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Bike Perfect

Lifestyle

Graham Cottingham

Kona announces its third-generation Process – the first range of bikes to be released since the brand was re-acquired by its original founders

Kona SRAM Maxxis WTB RockShox Fox FSA Shimano

Kona has announced the release of an updated new Process 153 and Process 134. These are the third generation of a line of trail mountain bikes that were originally released by Kona a decade ago. While it might not be a complete redesign, its great news to see the cogs of the Kona machine moving once again.

Earlier in the year the future of Kona Bicycles was a bit bleak. A BOGOF sale and then an unexplained exit from Sea Otter raised suspicion that the writing was on the wall for the legendary Canadian mountain bike brand. Kona Bicycles parent brand, Canadian sporting goods company Kent Outdoors, put Kona up for sale back in April and it was bought back by its original founders, Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron.

The third generation of Process still comes in 153mm and 134mm travel options (Image credit: Kona)

To the naked eye, the new Process 153 and Process 134 look much the same, however, Kona has made a load of tweaks to bring the Process platform up to date. The Process 153 and 134 are now compatible with both 29er and mullet wheel setups and feature a flip-chip to maintain the geometry when switching between rear wheel sizes.

Kona has made changes to the suspension kinematics on both the 153 and 134 so it works better for both air and coil shocks The geometry itself has also been tweaked, lengthening the reach (455mm on a medium) and slackening the headtube angle to 64.5 degrees. There are more sizes too with a new small size added, while the seat tubes have been made shorter giving more flexibility with sizing and offering a deeper seatpost insertion (175mm small and medium, 200mm on large and XL) for longer travel dropper posts.

Kona says the Process is built to be ridden hard, go big, and built to last (Image credit: Kona)

The updates don't stop there either. The frames now come equipped with a UDH hanger, more mounts for bottles and tools/accessories, and extra frame protection including a tailgate protector under the downtube in case you transport your bike using a pick-up truck.

The 134 and 153 Process will both be available in two carbon fiber (Process CR/DL, Process CR) and two aluminum (Process DL, Process) builds. Alloy frames feature external cable routing while the carbon frames have fully guided interal routing.

As things stand, pricing and release info is still unknown.

Our take

While the third-generation Process might be more of an evolution rather than a revolution, it's great to see a major overhaul from the much-loved brand. Under the new/old leadership, we hope this is a promising step to seeing Kona return to its former glories.

Tech specs: Kona Process

Kona Process 153 CR DL

Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
Frame: Kona DH Carbon 153mm Travel
Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate RC2 Charger 3 DebonAir+ w/ButterCups 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Trunnion
Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC, 200mm rotors
Gears: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
Wheels: WTB KOM Trail i30 TCS
Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
Seatpost: Rock Shox Reverb w/1x Remote Lever 31.6mm
Saddle: WTB Volt
Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 153 CR

Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
Frame: Kona DH Carbon 153mm Travel
Fork: Fox 36 Performance 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
Shock: Fox Float X Performance Elite Trunnion
Brakes: SRAM G2 R, 200mm rotors
Gears: SRAM GX Eagle
Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle
Wheels: WTB KOM Team i30 TCS
Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
Saddle: WTB Volt
Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 153 DL

Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
Frame: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 153mm Travel
Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select RC Charger DebonAir 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select Plus Trunnion
Brakes: SRAM G2 RS, 200mm/180mm rotors
Gears: SRAM GX Eagle
Crankset: SRAM NX Eagle
Wheels: WTB KOM Team i30 TCS
Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
Saddle: WTB Volt
Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 153

Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
Frame: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 153mm Travel
Fork: RockShox Yari RC Motion Control DebonAir 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select Plus Trunnion
Brakes: SRAM DB8, 200mm/180mm rotors
Gears: Microshift Advent X
Crankset: FSA Comet Heavy Duty
Wheels: WTB ST i30 TCS 2.0
Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO TR DUAL 29x2.5" WT
Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO TR DUAL 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal w/ Shimano Lever 31.6mm
Saddle: WTB Volt
Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 134 CR DL

Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
Frame: Kona DH Carbon 134mm Travel
Fork: RockShox Pike Ultimate RC2 Charger 3 DebonAir+ w/ButterCups 140mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Trunnion
Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC, 200mm rotors
Gears: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
Wheels: WTB KOM Trail i30 TCS
Front tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
Rear tire: Maxxis Dissector EXO TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
Seatpost: Rock Shox Reverb w/1x Remote Lever 31.6mm
Saddle: WTB Volt
Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
Stem: Kona XC/BC 35