Not a deal breaker, but something I noticed. Another 2018 Editor’s Choice award winner, the Process 153 27.5 is an enduro machine that offers a lot of bang for your buck. And, the shorter fork, low stack, and steep seat tube gave it an ibex-like climbing prowess. Test editor Riley Missel is an experienced road racer, mountain biker, and a national champion on the track who has been at Bicycling since 2017. Visit this section to learn how to choose a route, and some insight into navigation. 2012 The Kona team announce their new range of bikes called Dirt 100. Namely, it checks off a lot of mandatory provisos that are required of a bike for such a task: speed, stability, comfort, versatility, and the “at home” feel that’s priceless for a bike that will be ridden day in and day out on a long tour. The Wozo comes with a Manitou Mastodon suspension fork with 100mm of travel. Kona was the first production company to feature a sloping top tube design on a mountain bike, which helped lengthen the cockpit and lower the center of gravity; “low and slack” has been Kona’s mantra from the beginning.
The two times I climbed it with the Unit I cleared both pitches. But it’s the Bosch 400w motor that makes this bike a commuter’s dream, giving you just the right amount of assist through the 9-speed drivetrain. It’s building an impressive line, and we love Dew-E, which made our list of best E-bikes in 2018. We may earn commission if you buy from a link.
Buy NowPrice: $5,999The right bike for: Riders who love to crush downhill trails. Bicycling participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Cruising on the Editor's Choice Award-winning Kona Wozo. If you’re looking to shred some dirt or cruise gravel, the Kona Mahuna is a smart investment to get out there, and has the flexibility for upgrades if your needs grow. Following modern trail bike trends, the 2020 Kona Unit X got a little longer and … All Mountain Electric Mountain Bike Reviews. The Best Trek Bikes You Can Buy Right Now, Kona’s Fantastic Rove Gravel Bike Costs Only $849, 120mm Rockshox Revelation RC DebonAir fork, SX and NX Eagle drivetrain blend offers good performance at a good price. Whether you ride dirt, gravel, or pavement, there’s a cool, hard-working, no-BS Kona for you. Speaking of suspension, the brand focuses more on reliable performance that complicated linkages (hint: it’s all about oversized bearings).
The 74.5-degree seat tube angle is steeper than some of the competition and puts the rider in a nice seated pedaling position right up above the cranks.
To be sure, 29 x 2.6” tires are usually a little heavier than 27.5+ tires (about 100 grams per pair, on average), but the rollover benefits of 29er tires is bar none.
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This clearly follows in the footsteps of Kona’s renowned Honzo lineup, and both are welcome changes to give the bike a more stable ride on downhills and what I find to be a more comfortable climbing posture as well.
On the trail, the Unit X felt very comfortable and stable. The 650b and 700c wheels have a good tire clearance that maximises the wheel tread that allows the rider to have plenty of support and stability while exploring their local surroundings.
I think you could easily get away with running a 120mm fork on it, but as intended, the frame’s 65mm bottom bracket drop gives it a nice in-the-bike feel and keeps it nimble in the corners, which I really liked. But under our legs, it offered a surprisingly lively ride quality that we wouldn’t have anticipated by looking at it. It comes equipped with a rear rack and room for a front rack and all kinds of options for extra cargo cages. At a retail price of $2,499, the Wozo is the most expensive model in our fat bike test selection. My biggest gripe is the fact that it didn’t have a dropper post.
It has a relatively comparable component specification to most of the other models in this review, but it comes with a suspension fork as opposed to a rigid front end.
The Wozo shines in ways the other bikes in this review can't, most notably its performance on steeper and rougher terrain. Carbon fibre is lightweight, strong and durable and is used on airplanes and spacecrafts. It’s a bike that can’t be pigeonholed and truly works well for a lot of different surfaces and scenarios.
From Cross-Country Rockets to Cheap Trail Rippers, Ridden and Reviewed: Specialized Epic Hardtail Pro, The 10 Best Kona Bikes You Can Buy Right Now, The Underground Revival Is a Throwback Hardtail.
Kona have designed a new carbon fibre bike collection called LIBRE. There's a lot to... the world's most carefully tested and objective gear reviews. Interested in purchasing a fat bike? The result was a bike you could pedal up a mountain, but just as easily huck off a giant wooden ladder bridge. Speaking of gravel, as the title suggests, there were multiple occasions when I was preparing to roll out on a gravel/doubletrack ride, and I grabbed the Kona Unit X over three drop-bar bikes that I had at my disposal. How we test gear. The US/Canadian outfit Kona’s origins lie in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s, but it also produces cyclo-cross bikes, classic steel bikes, tourers and road machines.
Barring a couple of caveats, the previous two paragraphs adequately summarize why I think the Unit X makes a great dirt-touring bike. With its roots in the Pacific Northwest, it's no surprise that Kona was at the forefront of the freeride movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Drive unit and battery are positioned…... KONA was formed in the mid-1980’s by two friends, Dan and Jake, in Kerrisdale, BC Canada.
GearLab is reader-supported. Even so, like the Sutra LTD, I felt like the Unit X was very well balanced.
Buy Now Price: $1,499The right bike for: Easily hauling a ton of gear. The bike has two positions—the longer increases chainstay length by 15mm and reach by 10mm—so you can fine-tune the machine to your needs. Because sometimes the fastest line in a race is also the most fun, this bike won't hold you back from hitting a drop, popping off a rock or taking the A-line of the creek gap. The Wozo is one of only two models we tested in this review that come with front suspension making it one of the most pleasant and capable to ride on anything rough. How can we improve GearLab? But I definitely don’t think it’s a heavy tubeset.
The Wozo is unique in this review because it isn't fully rigid like most of the other models we tested. As riding on the North Shore evolved, Kona evolved with it, building bikes for riders who were pushing the limits of mountain biking. Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences. The company also had notable success in cyclocross, with racers such as Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks spending time on the Kona team.
Most of all, rigidx steel bikes like the Kona Unit X epitomize how bikepacking rigs came to be, and Kona made a lot of excellent changes that represent how these bikes should continue to evolve. You can unsubscribe at any time. The stack height also got about 2cm taller, which (although still comparably short) falls in line with its dirt-touring prowess to give it a slightly more upright stance and make it more comfortable during long days in the saddle. View The Classics, The Bikepacking Journal is our printed collection of inspiring writing and beautiful photography.Find details here alongside a growing collection of web exclusive features... Have one to share? The narrower rim width plays well with the 3.8" wide Maxxis Minion FBF and FBR EXO casing tires and gives them a slightly narrower and rounder profile that provides this bike with a little more agility and versatility but decreases its floatation compared to bikes with wider rims and tires. Buy Now Read ReviewPrice: $4,699 The right bike for: XC racers who catch a little air. Even though it is one of the heaviest bikes in the test at 34 lbs 15 oz, the Wozo is a relatively good uphill performer, it is a hardtail, after all.
Takeaway: A capably versatile bike for an impressive price. It also comes with somewhat narrower, for a fat bike, 65mm wide rims and 3.8" wide tires that help to bump up the versatility factor. It offers a good mix of traction and floatation without taking as much of a penalty on sidewall support and weight that’s often evident in larger 29 x 2.8 or 3.0” rubber.
It also has clearance in both the front and back to accommodate wider tires if you're interested in making it a dedicated snow riding bike. It’s a little hefty on the scales, but for $1,400 it’s a pretty good deal.
It's hardly fair to compare it to the rest of the fully rigid models in this review since they are all significantly harsher and less forgiving than the Wozo on anything but the smoothest of terrain. Read on for a full review after several local overnighter trips, a lot of trail miles, and loads of…. This is the tool you need.
I’ve always been a fan of the Rangers and really liked the 2.6” versions. Wrapping the chainstay with an old innertube would solve this. Got feedback? The front end has a nice 780mm wide Kona handlebar and short 40mm stem with a beefy 35mm clamp and comfortable Kona lock-on grips. The top tube was lengthened by a hair and the wheelbase increased by about 2cm, as did the bike’s reach.
Takeaway: A capably versatile bike for an impressive price. Learn More, We have ~100 routes on our worldwide bikepacking routes map. It was quite nice, zingy even, and kind of reminded me of my old Moonlit Swamp Krampus. The surprises go on and on, but that’s all part of Kona’s charm. Despite its chunky 31-pound weight, it simply felt at home on these types of rides. And there are plenty of mounting options, including three bottle cage mounts on the triangle (two inside and one under the down tube), front and rear rack mounts, fender eyelets, and three-pack cargo cage mounts on each fork blade. Kona Dew Hybrid Bike user reviews : 4.2 out of 5 - 14 reviews. KONA prides itself on being rider owned, and each bike that they make and sell is ridden weekly by at least one of their employees. I put my 150mm Crank Brothers post on for the duration of the review period. Kona’s Race Light carbon frame and 1x12 speed SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain combine for a featherweight, responsive ride that’s complimented by 120mm travel in the front and 100mm in the rear. The bike is also significantly longer. You might say it’s hard to get excited about a cargo bike, but only if you’ve never ridden the Ute. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. The 68 degree head tube angle is still consistent with XC geometry, keeping the front wheel tucked in closer to the handlebar for more responsive handling. I was quite anxious to get this bike out on our local rowdy and rooty trails. Thanks to the suspension fork up front, it has the tallest front end of all the models we tested which helps to keep the rider in a less aggressive and more relaxed descending position.
The Wozo has the most modern geometry of the models in this review, especially for a hardtail fat bike.
Frame: Aluminum Fork: RockShox 30 Silver TK Solo Air 100mm Drivetrain: 10-speed Shimano Deore Brakes: Shimano Hydraulic (rotors: 180mm front, 160mm rear)Chainring: 28tCassette: 11-42tHeadset: FSA No.57BHandlebar: Kona XC/BC RiserStem: Kona XCSeatpost: Kona Thumb 31.6mmSeat clamp: Kona QRCrank arms: FSA Alpha Drive 1x Front hub: Formula 100x9mmRear hub: Shimano 135x10mm Rims: WTB ST i27 TCS 2.0Tires: WTB Trail Boss 29x2.25” Grips: Kona Key Grip Slip onSaddle: Kona XCSizes: S, M, L, XL. We’ll say it: This $999 bike is more than the sum of its parts. There were quite a few exciting changes made from the 2019 model to the 2020 Unit X.