Kona

Kona have continuously produced bikes since 1988 and are still run by the founding owners. If we had to pick one brand that truly prioritises frame and ride quality above all else it would be Kona. Their bikes are extremely capable across the range. This is evident in the Process range. Process 153 can take your riding to another level, it’s so good that Kona’s World Cup downhill team use the bike to train on, and even race on certain tracks. Similarly when we had the Kona Hei-Hei machine in on demo, everybody felt it descended like an enduro machine whilst still climbing like and XC bike.

Kona’s ride quality is mostly thanks to their geometry. Short stems for stiff and quick handling mated with lengthy top tubes create long front to centre numbers, for confidence and stability at speed. Short chain-stays, maintain manoeuvrability in technical situations, and a low bottom bracket allows for a low centre of gravity as wells as benefitting cornering, jump-ability and overall bike stiffness.