Bicycling.com reports: Kona’s headquarters are in Bellingham, Washington—deep in the rainy Pacific Northwest. There, the staff at a company best known for mountain and ‘cross bikes, often rides dirt roads—and often wants to ride with fenders mounted to keep their feet and seats protected from muddy road spray. These days, there are lots of bikes with clearance for wide, dirt road-friendly tires, and others with fender mounts, but most of those bikes are built around Classics geometry—an upright position and stable handling. Kona’s new Red Zone marries bigger clearance with a race bike’s aggressive position—a category the company is calling “endurance race.” Without fenders, the bike will accommodate 32c tires, or 28c tires if you have fenders installed.
Kona designed the frame in conjunction with Deda, and built it out of 30-ton carbon, which they say is strong enough to resist dings from gravel thrown into the frame—but also has enough damping built in to dull big hits. The bike is compatible with electronic and mechanical drivetrains. With SRAM Red, the complete bike costs $5,500. The mechanical Shimano Ultegra build costs $3,600.
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