Kona Ambassador Shawn Spry has been piecing together his ultimate trail bike for a while, and he’s finally ready to reveal his new rig: the coveted Process 111.

THE ONE ELEVEN IS HEAVEN!

I began searching for short travel 29ers in early 2017, coming from a world of 160+mm bikes with smaller wheels. My focus has always been on gravity riding and I appreciate a bike with flickability, exceptional cornering and a playful nature but in 2017 these bikes were hard to find. The gravity riders rode 27.5” wheels with gravity-oriented geo and the XC riders were on big-wheelers with XC geo. Those two worlds of riding hadn’t really met on a middle-ground to any large degree. But as I learned more about 29ers, one bike kept coming up in conversations: The Process 111.

I couldn’t find a single person with anything bad to say about this bike. There were obviously a bunch of people in the PNW who raved about this bike…and they ride gnarly stuff up there! Then there were a bunch of folks in the southwest and Colorado who loved how fast the 111 is. In fact, there were literally people all over the world who loved their 111’s. In 2015, the 111 was the darling of BIKE Magazine’s Bible Of Bikes. This bike had heritage. It had a reputation….and I had never even heard of it.

I was, however, very familiar with Kona. My Dawg Deluxe was one of my favorite bikes back in the day. I loved its ready-to-try-anything personality and its ability to claw up steep, rocky terrain. As I researched more 29ers one question kept coming up in my head: Could me and the 111 pick up where me and my Dawgie Dee left off?

I had to find out.

After finding a used 111 in late 2017 I started sourcing parts. It took me two years to acquire all the parts needed for this build and the video we created. Some parts came from Velo+ Bike Shop in Lenexa, Kansas, where I’ve lived for the past 20 years and when I moved to Grand Junction, Colorado in mid-2019 Grassroots Cycles finished finding me what I needed.

Topping the list for parts are my Grade 300’s from Industry Nine. I’ve ran their Enduro 27.5 wheels on my trail bike for nearly 6 years now and they are still phenomenal performing wheels. Plus, those spokes! Inside the Maxxis High Roller in back and the Minion DHR up front you’ll find CushCore tire inserts, because I like to ride stupid lines and eat pizza.

Also helping me with my stupid line addictions are my Catalyst pedals from Pedaling Innovations.

Cockpit duties are handled by the A35 stem from Industry Nine, RaceFace Aeffect bars, ESI grips, Hope Tech 3 brakes, SRAM 11-speed drivetrain and a Wolf Tooth Remote dropper lever.

A RockShox Pike 140 with an MRP Ramp Control Cartridge and Monarch air shock make things squishy while my trusty Shimano XT 175 cranks spin a KMC chain.

I’m looking forward to how this bike handles the rugged terrain of western Colorado. I’ve been on a few rides and can already feel positive differences. For all of you who are familiar with this incredible bike and its heritage, I apologize for being so late to the party! But each and every one of you are right: the 111 is heaven and I’m proud to experience this bike.