands. Ridden and abused by many, refused to die.
[url= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/505705239_f6f03de056_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/505705239/ ]Kona Stinky - March 04 - May 05[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Not sure of the year...
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/3034896528_c385896f04_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/3034896528/ ]Kona Kilauea[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Probably shouldn't have sold it but...
[url= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/505704611_063bd34d80_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/505704611/ ]Kona Caldera - May 03 - July 05[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
Or that... 90% ace, 10% orrid forks.
[url= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/505674378_cddea572f9_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/505674378/ ]kona ManoMano June 00 - Sep 02[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
yellow pages mode* "That stem and bars..."
I do think the latest ones look great, but seem to have lost that special kona thing whatever it was.
For me, this has all the thing in the world. Looks fab 🙂
[img] 
[/img]
As for the magic link - I've heard good things, but not ridden one.
that does look good but at first I thought you were taking the piss and had posted a Trek
The cliché that always gets trotted out about konas dated suspension design is just ridiculous. If it worked, why change it? and the people that come out with it are usually the same people that cream themselves over a single pivot from halifax that has seen way less innovation.
Comments about vfm are also wide of the mark since no one seems to sell konas at rrp (brand new stinky deluxes for around £1700 etc). The only problem kona has had in the last few years was some ropey graphics
I have a 1989 Explosif that everytime i ride it has people asking what it is and where can they buy one.
Buy a time machine boys, this ones the real deal.
Really ****n uncomfortable deal actually.
always loved the old Kona's, had a few of them and they all rode and looked the nuts! I agree with the guy who said they lost it with the big square fronted alloy frames, should've stuck with the great looking steel ones.....and as for that prototype thing? that has to be THE ugliest thing i've seen since susan boyle!
mazdarati- My father dumped my old Kona a few years ago after a long spell of idleness in the garage. (92 Fire Mountain).
🙁
Granted my '92 fire mountain is now some considerable distance from anything like original spec, (only the frame and the seatpost remain) but it's still ridden more than anything else I own, and it will be the very last bike I ever get rid of.
It's done *everything*, raced, toured, commuted, been dragged around riding endurance events ... it's been variously geared and suspended in it's life, but now, as a rigid, singlespeed it's the most fun it's ever been.
[img] 
[/img]
(Most recently photographed about a week ago, and no, that's not my wall ...).
ADH - did I take that photo of you in the quantocks... that pink bike in the background looks familiar
Yes sir, you did indeed 🙂
And the one below IIRC.
I think the 2010 Kona buffer looks nice.
Yes, the Kona Buffer does look like a good deal, Kona seem to be making some ace bikes at the moment. Back to their old ways maybe?