[Iggz]

Just scoped this on Sicklines

Kona has been busy creating a new downhill bike. Their previous offerings like the Stab clearly had some influence over this new design. It's nice to see Kona trying new things for 2011.

* 83mm bb shell
* ISCG-05 tabs
* 150mm rear end - includes an alloy axle
* 9.5 x 3″ shock
* 200mm of travel

" This bike represents a whole new platform for us, and there are a lot of neat little details to discuss. The bike is a 4-bar. Tried and true, refined, rather than a "regurgitation with facelift" like many of the "new" designs currently hitting the market."

"The main pivot and rocker pivot use the same bearing, an 6903-2RS1 with 17mm inner diameter, 40mm outer diameter and a width of 12mm. The chain stay to seat stay and seat stay to rocker pivots use 66200-2RS1 which has a 10mm inner diameter, 30mm outer and 9mm width. You'll notice that the pivot bolts for chain stay and rocker pivots are in double shear."

1.5 Zero Stack tapered headtube- "The 1-1/8 upper and 1.5 lower bearings are both angular contact bearings. Should it ever come time to replace them it is as simple as removing the fork and catching the bearing as falls from the frame."

 

[62kona]

Wow, looks sic! Its nice to see them do something a little different. I like smooth swoopy look of this one.

 

[eleven-yo]

Isn't that saying the same thing but with a little "marketing twist"?

not to mention the fact that the commonly used term for this suspension design is "faux bar" as it is a single pivot with a linkage to drive the shock....

 

[csermonet]

looks like the new faith front triangle with the stab rear. anyways, looks great. good to see kona finally come out with a completely new dh bike. i like!

 

[gurp]

It's a four bar, there is no such thing as a faux bar. A four bar suspension has no requirements for a variable axle path. That was a myth that arose thanks to Specialized's FSR marketing - which worked incredibly effectively.

 

[elake]

It's a four bar, there is no such thing as a faux bar. A four bar suspension has no requirements for a variable axle path. That was a myth that arose thanks to Specialized's FSR marketing - which worked incredibly effectively.

Absolutely correct, in terms of general definitions. See Mechanical Engineering Handbook.

In terms of bicycles, faux bar has a meaning. The word may have been created by Spec, but people in the industry know what your are talking about when you use the term..

 

[myarmisonfire]

It's a four bar, there is no such thing as a faux bar. A four bar suspension has no requirements for a variable axle path. That was a myth that arose thanks to Specialized's FSR marketing - which worked incredibly effectively.

Maybe so but anyone who has ridden a Horst link 4 bar back to back with a faux bar can tell the difference. 4 bar, faux bar, tried and true, regurgitated or whatever I still would not buy a Kona.

 

[Secace]

With the addition of a floater (which I bet the production bike will have), the faux/four bar argument goes out the door. I think it looks great. I've never owned a Kona but I have nothing against them. They get the job done, just like just about every other DH frame out there.

 

[gurp]

Maybe so but anyone who has ridden a Horst link 4 bar back to back with a faux bar can tell the difference. 4 bar, faux bar, tried and true, regurgitated or whatever I still would not buy a Kona.

I've owned multiple FSRs, as well as traditional four bars, single pivots, single pivots with shock linkages and a Maestro. The only one that had bothersome rear braking characteristics was my Yeti AS-X. The FSRs pedaled better then anything else standing in granny gear, but that doesn't really matter on DH bikes.

 

[Quarashi]

I think this bike would have looked SICK with straighter tubes on the front triangle. That down tube doesn't look like it needed to be bent that much to clear the piggy back. And personally I think the bad-ass-ness of a bike is more important than it's stand over height clearance!( If you find yourself hitting the place on the top tube where they actually measure stand over height I think you're doing something wrong.)

 

[nhrider44]

I think it's a pretty clean looking frame, comparing it to the pre-2011 demos which just looked freaking heavy. They're certainly not doing anything groundbreaking, it just looks like the front triangle of an sx trail with the typical back end of a stinky. Certainly not ugly by any means, it's an attractive design that we've seen from practically every manufacturer at some point in time. I feel though, the bike in that picture will loose much worth once they slap a big colorful kona logo on it.

 

[Jayem]

It's a four bar, there is no such thing as a faux bar. A four bar suspension has no requirements for a variable axle path. That was a myth that arose thanks to Specialized's FSR marketing - which worked incredibly effectively.

Yep. Kona is one of the primary reasons that Specialized made up the term "faux bar", but make no mistake, they made that up for marketing purposes. It was a brilliant move on their part and has worked for the most part.

 

[Jayem]

Maybe so but anyone who has ridden a Horst link 4 bar back to back with a faux bar can tell the difference. 4 bar, faux bar, tried and true, regurgitated or whatever I still would not buy a Kona.

I call BS on this statement, ESPECIALLY with a bike that is intended to have a single chainring. It's fairly easy to optimize the pivot point for a single-chainring bike, because it doesn't have to shift front gears, which gives a different chainline and suspension characteristics. The difference between a horst-link and single-pivot in this case (assuming both are linkage-controlled) is about nil. Braking is a wash because horst links are not "fully active" and may even cause the rear end to rise up (although they are usually "more active" than single pivots). On a single pivot like the Kona, the rear end will squat some when braking, but that can actually be beneficial for handling in corners. I'm not sure why you think a horst link would somehow be magically better, but that would not come into my decision to buy the Kona. My single-pivot highline pedals better than my horst-link bike on steep stuff, just due to how much the horst link "squats" during acceleration/steep hills. Horst link isn't bad, but for a downhill bike there isn't any real advantage. Horst link is a little better for the multiple-chainring bikes because in the granny gear you get less squat during the steep uphills and somewhat better pedaling performance (as opposed to middle ring) during those uphills.

 

[Prettym1k3]

Looks great, but it is an exact culmination of all things 7point and all things new Giant Faith.

Except with a super short seattube, which I hate.

 

[tnickols]

this bike looks like it has a super long wheel base

 

[his dudeness]

Looks great, but it is an exact culmination of all things 7point and all things new Giant Faith.

Except with a super short seattube, which I hate.

I doesn't have a dw/maestro linkage thingy. Still just a single pivot at this point if you look closely. But that could change

 

[b-kul]

I doesn't have a dw/maestro linkage thingy. Still just a single pivot at this point if you look closely. But that could change

i think he meant in terms of frame design, not suspension design.

 

[tacubaya]

If they reduce the beer belly on that frame it would look much better.

I like it... I hated the Stab-look.

 

[schneidie]

I'd like to see a little more refinement near the main pivot and a different lower shock mount, but I'd ride one.
Looks sweet in raw, hoping the production version will be available in that finish (but probably not knowing kona).

 

[MqtRider]

Stills needs ABP or DW's Split Pivot rear pivot

Whatever you want to call it, it functions as a single pivot bike...and the Sessions 88 would too if it didn't have the rear pivot pivoting around the axle. A key with all NON-VPP/DW/Maestro is to eliminate brake jack. Kona used to do it with the DOPE, but unless it buy's a license for a axle pivot (like ABP, thought Trek won't license it) so DW's Split Pivot is the answer....it will have braking inputs placed on the rear suspension.