Category Archives: cyclocross

Full Stride Rat Ride on the Kona Rove: “it blazed right through the mud and chipped wood like a champ”

Posted on 03/22/2013 by eddy

When I was lucky enough to go out to the Kona launch in August; there was one bike that I was really excited to ride, and that was their Rove. I’m a big fan of all things cross, so the chance to get on something new lit my eyes like a little child on Christmas morning. From the start, the Rove is drastically different from any other cross bike out there. Kona lists it as a “ultimate cyclocross/gravel-grinding/commuting machine.” So to say that this one bike is a utilitarian machine would be an understatement. Read more

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Road.CC checks out Kona Rove & Road

Posted on 03/18/2013 by eddy

“We’ve just popped over to Bristol to see what Kona have been brewing up for this year. And they’ve got some crackers on the road side. Kona have largely been known as a MTB brand on these shores but they’ve always had a good range of quality roadgoing machines, from the super-practical Africabike and Ute to sport and touring bikes, as well as an excellent CX range.” Read the full report here

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2014 Sneak Peek – Titanium Rove

Posted on 03/14/2013 by eddy

We just couldn’t resist crafting this beauty. Manufactured at Lynskey Performance Designs in the U.S.A. and sharing the same gravel-grinding, rough road geometry as our Kona Cromoly Rove, the new Ti Rove is a sweet addition to our line of Freerange Road bikes. Featuring big tire clearance and all the necessary eyelets for racks and fenders, the 3/2.5 Ti, Kona designed frame is drawn around a 44 mm headtube, using an external lower cup for a tapered steer tube fork resulting in a sturdy, confident, comfortable ride feel that’s perfect for riders wanting a supple, tough-as-nails but superlight do-it-all drop bar bike. From around-the-world touring to weekend ‘cross races, winter training to all-day dirt road adventures, the bike goes beautifully with our new Kona Project Two Carbon Disc fork, which should be available for aftermarket purchase early this summer. Frame sizes are: 47, 49, 53, 56, 59, 61cm. Our first production order arrives this spring, contact your local shop to order yours now. Read More→

Posted in 2014, Asphalt, cyclocross, Road, Sneak Peeks | 4 Comments

The Jake Diaries #6 – Rod Fountain

Posted on 03/14/2013 by joonas

If Cyclocross is a winter sport then by now all the race tape and poles should have been collected, the coffee cups binned and the cow-bells put on the shelf until the local pub announces they’re screening the Tour de France. Fields and parks should no longer be racetracks, Sundays are yours again and there’s a really nice CX bike, or two, buried in your shed waiting for autumn to roll around again. Does anyone really only use their Cyclocross bike during ‘the season?’ In Molly Hurford’s excellent book ‘Mud, Snow and Cyclocross’ she is quick to dispense with the idea that people these days only ride Cyclocross by way of staying fit when the weather’s too shitty for riding a road bike. Read More→

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Road.cc tests the Jake the Snake: “Fast enough for racing, fun enough for playing”

Posted on 03/08/2013 by eddy

Kona have had the Jake series of cyclo-cross bikes in their range since…ooooooh, a long time ago, 15 years or so, way before the recent swell in cyclo-cross popularity made other manufacturers whip out their note-books, scribble down a design, colour it in and e-mail it to the factory.

Kona have sponsored some prominent ‘cross racers over the seasons and a carbon Major Jake is currently under European & British National CX champion Helen Wyman, but that doesn’t mean Jakes are just for the stupidly fast, they’ve been a steady favourite with weekday bumpy tarmac bashers and those that simply like to muck about off-road on an inappropriate bike ever since read More

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Wendy Simms: Athlete mom interview

Posted on 02/28/2013 by wicks

Read the interview Here.

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Helen’s best bits from 2012-13

Posted on 02/28/2013 by wicks

My top ten from the year:
As a change from writing about my ever so exciting life I thought I’d treat you all to an end of season round up of my best bits (oh-er misses). So here it is.

Best Team:
I have by far the best team around me and no I am not biased about this at all. My team mates are awesome and this season I have been able to hang out with the majority of them over the season both in Europe and America. I’ve learnt Paxson is hot (as he features on the dudes websites), Wendy is truly hilarious, Sean likes high heel shoes, Barry is actually a living legend in American cyclo-cross and Tonkin can dance to hip hop. They made my season even better this year and I’ve never enjoyed worlds as much as I did this year simply because of these guys. Read More→

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Tokyo ‘Cross

Posted on 02/19/2013 by eddy

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Helen second at Middelkerke

Posted on 02/18/2013 by wicks

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CX Tokyo

Posted on 02/13/2013 by wicks

This February, Barry, Erik Tonkin and I were invited to compete in Cyclocross Tokyo 2013. In short, it was one of the most memorable trips of my racing career. Never have I felt so appreciated as an athlete. I came away feeling like us Kona riders had accomplished more than just traveling to race our bikes. We had a chance visit with our Japanese distributors and visit several local dealers, talk with them about bike trends in Japan, what works, what doesn’t and shared many other ideas. I felt like a real Kona/cycling diplomat! It was a privilege to be included in this stellar event and see how things are done across the Pacific. Rather than a standard write-up, I attempted to make a manga-style comic of our experience…with a few regular photos for good measure. Photo credits thanks to CX TOKYO/Kei Tsuji Read the comic here.

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Kona Chamberlaines Grassroots rider Matthew Webber – It’s all over!

Posted on 02/11/2013 by joonas

The 2012/13 cyclocross season draws to a close after 5 months of riding, racing and training, and 28 hard fought races. It’s my second full season of cyclocross and it’s been a very different experience to Year One. This season was proper ‘cross.

Mud, mud and more glorious mud – broken bikes, burning legs and bright white smiles beaming out of filthy faces. The kind of mud where you have to work hard to go downhill and where the only line is the one that’s been carved out by the wheels of the rider in front. Read More→

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The Kona Team Returns for 2013 more Rocket Awesome than Ever

Posted on 02/07/2013 by eddy

 

 

Connor Fearon: Australian downhill phenom Connor Fearon is back to capitalize on his 3rd place finish at the 2012 Junior World Championships. He plans to carry that momentum into the 2013 World Cup season as he battles with the Elite riders. Mathieu Dupelle will continue on as his rock star mechanic, ensuring his newly designed 2014 Supreme Operator is lighting fast.

 

 

Graham Agassiz: Graham Agassiz is working on big plans for 2013. Having recently signed a new two-year contract with Kona, the young buck from Kamloops just got a new tractor, a motorcycle, and a prototype 2014 Kona DH bike. He’ll be spending the winter digging in deep for some paradigm shifting video on the horizon, including a joint Kona/Monster production.

 

 

Antoine Bizet: Antoine Bizet hurled himself to the top of the freeride world with a four-backflip final run at the 2012 Red Bull Rampage. His 2nd place finish was both Bizet’s and Kona’s best result ever at the event. Bizzy will spend the winter filming in Australia, working on some sweet new tricks on his way to taking over the FMB Tour this season.

 

 

 

Leo Delfour Barsaq: Recently signed Frenchman Leo Delfour Barsaq brings big style and wild cojones to the Kona Team. Leo’s amplitude and deep bag of tricks make him one to watch on this years FMB World Tour, doing things with a Shonky we didn’t know were possible.

 

 

 

Matt Slaven: Matt Slaven aims to continue his panache for podium finishes at North American Enduro races and select Enduro World Series events. Watch for Slaven to be testing Kona’s all-new 2014 Process line of all-mountain bikes.

 

 

 

Alex Stock: After spending the winter training in New Zealand, Kona Team Enduro rider Alex Stock looks to pick up where he left off after a small bout with injury — regularly beating the world’s best. Look for Stock to be testing new 2014 Process prototypes.

 

 

 

Karim Amour: French cycling legend Karim Amour is the European Enduro Champion. He aims to keep it that way. Enough said. Amour will be racing on his “dream bike”, a team-equipped 2014 Abra Cadabra with G3 Magic Link.

 

 

 

Spencer Paxson: Seattle, WA-based XC short-track specialist Spencer Paxson plans to be on the top step at all sorts of bike-styled athletic pursuits this season. One of the stars of our new Kona All-Mountain and House of the Big Wheel films, Spencer gets the job done in multitudinous ways: Enduro, XC, CX and polo. He’s that good.

 

 

 

Cory Wallace: Cory Wallace spent the winter cutting down trees in the frozen Canadian north. After all that pain and suffering, bike racing is easy. The harder it gets, the happier Cory gets. We just like to watch him win races like the Mongolian Challenge and the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo.

 

 

 

Kris Sneddon: Kris Sneddon returns to the Kona Team as fast as ever, with even more amazing chest hair. Sneddly will be focusing primarily on Endurance events, riding (and loving) every one of the speedy race bikes we send him.

 

 

 

Barry Wicks: The Wicknasty, Barry Wicks, continues on as the Kona Team manager, while at the same managing to kick some CX/XC/Multi-stage/Enduro/Marathon ass along the way.

 

 

 

 

Helen Wyman: Helen Wyman is the European Cyclocross Champion and currently ranked 2nd going into the World Championships. She hasn’t won the big show yet, but she aims to change that. We think she’s great either way.

 

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