Kona: do they suck?
 

OK, now that my wife has her new bike, it's time for my N+1 acquisition and I am pretty sure that I want a 29er. I wanted to take advantage of some other technologies that have emerged in the last 15 years like hydraulic disk breaks and foes that actually work! I had my mind made up on a Kona: a Mahuna or a Kahuna. I like to support "the little guy" and I like things like the Africa Bike Project and al that. Sadly, in researching the bikes I read rumors of catastrophic frame failures and poor customer service. This saddens me. Do any of you all ride or recommend Kona. Other brands that I am considering are GT and Redline. Open to other suggestions form "smaller" "off-road oriented" brands. First person who says Tr&$ or Spec*&!)#$% will be de-friended or something!

You'll always find such comments about any brand you do your research on. The horror stories always end up on the net, but the thousands of happy customers are never seen or heard. So unless you find thousands of bad reviews, I wouldn't pay too much attention to it.

Kona is a well-respected brand that you probably just don't see as much of over there because it's a 'West Coast' brand. They are based out of Ferndale, WA and tend to design and spec their bikes sturdy and capable for the type of terrain/riding that is in their 'home turf' - - big mountains, gnarly trails and a close proximity to BC. You tend to get a good bang-for-the-buck with the aftermarket- and house-brand components they spec on their bikes.

You should look in to specialized they make great bikes. :D

I've owned two Konas, GF also has two. Happy with them and they don't suck.

-250# simpleton on a Kona Honzo
-10 days riding lifts @ Trestle Bike Park. Handled all but the biggest drop or 2 w/ease.
-Other rides over the summer usually included as much chunk as possible
-Still going strong, so lubes is very pleased. I had been wanting a replacement for my old Instigator for about 6 yrs, but w/wagon wheels - the Honzo filled that desire & then some.
http://imageshack.us/a/img137/936/0610silvergulch37.jpg

I have 2011 Kona Unit, and happy with it.
Have been riding it all this summer. No need for suspension.
Simple and no mantenaince needed.
Rigid and single, steel frame is for real.

My wife has a late mid 90's Kona Cinder Cone, friends have had a couple. I recently N+1 a King Kahuna 29er scandium frame. No problems and the bikes have never failed us. Great bikes. The company has been around the block several times. Suck isn't even a word I'd put in the same neighborhood with Kona.

I've never ridden one but there's something a bit woofy about brands that name themselves after famous places/events that seems a little K-Mart (you'd say Walmart) to me.

Sort of like a road bike manufacturer calling themselves Alp d'uez...

We'll forgive your Aussieness for not having a clue about Konas. They are as far from an X-Mart-ish product as a bike can get.

The name actually comes from the owners' love of the Kailua-Kona area in Hawaii. Understandable since a good deal of the West Coast has a fascination with Hawaii. The brand was originally 'Cascade' - - after our mountain range that runs through Washington and is practically in Kona's backyard - - but trademark issues forced them to find a new name.

Nothing wrong with rim brakes - to a point.

I was riding a hybrid around some single track for a while but the lack of braking power was a major contributor to me buying a dedicated MTB.

So I lined the GF up along side my (beloved) 820. The GF has no sticker so i measured it out at 17in. the (actual)Trek was labeled as a 19. The bottom of the line Trek 820 was about the some size as the, supposedly two inch smaller Fisher AND, to my poorly trained naked eye, had a more aggressive geometry than the High-speed Gary Fisher bike. It also weighs about double the Fisher's weight.

I bought an '05 kona garbonzo stinky from the base of the trestle bike park in colorado. obviously a rented frame will be well ridden. I have now ridden the frame for about 5 years pretty roughly and It has held up very well. I am now searching for a new frame and front fork but only for the purpose of upgrading. I loved my kona and it held up amazingly. I would guess that I could continue riding the frame for many more years but similar to you I am hoping to upgrade my technology.

forgot to mention I owned a kona shred before my stinky. forget what year exactly but loved that bike also. bottom line, I have always been very happy with my kona products