Kona is based in Ferndale, Washington and Vancouver, BC. During the last few years, many riders and publications have discovered their local North Shore and Galbraith Mountain trails. While everybody thinks that they ride extreme trails, many would gape in disbelief down some of the near vertical ramps, ladders and root entangled mud slides that they ride on every day. This may not be the best riding, but it is very brutal on equipment and riders. It is in these conditions that they evaluate frame design and components. The feeling is, if it works there, it should work anywhere.

The Kona name comes from a fascination with volcanic things. Kona Bikes located on the Northern edge of the volcanic Cascade Mountain Range, which runs down the Pacific Coast from Canada to Southern California. The Hawaiian Islands are a volcanic chain, so the Kona name connection came along naturally.

Kona was founded in 1988 by long-time riders and racers who had previously worked for other pioneering West Coast mountain bike companies. The original Kona bicycles were custom machines based on their own preference in high-performance off-road bikes. This tradition of making thoughtful, reliable, well-balanced bicycles is still the cornerstone of the Kona way.

Kona Frame Design
Kona is constantly evaluating and adjusting their frame designs as rider demands and technology change. Rather than re-inventing the mountain bike every season based on the latest trend, they choose to fine-tune their proven designs. While the sloping top tube design that they pioneered over 14 years ago has been largely imitated, they have continued to improve function with significant and subtle refinements. Rather than rush into dual suspension by buying someone else's design, they took nearly two years to design, develop and test prototype after prototype until they settled on the Kona 4-bar walking beam system. Kona is an independent and rider oriented company that believes in doing things their own way.

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