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Having bought the Kona brand from the founders just two years ago, owners Kent Outdoors have announced they are abandoning the bike market altogether ...
By mark
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Best hang on to this lot then 👍and my 2012 Ti Raijin which was one of 250 frames worldwide, I got one of the last 2 in Europe, it's so similar to today's gravel geo that I've ordered a pair of Gravel Kings for it 👍
So how much are they selling it for ?
Mike Ashley's ears just pricked up.
How come so many supposedly financially savvy investors didn't realise the covid peak was a blip, not the norm?
It's just so dismaying when it takes a decent, established brand with it.
Mike Ashley’s ears just pricked up.
now that would absolutely break my heart!
now that would absolutely break my heart!
Most peoples!
How come so many supposedly financially savvy investors didn’t realise the covid peak was a blip, not the norm?
I think the key to this question is use of the word savvy.
👎🏻
I've been watching a 95 Cinder Cone on eBay, same as my old one.
I think the key to this question is use of the word savvy.
Well, technically it is the word 'supposedly' but that is by the by.
It's just crazy how many investors assumed it would continue. Ridiculous, in fact.
An easy dollar/pound/whatever was seen to be appealing and I suspect many folk didn't really think it all through.
The pandemic made a killing for a lot of the bike industry and many didn't see it stopping as the amount of money was (relatively) flowing in.
A genuine shame but I think people aren't serial bike changers as much as they were, cost of living has impacted a lot of people, so fewer are chopping and changing as frequently. Bike industry still wants us buying new kit yearly, but consumers that do that are fewer these days.
I suspect when the cost of living stuff does ease then more people will have more disposable (or credit) to spend on stuff that isn't house or living bills.
Until then, bike industry will need to dig deep and hope to survive.
That is my uneducated prediction...
^^^^
All of that notwithstanding, though, were they not aware of the second hand market and what would happen after a glut of brand new bikes had been purchased?
It just seems so crackers to me. And I wouldn't care if it was their own* brands and cash that were going down the gurgler. But when it takes down a brand like Kona who were there from the early days, it seems such a shame.
*Obviously they own the brands, but it is not their own since inception.
Absolutely agree...
Capitalism, pffft! Shite eh!
Pick a well known brand that has either been bought and then ran into the ground or just disappeared.
There's dozens of them and that's not even including anything outside the bicycle industry.
Nostalgia is a bitch at times.
Kona, coming to a Sports Direct near you.....
But is this any different to when they were stocked by Halfords?
How come so many supposedly financially savvy investors didn’t realise the covid peak was a blip, not the norm?
People who buy businesses aren't always interested in running them as successful businesses.
Used to want one in the 90s but went Orange instead. Bought a Cinder Cone for the kids earlier this year, nice bike if a bit generic.
So sad. I loved my Manomano, late 90’s vintage. First bike I took to the Alps.It seems to me that the original knew what was going on and sold at the top of the market. The buyers were new to the market and bought at the wrong time at the wrong price
Very sad. It’ll leave some gaps in the market. I loved my Kileau which became my first hardtail.
So apart from a bit of 90's nostalgia, have they actually made a bike in the last decade that anybody wanted enough to buy?
It'll take a brave (or ignorant of what's going on) buyer or retailer to buy the existing stock from the UK distributor. Or they'd have to be at Chiggle style fire sale pricing.
Kona have their place in MTB history but a bit like say Klein those fond memories don't necessarily require the brand name still being slapped on new bikes. In some ways the legacy is stronger if a third party doesn't try to keep it limping on or do a phoenix with it reappearing years later like Muddy Fox or even Saracen.
As ever the existing staff deserve the most sympathy - I can't imagine there's too many opportunities in the industry elsewhere to apply for right now.
Capitalism, pffft! Shite eh!
I don't think it's capitalism, per se, as without capitalism we wouldn't have the choice we do for cycling. The problem is the impact of venture capitalism, big businesses just focused on making a massive profit no matter what who see small term financial gains as being far more important than the flesh and blood that works to make the profit.
This is getting to be the case more and more these days and many smaller companies are getting screwed over just so a few very rich people can get bigger wallets.
I bought one! The most fun I’ve had on a bicycle in years…
Had this since 2008, ridden over 50.000 km 🙂 Still ride this bike the most.
My first Kona was Coiler, in 2001.
Still have my ‘95 Cindercone. Hands down my favourite bike.
I had those brakes ^ for a while on my 94 Indian fire trail, Onza's?
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Love a Kona. Still own the Explosif (1997) and the Bandwagon 🙌🏻
My favourite Kona was a Smoke from 2010 ish. It was a cheap low budget commuter with full guards and v brakes. I only bought it on a whim as they were half price somewhere @ £200.
It was the only bike I've ever just ridden and not upgraded straightaway, it did 10x1000's of miles in all weather's commuting to work. It was a great bike - had such a nice feel to it.
Yep, Onza HO. Always wanted some BITD.
So apart from a bit of 90’s nostalgia, have they actually made a bike in the last decade that anybody wanted enough to buy?
Yes.
I was saving for a Sutra LtD.
But MtB wise, no, not for me.
my only Kona (had been Specialized up til then) is a 95 Kilauea with the SS adapted dropouts. Second hand (probably 3rd hand as it was stock returns). Still a very quick and nimble bike on the right terrain.
Loving the old steel Kona XC bikes.
They really are the coolest brand, making such nice looking bikes, with lovely paint jobs. Surely one of the stuffier bike brands might take a look.
So apart from a bit of 90’s nostalgia, have they actually made a bike in the last decade that anybody wanted enough to buy?
Personally no but I'll admit to not really following what the likes of Specialized, Trek, Kona, Giant are producing these days. There was the Canzo (?) which looked pretty cool and things like the Paddywagon but very niche bikes in their range.
1995 with the squared off Kona logos was peak Kona for me.
I hope the owners haven't taken the decision to simply nuke the company/brand without consulting with the staff if there was the will to take the business on in some way. It wouldn't be a safe bet for sure but it would be a terrible shame to simply lose all the experience and know how.
So apart from a bit of 90’s nostalgia, have they actually made a bike in the last decade that anybody wanted enough to buy?
Yes - but probably not the same kind of Kona bike that I used to ride and race. Now with needing to ride an ebike, riding hard or racing firmly off the cards - not so much.
The Electric Ute seemed a good bike, but I won’t buy more than one ebike. I also wanted a Unit - but life had other ideas.
The Kona Process from 2015 (ish?) was the last innovative/good bike they did I think, chonky frame and build but relatively short travel at 130mm.
I also had a mid 90's Kona that I loved until it was stolen, currently have a Unit and a Jake which were both just what I wanted at the time. I'll certainly miss them if they go, but if they do make it through I wonder if they should be a bit more Surly and return to some more niche bikes.
Need to go shopping for replacement hangers just in case...
My honzo ESD is a right laugh and is a decent spec for ~1800. At RRP it would not be. Not many mainstream brands are making bikes with that sort of geo and sliding dropouts as far as I'm aware?
So apart from a bit of 90’s nostalgia, have they actually made a bike in the last decade that anybody wanted enough to buy?
My 2016-ish Process 111 was excellent, and quite ahead of the game - LLS short travel 29er before that was really a thing.
Yep. 2014 Process 111 relit my MTB passion after dabbling as a Mamil for a while. One of the first mainstream LLS, that plus its 1x and dropper made it all click into place for me.
I've previously owned a 2016 Process 111 DL, at the time it was the longest, slackest, best fitting, best handling bike i'd ever owned.
How come so many supposedly financially savvy investors didn’t realise the covid peak was a blip, not the norm?
Most investment/business/financial management is just glorified gambling, Take away the MBAs and most of these clowns would be sat in a betting shop convinced they had a "system" for spotting winners.
It's the difference between chasing profits having bought a company you don't understand, and having some insights into the markets they operate in and recognizing when a situation is unsustainable.
The money bitches ruin everything, short term gain over long term sustainability. Capitalism is doomed, etc... 😞
The Kona Process from 2015 (ish?) was the last innovative/good bike they did I think, chonky frame and build but relatively short travel at 130mm.
They did the burly short travel Process 111 29er, which I had and was amazing.
And the 650b wheeled Process 135 and 153 - I also had the latter and that was brilliant too.
Both pedalled like shit TBH, but were progressive for the time and really well balanced.
My P153 in Finale:
Process 153 you say...
loved that bike, so much fun to ride, it wasnt a great pedaller but I did the Mega, couple of EWS at tweedlove (the 1st one was ridiculously long),
The next Gen Process was much more of an allrounder, but by then everyone was doing progressive geometry
I have a 1997 Lava Dome (semi-retired)
a 2002 Bear D-L (semi-retired)
a 2006 Dew DL that I got rusted to a standstill off ebay and now lives at Euston
a 2013 Dew DL that I use for commuting to the station every day
a 2014 Unit- Used loads for towing kids to nursery, family adventures, long off road treks
a 2018 Process 153 29 - ridden and raced all over the UK, getting a bit old now , but it has an angleset and suspension Ive got just right so seeing no need to change
a 2021 Honzo DL- I ride it more than I thought I would, 2.6 tyres and its insanely capable for a hardtail
That's a decent collection Kimbers, have you considered buying the brand as well?
You'd probably do a better job than the recent owners who ran it into the ground (IMO).
In seriousness, I guess someone will pick up the brand and do a tighter range of gravel & trail bikes, a bit like Marin has been brought back as a credible brand.
This was the planned price list for 23/24, some of these not released yet
I know what bikes Id like them to make, but that doesnt necessarily relate to what turns a profit
Its cool that they make a fatbike like the Woo & Wo, or even the new Ouroboros bikes, but how many do they sell?
^ thats a huge range of bikes. And to think people were laying into Orange (me included) for their range being too confusing... 17 different adult hardtails?!
Seeing as we are doing the rose tinted history lesson - this was my first 'proper' mountain bike, an upgrade when I was about 15 from the various BSO's after months of pleading and saving. Can still remember driving down to JE James and handing over £279.99, and staring for hours at the Marin B17 on the rack.
I went absolutely mad with the upgrades on the bike over the next couple of years - it ended up with Manitou X Vert Pros, Easton bars, Race Face cranks, Mavic D521 rims, Tioga Facotry DH Tyres (rear knobs trimmed off with side cutters to clear the frame), an XT parallel push rear brake and - behold - the very first XT 4pot hydraulic brake on the front (remember those? BR M750?)
Glow in the dark decals too.
And then I got it nicked off me at knife point in Leeds.... I still live in hope that all those enornous stoppies and jumping it off bus shelters were putting the strain on the headtube and that as the perp rode off, it snapped and implaed him to the ground.
thats a huge range of bikes. And to think people were laying into Orange (me included) for their range being too confusing… 17 different adult hardtails?!
That's obviously a big problem, I think some of the models might be due to over ordering in the COVID boom and then not being able to shift them with the glut that followed.
Kona have a bit of a problem, what is their core product? is it quirky/ niche gravel / bike packing models like the unit or snake with iconic P2forks ? Is it the freeride park bikes like the Stinky's of yesteryear ? and everyone needs some ebikes in their lineup these days
and what do most brands sell the most of, sub £1000 hardtails with budget specs to hit the price point?
Id love to buy the brand of i won the lottery but its a tough market to crack and right now there's some huge discounts on RRP out their, my local specialized concept store was selling stuff at half price or better, big brands might be able to handle that, but smaller ones ?
and RRPs on the new Processes are a fair bit cheaper than they have been for a while
https://www.konaworld.com/en-uk/pages/kona-processg3
Update from the owners....
sadly Thanks to Trump Im looking at a non US brand for my next bike, but its encouraging
Kona Chapter Three – Ten Months Later What an intense time this has been for the bike world! If we start by looking back at the Sea Otter festival last April, most of us will remember the crazy happenings – and here at Kona, we’d like to forget! In the intervening 10 months, we’re very happy to report that the newly re-founded Kona Bicycle Company is well on its way to re-claiming a meaningful place in the world of bikes. When Dan and I raised our hands and said we were up for the challenge, there were so many of you who voiced your encouragement to lift our spirits and let us know that we were making the right call. We cannot express how thankful we are for your dedicated support! The recovery started by bringing back some of the key staff members in product development, marketing, sales and customer support. Many left or were forced to leave Kona during a remarkably difficult period for the bike business and the company. It continues through a renewed interaction with our key suppliers who went out of their way to give us the crucial support we needed. As Kona bike production re-started and fresh new bikes were delivered, we were able to carry that support in the form of aggressively priced product to Kona dealers who remained loyal to our brand. During the first four months, we were finally able to introduce the ground-breaking Ouroboros gravel bike, an entirely new generation of our renowned Process dual suspension MTB’s and release the long awaited Remote dual suspension EMTB platform. At the same time, many of the critical information and customer support features on KonaWorld.com that were abandoned when the focus of the company switched to a Direct to Consumer model have been rebuilt. On the retailer side, our first move was to eliminate the DTC platform, rebuild a robust Dealer Portal, and reconstruct our US sales rep force which was mostly eliminated by the DTC purge. The Kona Ride Online, our dealer click-and-collect program was revamped to give dealers their full margin for online orders, and will be reintroduced in Europe and Canada in the coming months. Our product team based at Kona HQ in Ferndale Washington has continued the work of creating new category-leading models, three of which will be introduced over the next two months in Gravel and Dual Suspension MTB, representing the first completely new designs with contemporary specifications we’ve introduced since 2020. There is so much more in development that we can’t tell you about at this time, but another 15 new models in EMTB, E-Commuters, Gravel, Transportation, MTB and Youth categories will be ready to rock by the end of this year. Dan and I and the entire Kona Crew continue to be motivated by our love for cycling, the positive interaction we have every day with people that ride and sell our bikes, and the love and support you share with us as we continue with our journey to spread the word of the Long Sweet Ride.
You know what's really nice and made me smile? The website font on the Remote page. It's the font from the 1997 brochure, along with the cartoon flower images. It actually triggered that sense of desire I got when I opened brochure on the Manomano page way back when.
Agreed that late 90s look still looks good and it's great to see Dan and Jake have kept their sense of humour
Looking forward to seeing the new models. Kona certainly need some. The aluminium Hei Hei is coming up on 10 years old. Sold mine ages ago but at 7.5k miles it remains my highest mileage bike.
I saw that bit about 10 new models and thought that was being pretty optimistic. Then you look at the website and realise they have more than 50 models in the range. Surely the vast majority of those need to be scrapped, just for manufacturing efficiency and to let dealers keep a few of the remainder in stock.