Kona Previews New Process X Alloy & Carbon 153
It's been a few years since we've seen Kona release a new bike – the Process X and the aluminum Process 153 were both pre-pandemic addition's to the brand's lineup, and things have been pretty quiet since then as far as new products go. On the business side, the sale of the company in January 2022 to Kent Outdoors shook things up, and the most recent disruption was a round of internal layoffs, the closing of the Kona Bike Shop in Bellingham, Washington, and a push for an increased focus on online sales.
All of those hurdles aside, there are two new bikes on the way – an aluminum Process X and a carbon Process 153. The Process X will share the same long and slack gravity-oriented geometry as the carbon model (a large has a 490mm reach and a 63.5-degree head angle), but with 440mm chainstays and a universal derailleur hanger instead of the 435 or 450mm chainstay length options found on the carbon version. No word on the rear travel amount, but I'd imagine it's in the neighborhood of 160mm.
The bike is mixed wheel compatible thanks to a flip chip on the seatstays. The DH version comes stock in the mixed wheeled configuration with a dual crown fork, and the single crown version rolls on dual 29” wheels.
That's one beefy looking seattube.
If this is the final spec, props to Kona for pairing a Shimano XT shifter with an SLX derailleur and a Deore cassette - that's a recipe for an effective and long-lasting drivetrain.
Flip chips on the seatstays preserve the geometry when switching rear wheel sizes.
The upcoming carbon Process 153.
The carbon 153 is said to share similar geometry to its aluminum counterpart, which has a 64.5-degree head angle, 435mm chainstays, and a reach of 480mm for a size large. The carbon version gains mixed-wheel compatibility via flip chips on the seatstays. It also has internal cable routing (the aluminum version is fully external, much to Henry Quinney's dismay), additional mounting bolts under the top tube for storing a tool or tube, and plenty of down tube protection.
The Process X alloy is slated to be released late this summer, although there's no word yet on pricing for either model, and the carbon Process 153's availability still hasn't been finalized.
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The value really hasn't been great lately. I was helping a friend shop for a new bike, and the Process 134 I found for 40% off, still wasn't as compelling as some other bikes at much lower percentages off (15-25%), plus some weird component specs.
Honestly the best thing about the announcement of the alloy Process X, is its dual crown compatibility, and potential for a great deal on a frame only in a year or two.
Although I am bummed about the loss of the chainstay length flipchip. I'm a fan of long stays, but I know not everyone else is, and I liked how the Process X actually had meaningfully different lengths. 440mm isn't too bad as a one length option, but the loss of the adjustment is the worst part imo.
This guy gets it
Love that
I'm bloody fed up with messing around with internal routing whenever I'm spannering.
Anti rise, at least on low pivot bikes, has very little effect on actual preformance.
Sincerely,
Former Kona Employee
RIP
@scurvy and SC laid off the founder, that usually never goes all that well. See again, Titus.
But beyond that, a casual observer could see the hits and misses. Like those horrible brakes they put on the new process or the weird paint jobs on some models.
The Honzo and Process lines were always good, but Kona really struggles to justify their boutique pricing.
Also, there is no "getting that money" with Walmart. They are bottom trawlers and the margins are a race to zero. When you grow up to be a big boy you'll appreciate what it's like to actually know what you're talking about and be able to back it up vs flapping your mouth.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=L4WrEwlr9iw
I’ve ridden a 153 V2.1, which I liked quite a bit, and both a Patrol and Scout in the version just previous to now, which were bland at best and uninspired and pretty un-fun at worst.
I know they’ve updated the kinematics on the new Transitions, but the old ones were so far from ideal for me it would take a lot to come back.
I am however planning on how to fund the new Process X. So we are out here.
that picture of the carbon 153 is just dire
a lot of the info: models, prices, spec list (and better pictures) are already online elsewhere
theres a few other new models coming too
RRP are still high - similar to Transition
these bikes will have been designed, developed, factory sourced before Kent Outdoors buyout
if the quality of this press release is anything to go by theres a worrying future for Kona
the Kent outdoors buyout & layoffs don't fill me with hope
i have a Honzo DL which is an unbelievably good bike (bought frame added z2s/slx build)
the full lineup has been out on the web for a while if u know where to look
current process bikes are very good but poor vfm at retail price
both carbon 153 & X have flip chips and frame storage mounts under the top tube as well as bottle mounts and you can see from the internal ports theyre not headset routed -that all sounds great to me
"Kona sold out (to PE/Kent)". vs many other bike companies up and down the supply chain having cash flow issues and some declaring bankruptcy. The reasons for the Kona sale aren't public, but having deep pockets to ride out the mess the industry is in should mean Kona lives on well to fight another day. The direct to consumer thing is not something I think wise, but the industry (and all of your purchasing trends) tell them that is the way to go. If you want Kona and other bike Co's to sell at LBS's - BUY YOUR BIKES AT LBS's.
"Kona bikes are too expensive" vs "they laid off staff - that's bad!". Reducing their costs should help lower prices. If their cost structure was delivering poor value, there's only one way to fix that. Kona staff are generally super rad, but business is business. Almost all other bike Co's have laid of staff too - including SC severing a pile of heads near the start of the pandemic/bike boom. Sales at all time high?! Time to profit!! (says Pon's CEO & BoD)
"single pivot is lame ; frame design looks old". That is definitely the criteria one should use to buy a bike. How it looks and how trendy the sus design is. Go get your high pivot trend bike and we'll see you in a few years with the various VPP's and 12 bar designs that were trendy 10 years ago. There's no magic sus design. There is fairly consistent geo now and most companies are falling in line with tweaks for certain types of riding.
Long time Kona fan here. But I stopped riding one for the dead decade(ish) from 2012 to 2020 or so. They were producing bikes that were meh to ride and didn't offer good value. My last one was a 2011 Coilair supreme with the Magic Link. Super interesting...but a gong show to maintain.
Today however - my main whip is a G2 P134. Single pivot, poor part spec vs value/price AND the most fun bike I've ever ridden. And I've gone through a bunch in the interim to compare against including a Giant Trance that delivered amazing value...and a boring ride. And the Kona is bomb proof - just did the frame bearings after two years and the bearings were shot, but the design is so burly and solid that the frame is good to go like new again. Ask a Santa Cruz owner if new bearings fixes their forever creaking frame...not to pick on SC, but if you want to talk about poor value...
Trust me - Kona has it dialed at the moment. My fear is they don't lean in to what the are doing right and stay the course to try and go for volume. They've never sold millions of bikes and I hope they never try to.
They are far from dialed in. One look at their layoffs, delays, website and overall product line is all it takes to see they are on the way out the door.
Too little too late Kona.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/25171725
Have an old process 111.....still ride it from time - to - time. Ship has sailed Kona.
However, will I buy another Kona ? Personally I like the look of the alu Process X and I know I’d love it, but I know the VFM hasn’t been good for years in comparison to direct to customer sales models. It’s not nice that folks lost their jobs but if a company is going to stay competitive sometimes change is necessary.
That’s a bout it .
The bike I bought to replace it has a lower parts spec of the same line of components and yet works better with little effort to set up
Let's take a VPP design for example. Both Santa Cruz and Intense have used this design since the early 2000's. I would be hard pressed to take a bike from either manufacturer for the exact same purpose, and say they behave the same.
The same goes for horst link. Specialized is a prime example of this. Take the current demo and compare it to the last gen. Tell me they feel the same.
Kona really is the worst example of using a general design concept and assuming because that's what they use, they are no good.
At the same time the Process 153 is a trail bike, it likely runs on an air shock. Air shocks are not synonymous with sensitivity. They are knows for adjustment and progresivity. I will add in the fact that there's not a single air shock available today that will mimic the performance of a coil. Some will come close when new, but after a few months of riding, they just don't perform the way they did when new... Even with a fresh rebuilt.
Here's the reality, every category of design can be great, if it's designed to be great.... At the same time, every category of design can be dogshit.
This is why the numbers matter. This is why some frames will work with coil and some won't. They might look the same, but they are not.
I will be honest, I wouldn't jump to a single pivot over other designs, but I know there are many that are truly amazing.
Just as a VPP, horst, split pivot, etc.
Some are good, some... not so much.
On technical climbing, I never miss the process. While the rear on the Lithium is also much more predictable and composed descending, there was a certain thrill to keeping that Process on the trail. Constantly picking what input to give when, and trying to use all the crazy quirks of the bike to the best of my advantage. Even though I was going marginally slower, and working way harder, there's a fun factor to feeling like you're really holding that bike on the trail through sheer will.
Likely the rear shock was set up too progressive and lacked the proper mid stroke support. This is a common setup error made to keep the initial stroke plush but giving bottom out resistance.
Try removing a volume spacer in the air shock and increase the pressure until you have desired sag.
On that note, all single pivots will generally have this charictaristic, but can actually help keep the chassis balanced under braking forces.
I do think ease/forgiveness of set up is something to think about when purchasing, and CBF is a lot more forgiving. Accidentally ran the Lithium at 45% sag on an early ride, and it was still alright. Well, until I did my first drop...