“I love the way the bike handles, I love the way it climbs, and I love how stiff and stiff and unflappable the carbon frame is. It’s not the lightest high-end carbon trail bike, at just over 30-pounds, but it makes up for it with strength. If weight is more important to you, you’re probably not a Kona customer anyway, nor should you be.”
After we launched the Process 134 CR DL back in 2019, Bike Magazine journalist Ryan Palmer asked if he could hold on to the review bike for a longer-term test. Who were we to say no? When the next version dropped, he politely asked if we could maybe send him the latest model so his review was more up to date. That was two years ago now and Bike magazine has since folded, replaced with BETA. Back in July, 2021 Ryan’s 134 CR DL featured in BETA’s first group test. Did we get the bike back? No. Ryan still wanted to see just how long a bike would last over a two-year period and convinced us that a super long-term test was a great idea. Well, those two years have concluded and Ryan’s mostly positive longest-term review ever is now up on BETA’s website (he wanted Codes over G2’s). It’s hiding behind a very affordable paywall here, but we have pulled a couple of paragraphs to give you the vibe.
“Living with the 134 is easy. On top of it being simple to keep running smoothly and quietly, it has an approachable demeanor that makes me comfortable throwing a leg over it, even after long periods off it riding other bikes. I get on it and feel at home immediately, every time.
Part of it is the modern-yet-familiar geometry. The numbers are as follows: 475mm reach, 66-degree head angle, 76-degree seat angle, 427mm chainstays, and 342mm bottom bracket height. It’s all just where it should be for a trail bike, and it came out in 2019. It’s still perfectly relevant.”
