The Kona Honzo

I mentioned yesterday that Jason just got a new Kona Honzo. I was so impressed with the bike that I asked him to do a guest post. He's going to give me a more thorough write-up as he rides it more, but here are his first thoughts...

I just made the jump to 29er wheels having been a 26 rider, well, I guess since ’90 or ’91, when I got my Huffy Overland Pass for my birthday. I had ridden a 29er only a handhalffull of times, but decided that it was something I could be happy with for an open-ended infinite amount of time.

The bike I chose? Know this first. I wanted a Salsa Fargo for long distance XC touring, a Surly Karate Monkey to feed my singlespeed itch, a Kona Hei-Hei dual suspension for the all-around riding that I do most, and a Kona Abra Cadabra. The Cadabra, an All-Mountain Enduro bike meant for racing courses a mix of DH and XC, has long travel dual suspension for serious drops and climbs like a mountain goat. This is not the bike I got but I describe to you this one because in my mind I would, in time, like to rocket around a 24hr course laying waste to 5ft drops and climbing to the moon and back. I’m most certainly content at riding methodically along a trail eyeing the smallest roots and rocks and trying to miss them. Although, my hunger to be an aggressive rider is real, even though simply riding a wheelie, confidently, is a couple years out.

That being said, I wanted a bike that would be a smoothie with flavors of my current riding style and hopefully a more aggressive future style. My first 29er is the Kona Honzo. It’s a mix of all those listed bikes. It was love at first sight. It’s a steel cromoly 1x10. The 10 speeds, I think, are all I will ever need. I’ll grind it out when I need to, and arrive later when I don’t have the top-end. My Huffy was a 10 speed. I remember it being an absolute blast to ride. The cromoly keeps it simple. I like to think of it too as a nod to cycling’s roots. It has 120mm of travel, a slack headtube, and beefy axles for the (Abra Cadabra) rabbit in me I might one day pull out of my hat. Essentially it’s a No-Fuss-Nothing-Special mountain bike which is what makes it so special. Just get on and go ride. I hope to be riding this bike for years. 

Many years.

I'll be looking forward to more thoughts on the Honzo. It seems to have everything you need and nothing more. I respect that. If you're interested in the Honzo, head over to Bike Green Lexington and check them out. They've even got a demo Honzo there that you can actually run on the trails.

Get out there.