Ya, Marz definately got hit with the ugly stick. Definately following the white and odd colour trend again. Moving backwards to those DAMN ugly orange djers from back in the day.

That reminds me of those orange Hayes brakes that came on the Stinky a few years back. I've always wanted a pair of those.

I don't dislike all of them, but I wish Kona had stuck with the (now "old school," I guess) simple triangles that are part of their traditionally rock solid look. It works for other companies, but it's not a Kona look. Their top tube clearance is already very good...there's no need to drop the top tube down, and a bent tube isn't as strong as a straight one for the weight, and it's harder to make. The funny geometry around the shock mount on the Coiler (excuse me...CoilAir) is a little crazy.

Is there anything significantly different between the new Four and the old Kikapu other than a lamer name? (definitely not a Kona-ish name, and not quite a ripoff of Turner)

The Stab looks all deformed like it got ran over by a train. The ugly train.

The Stinky doesn't look so bad, although the filled in web on the rocker (carbon fiber, I assume) takes a little getting used to.

The Coiler's new suspension is interesting. I haven't got it entirely figured out yet. At first I thought it was yet another sneaky twist on VPP (a la Giant), but that's not actually right. The motion of the rear triangle is still like a 4-bar, but the shock mount is actually what moves. They've apparently figured out a way to continuously switch between the "linear" and "progressive" lower shock mount holes they currently have on their frames in response to different forces. Also, their Magic flash demo claims this also addresses some of the brake jack issues the 4-bar bikes are known for.

I'm from the K.I.S.S. school of thought, so I don't really like it, but I have to give them some props for rather clever engineering. I'd love to demo it and see how it works out in practice.

Anybody else notice the entire rear dropout is pinned to the chain stay instead of welded? Do people often damage more than just the derailleur hanger?

I'm kind of ok with the colors. They're distinct, but not quite as cool as the earthy colors everyone could recognize a Kona by in the past.

The 2005/6 colors are freaking awesome. I wasn't a keen on the sort of olive green on the Dawg Primo when I saw a picture of it, but as soon as I saw it in person I was in love.

My thoughts exactly.

What do you mean? Did someone say something about delays?

It takes to time to tool up for production of a new design. To save costs, prototype tooling is often only fit for making a few copies and requires a lot more focused attention than you can afford on a regular assembly line. Also, you've got to get any changes in your supply chain at least partially straightened out. There always has been and always will be some delay between demo and when bikes hit the dealers.

The names are funny. And you can give your bike its own name if you want

JTS and major Jake are Al with carbon forks. That means the frame is all aluminum, unlike last year, though I'm not convinced it's a bad thing. They might have slightly harsher rides, however it'll be more durable. Cross bikes take a lot of abuse.

Also, I know this isn't the xc forum, but it's also great that they appear to have bitten the bullet and put Tiagra shifters on the Jake instead of Sora. Sweet.

I like the bright colors. It's fun. But I'm odd that way.

I am curious as to their reasoning on the bent top tubes for the xc bikes. Easier dismounts? Not really relevant for xc, right?