Category Archives: XC

Kona Destinations: Surf It Boards and Bikes, Heffley Lake, BC

Posted on 05/22/2013 by eddy

Adding to our exclusive selection of the world’s best Bike Parks, the Kona Destinations program and its partners showcase the top riding areas in Canada to give you the ultimate biking experience. Check out our first Destinations spotlight brought to you by Bodie Shandro of Surf it Boards and Bikes in Heffley Lake, BC.

“It’s all about fun and easy riding here, cruzy relaxed backroads and single-track trails where you rarely see a another soul.  The 26″ Fire Mountain and 29″ Mahuna were made for this type of recreational, laid back riding. Sure Kamloops has it’s own scene and so does nearby Sun Peaks Resort, but riding around Heffley Lake is so chill, just the way I love it. Where there is no better way to rinse of the dust than jumping on a paddle board and hitting the water. 8km of pristine bays, wildlife galore and hardly a sole in sight! Read More→

Posted in Konaworld Travels, XC | Leave a comment

(Germany) 2 mal Podium in der Einzelwertung und Sieg beim Mannschaftszeitfahren

Posted on 05/22/2013 by joonas


Die Worldclass Mountainbike Marathon Challenge, hat auch 2013 wieder mehr als 1.000 Sportlerinnen und Sportler aus verschiedenen Nationen nach Offenburg gelockt. Der Großteil aller deutschen Teilnehmer stammte aus Baden-Württemberg, insgesamt waren Athletinnen und Athleten aus zwölf Bundesländern in der Sportstadt Offenburg am Start. Read More→

Posted in Germany, Grassroots, Kona Europe, Racing, XC | Leave a comment

4 Races, 4 Wins for the Kona Factory Team

Posted on 05/13/2013 by wicks

It was a busy weekend for the Kona Factory Team, with Riders competing all over the globe. Locally, Matt Slaven won the Dog River Enduro, on Mt Hood aboard his team Process race machine. Barry Wicks and Spencer Paxson battled it out to the bitter end at the Cascade Chain Breaker in Bend Oregon, with Paxson taking a narrow edge in the sprint finish. Cory Wallace raced the Salty Dog Enduro six hour MTB event, and not only did he win, he beat his old course record by a few minutes, and Wendy Simms won the Stottlmeyer MTB race in Washington. Good work Team!

Posted in DirtJump, Enduro, Freeride, Grassroots, Racing, The Team, Videos, XC | Leave a comment

Super Grassroots Racer Andy Olsson – Newport Coast Hills Classic XC

Posted on 05/13/2013 by eddy

Last week I picked up my new Hei Hei Supreme and was eager to test it out. My wife and I headed out to the coast for the Newport Coast Hills Classic XC for our first race of the year. I had no expectations going into the race other than not being DFL. There were some turbo looking guys there so I sort of assumed my position towards the end of the pack. Steadily I started to pick guys off and going into the second lap the race director said I was 30 seconds back. What? I thought there were another ten guys ahead. Pulled up to the next guy in front and asked how many more. Only one. Spent the rest of the lap trying to pull him in but was unsuccessful. The bike was fast and furious, certainly exceeded my expectations, ended up in second place. Not a bad start to the season. After finishing the winner asked, “Aren’t you riding enduro mostly?” I guess people are starting to notice my riding. Alice Pennington took the win in pro women also on board a new Hei Hei Supreme.

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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

The Kona Kitsune – Outsmart the World’s Most Devious Terrain

Posted on 05/08/2013 by eddy

A totally new model for 2013, the Kitsune has the Swing Link rear suspension configuration introduced on our Satori and brings to life a 130mm (front) and 120mm (rear) travel, 26-inch wheel all-mountain bike specifically designed to fit even the smallest riders. With great standover height, this bike’s rear travel platform is efficient while climbing and plush when descending. Add geometry focused on rider confidence and great handling, and the Kitsune, which means “fox” in Japanese, is sure to outsmart the world’s most devious terrain. Read More→

Posted in Enduro, News, XC | 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

German Bike Magazine review the Hei Hei Supreme

Posted on 05/02/2013 by joonas


Kona lightest and fastest 29 er Full-Suspension is made for the Marathon Start line 3,2,1- peng.
The Hei Hei is a racing machine and induced to ride fast. Click image for more

Posted in Germany, Kona Europe, Review, XC | Leave a comment

Cowboys and Bikers: cory checks in from whiskey 50

Posted on 05/01/2013 by wicks

The final stop on our America road trip was in the cowboy town of Prescott Arizona. This town of 40 000 country folk was the capital of Arizona from 1864 to 1889, but more importantly is now host of the annual Whisky 50 mountain bike race. The race attracts most of the top pros in North America, as well as nearly 1800 amateurs for a weekend of high altitude (5500ft-7500) racing. There are saloons all over the old western town with nightly shootouts and cowboys strutin their stuff. There’s also an obsession with elk hunting as elk statues, elk head mounts and elk fajitas are found everywhere. The only elk that couldn’t be found around the area was a smiling live one. Read more over at Cory’s Blog.

Posted in Dan & Jake, Konaworld Travels, News, Racing, The Team, XC | Leave a comment

Whiskey Offroad

Posted on 04/29/2013 by wicks

The Whiskey Off Road 50 mile MTB race is quickly becoming the premire mountain bike event in the United States. A $40,000 prize list, huge vendor area in downtown Prescott, and over 2000 amature racers, all combine into a super fun weekend.

The Kona XC crew was in town to test their legs on the 50 mile, 7500ft of climbing loop through the Prescott National Forest.

Friday evening featured a fat tire criterium in downtown Prescott. In the mens race, a group of 15 formed at the front, and pushing hard the final few laps Spencer Paxson captured 4th place on the evening, with Barry 9th and Kris and Cory both in the top 20.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early, as the gun went off at 8:30 am. After a series of pavement and dirt climbs, the race funneled into high speed desert single track, shaded under a canopy of desert pine trees. The race blew apart pretty early, with a select group of 10 at the front. Spencer and Wicks where both in the group, until Wicks suffered an unfortunate flat tire and was relegated to chase mode for the remainder of the day. Spencer fought hard, and even while battling cramps in the last few miles was able to secure an awesome 6th place on the day. Read More→

Posted in Dan & Jake, News, Racing, The Team, XC | 2 Comments

Super Grassroots Racer Alex Ryan Reports on the Terrapin Twilight XC

Posted on 04/29/2013 by eddy

This weekend I rolled to the Terrapin Twilight in Athens, Georgia. They had a sweet Off-road time trial qualifier Saturday morning for the Fat tire crit Saturday night. The time trial consisted of a six minute singe track loop. I was able to secure the top TT time of 6:37, qualifying myself for the fat tire crit. The Fat Tire crit was on the Terrapin Twilight course a few hours before the main event. The crit was 30 minutes long with 4 turns & a slight uphill on the back stretch. After the first lap of the crit I was spun out and relied on some drafting techniques to stay in contention with the group. After 30 minute spin session, I crossed the line 10th.

Sunday was round 3 of the US-CUP/S.E.R.C series in Winder, Georgia. The morning started off fairly wet with a massive rain storm rolling in mid race. The 4 lap, 31 mile race ended up becoming a mud fest, drifting in every turn. The race stayed together for the first 3 laps then attacks started on the final lap resulting in a small group of 5 riders drilling it to the finish. After a last minute surge, I ended up 4th.

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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