Category Archives: cyclocross

Rad Racing’s Big Weekend

Posted on 05/08/2013 by eddy

Rad Racing’s Jim Brown reports: It was a big weekend for Rad Racing NW. We took home the gold both on the road and the dirt. The following riders won races this weekend.

Westside MTB Series:
Andrew Waddell-Beginner Category BuDu MTB
Brayden Buchanan- Sport Category BuDu MTB
Scott Funston- Expert Category BuDu MTB

Tour De Bloom Omnium:
Wyatt Mason- Wenatchee TT
Criox Cameron-Wenatchee Crit
Alex Walentynowicz- Wenatchee RR(State Champion)
Wyatt Mason-Wenatchee Omnium

Evergreen Student League:
Nolan Brady- HS MTB Varsity
Erik Pitkanen-HS MTB Intermediate

That’s 9 total wins for the weekend, Awesome Work!!!! Read More→

Posted in Advocacy, Asphalt, cyclocross, Racing, XC | Leave a comment

Patrick O’Grady/Adventure Cyclist rides the Rove

Posted on 05/06/2013 by eddy

Patrick O’Grady/Adventure Cyclist’s complete review of the Rove is now in print, read it here or check out the following preview video (posted previously)

Posted in Asphalt, cyclocross, Review | Leave a comment

Spencer Paxson: A grasshopper, an otter, and some whiskey

Posted on 05/06/2013 by eddy

After a month hiatus from travel since the Louisiana trip, the Kona band got back together in Headlsburg, CA for the start of a great three-week race campaign from northern California to Prescott, Arizona. The story of the trip is below, in five parts.

Prelude: Bend transplant
Sarah and I made a temporary move to Bend, OR this April-June for her physical therapy rotation. It’s been great for training, working remotely, replenishing vitamin D, and spring ski touring. Read more

Posted in Asphalt, cyclocross, Racing, The Team | Leave a comment

cyclingdirt.org checks out the new kona carbon bikes at sea otter

Posted on 05/02/2013 by wicks

Kona came to Sea Otter with their 2014 Major Jake, a carbon ‘cross bike equipped with all the latest including discs and internal cable routing. The new Jake with be available complete as the Major Jake and higher spec’d Super Jake, as well as a frameset.

The new carbon Jake features a tapered headtube and a WIDE fork crown that has eyelets for running fenders. Internally routed shift cables keep things looking tight while the rear brake cable is run externally. Read the complete report here

Posted in cyclocross, My Kona, News, Racing, Road, The Team, XC | Leave a comment

Rad Racing Spring Report

Posted on 04/27/2013 by eddy

Rad Racing’s Jim Brown reports: Spring 2013 has arrived and with it the new racing season. For 2013 Rad Racing has returned to it’s roots and is running without a title sponsor, we are back to good old Rad Racing NW. Last summer Revel Consulting changed hands and the new owners did not have the same vision for supporting our team.

After meeting with the board of directors it was determined that we would not seek a large title sponsor to replace Revel, but to count on smaller dollar sponsorships to shore up the gap left by the title sponsorship. I feel good about moving back to our roots and our club name standing alone. Read More→

Posted in Advocacy, Asphalt, cyclocross, Racing | Leave a comment

Kona Sea Otter in Photos

Posted on 04/25/2013 by mitchell

For the first time in a few years, Kona had a booth displaying bikes at Sea Otter. The goal was to tell the world about our exciting new line-up of 2013 and 2014 carbon bikes. Models on display were the 2013 Hei Hei Supreme, 2013 Red Zone, 2014 Major Jake and the 2014 Supreme Operator and Operator. The booth was buzzing all four days of the show. With awesome California sunshine, huge crowds, and tons of press from all over the world, we had a blast showing off our new bikes. With our XC Team tearing up the competition (Barry Wicks finished 8th in a super competitive XC men’s race, and Spencer Paxson finished 6th in the CX on a Red Zone), it was nothing but positive vibes for the Kona Crew. Check out the photos by Kona Communications dude, Mitchell Scott.

The booth was super busy with press. Here Gravity Project Manager Chris Mandell give Bike Magazine the lowdown on the new Supreme Operator. Read More→

Posted in cyclocross, Downhill, News, Racing, Review, Road, Sneak Peeks, Uncategorized, XC | Leave a comment

Bike Radar: Kona Carbon Operator, disc Super Jake — Sea Otter 2013

Posted on 04/23/2013 by eddy

Kona launched two big platforms at this year’s Sea Otter Classic: a new Carbon Operator composite downhill bike and a new Super Jake disc brake-equipped ‘cross bike. The aim of both bikes is simple: go faster. Read more on Bike Radar

Posted in 2014, cyclocross, Downhill, Freeride | Leave a comment

Sea otter Classic

Posted on 04/22/2013 by wicks

Sea Otter is a classic event with lots of bikes and hot racing on tap. The Kona Team made the journey down this year, with Barry, Kris, Spencer and Cory racing the XC events, and Connor Fearon showing off his new Process bike in the DH and Dual Slalom.

The weekend Kicked of with the STXC, on a new, spectator friendly course. The XC boys rode hard, and looked good in their shiny new kit, rolling through for top 20 finishes all around.

Saturday brought on the XC, with the most stacked field in recenmt memory, including many former World Champs, the current Olympic champ, and many nations worth of National Champions. Barry Wicks had a killer ride, making the elite front group on his 21lb Hei Hei 29 supreme, and holding off a massive chase in a solo effort to finish 8th. Spencer had a heart breaking ride, sitting in the top 12 with 20 minutes left, a nail took him and his rear tire out of contention. Read More→

Posted in cyclocross, Downhill, Enduro, News, Racing, The Team, XC | Leave a comment

Cyclocross Magazine: Spencer Paxson’s Road-Bike-Turned-Cyclocross-Rig

Posted on 04/22/2013 by eddy

From Cyclocross Magazine: When I ran into Spencer Paxson pre-cyclocross race at Sea Otter today, he was searching for new tires. Not for his normal cyclocross bike–that was at home in Bend, Oregon–but for his new Kona road bike, the carbon fiber Red Zone. With wide clearance for big tires, he was curious to see if he could jump into the cyclocross race just an hour away. He found clinchers from Continental, and with the help of his team mechanic, he quickly swapped smooth rubber tires for knobbies, though the tires wouldn’t clear the TRP road brakes while inflated. Read more at Cyclocross Magazine

Posted in Asphalt, cyclocross, Racing, The Team | Leave a comment

Adventure Cyclist Rates the Rove: “a bike for folks who want one hammer for driving a multitude of nails”

Posted on 04/20/2013 by eddy

In this video, Adventure Cyclist magazine contributor Patrick O’Grady takes a look at the Kona Rove, a steel all-rounder suitable for everything from gravel-grinding to loaded touring. The full review appears in the April 2013 issue of Adventure Cyclist.

Posted in Asphalt, cyclocross, Review | Leave a comment

Spencer Paxson: Employee of the Month

Posted on 04/08/2013 by wicks

Spencer is a pretty big deal. He also works for a wind energy Company. They seem to like him almost as much as we do. Click the image at left to read the full write up Atlantic Power’s employee of the month.

Posted in cyclocross, Racing, The Team, XC | Leave a comment

Bicycle Times Ride the Rove: “it traverses big miles with comfort and confidence”

Posted on 04/05/2013 by eddy

Click the image to read the full review

Posted in Advocacy, Asphalt, cyclocross, Review | Leave a comment