2010 looks set to be a good year for Kona. Considering that it's a relatively small company, it's got a huge range of bikes - so huge that at a glance it's hard to spot the new stuff. Here are the highlights...
Abra Cadabra
Kona debuted its Magic Link variable-travel tech in 2008, although it took a while for the Magic Link-equipped Coilairs to make it to the market. We tested a Coilair Supreme earlier this year - while we enjoyed the ride, we felt that a shorter-travel variant would be more useful in the UK. And here it is - the Abra Cadabra.
Rather than the Coilair's "6+1in" travel, the Abra Cadabra (and its cheaper Cadabra brother) is "5+1in". The principle of the Magic Link remains the same, keeping the travel short, taut and a bit rampy under power but longer and more linear when you brake or ride off stuff. To keep the weight down, Kona has used a Scandium frame. It looks like being seen out in public without a tapered headtube for 2010 is an appalling faux pas, but the front end of the Abra Cadabra is suitably zeitgeisty.
Some Konas of recent years have tended towards the agricultural in appearance, but the Abra Cadabra is a pretty smooth-looking device. The extra Magic Link gubbinses are compact and tucked away in the frame. Readers with finely-calibrated eyeballs will detect some interesting geometry, and indeed the spec sheet lists the angles as a par-for-the-course 69° head combined with a startling 74.8° seat. We'll have to wait and see how that works out.
Coilair
The Coilair itself has had a makeover too, and looks considerably more refined than the original Magic Link bike - Kona clearly designed the Cadabra and new Coilair somewhat in parallel, as the two bikes are very much lighter or burlier versions of one another. The Coilair also gets a tapered headtube, but it's aluminium rather than Scandium. It should work out considerably lighter than the previous Coilair platform, though, which would be no bad thing.
Hei Hei 100
Another new bike for 2010 is the Hei Hei 100. The regular Hei Hei is a full-sus XC bike with 80mm of travel, so you can probably guess the USP of the Hei Hei 100. It's a Scandium frame again, but a longer shock and tweaked back end gives 100mm of travel. It might be designed for racing, but the Hei Hei 100 has the makings of a useful fast all-rounder.
Hei Hei 2-9
Your other Hei Hei variant is the 2-9 for the big-wheel fans. This one's got 100mm of travel too, but with a beefed-up front end courtesy of a tapered head tube and 15mm through-axle fork.
Major One
Niche alert! Kona has been doing cyclocross bikes for ever, but in response to either a growing trend or, possibly, recreational pharmaceuticals, the 2010 range includes the Major One singlespeed CX bike. While we're not sure what it's for, it's undeniably nice to look at.
There are a couple of extra highlights tucked away in Kona's frame-only range. This is where some famous names from years gone by reside, the steel Explosif, featuring singlespeed-friendly adjustable dropouts, and a carbon fibre Kilauea among them. Most of the Kona range is also available as a frame only.
Find out more at www.konaworld.com.
