love or hate it, Kona Kila-Honzo update 04/04/24 shiny stuff added!

[BlackCat]

hmm . . . the E wings, i haven't really ridden the bike yet, i'm waiting till the weather is a little better so it'll be march i think before it's in regular rotation!

that said why the Ewings, the reason i went for them was posing . . . yes, i'm a little embarrassed about that but whatever, about 6 months ago i told the Kona rep (who i have known for about 20 years prior to him working in the trade) that i wanted to do this, he said that sounds really cool, well he went to the international sales meeting that happens once a year, this time at the european head office in Monaco, he mentioned it to the US Marketing manager what i was planning, from that point on he was pushing for pictures, it was at this point i realised it was gonna be a Dream build bike, up until that point it was just gonna be something cool for me . . . but with the pressure of a "dream build" it has to be dream spec, because i was gonna be using the Cane Creek fork i thought i'd have a Cane Creek theme, so fork/cranks/headset and BB, the other part theme is the Burgtec parts, bar/stem/pedals etc.

so that's the "why", but to be honest i haven't got an opinion on them yet, they are lovely to look at, and the quality is spot on, would i buy them instead of Sram, yes, absolutely, out of choice i wouldn't run any Sram componentry ever, i think it's a terrible product, promises a lot, and never delivers, terrible material, prone to failing, and wears out very quickly, but i don't want to get in to a sram V shimano boring converstaion, i hate the stuff it's that simple. if i wasn't gonna run E wings i'd choose xt or xtr cranks instead with out thinking of any other crankset out there.

Ha. A refreshingly honest answer!

 

[jonnyboy666]

refreshingly honest is how i roll! lol!

 

[d8mok]

I do like them but I destroy cranks on rocks in the peaks so I struggle to spend £1k.

I’m not a massive Sram fan to be honest but I’ve ended with 3 bikes now running it and I don’t mind it actually. My SB140 is AXS XX1 simply because that’s all I could buy at the time as I wanted XTR but no stock anywhere.

 

[coomber]

Really like it. Reminds me of about 10 years ago on here when every other thread was someone powder coating a kona white.

I'm not a massive fan ewings but not a ti fan.

You planning on putting much cover on the bike to protect it? Is it invisiframed?

 

[Ally]

Looks amazing man! Good idea to pursue. I can relate to your component selection as well - very apt.

Love it!

 

[jonnyboy666]

@coomber i like white, always have, it's always a really clean look, i do remember the white fad, to be fair when i think about it, my fat chance is white, my 2014 orange 5 was white, and my new 2021 orange 5 is white, i painted my proflex 856 white, so obvs i like white! although i have various other bikes in other colours than white!

@Ally cheers! i'm very happy with the outcome!

 

[madjh]

Very good job, this is what Kona should bring us. They should do a lineup with a steel light frame with modern geometry in 27.5 and 29" and retro decals. Similar like nintendo has done with the game watch hand helds, they are the most sold console, so there is little risk. Kona, give us the new HT Explosif, and frame only better. A reynolds 853 o even a Tange superlight, retro decals and ... one for me in 27.5 pease in green or that orange or better in white ... with a P2 and stem in grey

Modern geo, the head angle about 67.5º-68º for XC pourposes.

 

[coomber]

Madjh apart from the quality tubing, aren't you describing the kona unit

 

[Stressed]

Nice

 

[madjh]

Madjh apart from the quality tubing, aren't you describing the kona unit

Not exactly. The unit is Ok. But:

1- Reynols 520 as you have said not my choice for a top built.
2- Paint works and stickers. Old school lineup.
3- details like the dropouts, cable routing, head tube etc
4- Geometry, the head angle is OK but the other measures ... no exactly for XC at least on paper (I know Geometry of 26 and 27.5 so I can be wrong in this point). I should ride one before say ... Yes or No.
5- 27.5 please at least one 27.5 nice HT frame ... I don´t like 29ers
6- Naming ... Unit. Or Process, process what? Hei hei Kona, what hapened to you. For the unit I would prefer Acatlan, or Aoba, Borale Ale etc check the cool names of volcanos. Don´t use Boring Lava (Oregon ) But for XC racing ... Hawaian volcanos and names old school: Kilauea etc
7- no plus or fat tire.
But that is only my opinion of what I would like to purchase if I buy a Kona, something that bring me back to the 90s like the Kona "Kila Honzo" with that fantastic finish.

I have tryed to get a nice frame for many years from 95-96 but I haven´t manage to find one of my size in VGC. I still like a lot Kona.

This built sticker color etc is quite nice and bring back memories fron gold kona era.