KONA CARBON

To create our growing fleet of Kona Carbon bikes, Kona has partnered with some of the most reputable carbon manufacturers in the world. Our design team works intimately with our production facilities to ensure the desired ride characteristics, durability demands and weight stipulations are met to the highest standards possible. Kona Carbon Race bikes are feather-light, super-fast and very durable.

STEP 1: APPLICATION
At Kona, we are very selective when choosing carbon fiber for a given application. Every bike requires a different balance of weight, strength, frame damping, stiffness, compliancy and durability. With over 25 years experience making bikes for every known cycling discipline, the first step in the design phase is ensuring how carbon fiber can be optimized for its intended use.

STEP 2: DESIGNING AND ENGINEERING THE KONA RIDE
For the Kona Product Development Team, it’s imperative that key elements of the Kona Ride come to life in our carbon bikes. Like with all of our bikes, efficiency, agility, comfort, and overall strength are key considerations when we begin to work a carbon frame design. We work to leverage all the inherent properties of the material, which are markedly different than steel or aluminum, and it’s crucial that it still feels, rides and lasts like a Kona.

STEP 3: MATERIALS & FABRICATION
THE WEAVE: Kona Carbon bikes use TORAY fibers, what we have determined to be the most technologically advanced in the industry; this is the same carbon weave used throughout most Formula 1 racing cars. Our entire structure is always built with unidirectional prepreg carbon fiber underneath a UD frame finish. The result? Frames with industry-leading weight, stiffness and durability.

THE FRAME: Kona Carbon frames are built with a monocoque main triangle that allows continuous fibers at the tube junctures, resulting in a stronger and lighter overall structure. Our production process also eliminates as much bonded-in aluminum inserts as possible. When we do put alloy into the frame, we take very specific steps on their surface treatment and have special jigs for each step to ensure proper alignment. Kona Carbon frames are only molded with internal air bags, which are removed after the molding process. This means our carbon frames are made from only the best ingredients: carbon fiber and epoxy.

STEP 4: TESTING
During the prototyping process, our frames are tested for weeks at a time on veritable bike torture machines that push our designs through tens of thousands of cycles. What we learn from this directly translates into making strong frames, while eliminating unnecessary material. Kona Team athletes—experts when it comes to pushing the limits of our bicycles in real-world scenarios—are the next in line when it comes to testing our prototype Kona Carbon Race bikes. Even after the rigors of factory test rigs and pro-rider testing, our product team continues to abuse the same prototypes day-in and day-out to ensure we are building the best Kona Carbon Race frames we possibly can.

COMPACT REAR TRIANGLE

Short chainstays and seatstays provide a perfect balance of stability and power transfer when out of the saddle and pedaling hard. Shorter seatstays also have less deflection during braking and accelerate faster than longer stays. A more compact rear triangle also helps the bike to negotiate tight-twisting sections of trail. The Honzo, Operator and Process 111 are good examples of 2014 bikes with incredibly compact rear triangles: quick, aggressive in corners, fun to jump and laterally stiff.

INTERNAL HEADSET

By having the headset bearing located inside the headtube (called “zero stack”), rather than the top and bottom, we are able to achieve a number of advantages when it comes to front-end stiffness, durability and overall riding performance. The major benefit of an internal headset is the extra layer of protection it provides the bearings against the elements. Additionally, the bearings are commonly available angular contact bearings, which are easily and inexpensively replaced. An internal headset also reduces stack height, so the height of the stem and bars are more adjustable, giving the rider the best fit possible.

TAPERED HEADTUBE

Aside from improving the aesthetic, due to its cleaner lines and smooth transition between the fork crown and the headset cover, tapered headtubes also offer a more solid interface between forks with tapered steertubes and the bicycle frame itself. More girth at the bottom of the headtube better distributes shock force, prolonging the bearing life of the headset itself. The inherent strength of its triangular design also means a stronger steering position and improved balance, giving the rider more control in rough terrain. A zero-stack, tapered headtube also puts strength where the load is going—into the lower headset cup—maximizing bearing durability where it’s needed.

TUBELESS COMPATIBLE RIMS

An increasing amount of 2014 Kona models feature the benefits of tubeless compatible rims. Tubeless rims allow for tires with more puncture resistance, better tire grip on the trail, lower rolling resistance and weight savings over traditional tube + tire systems. For 2014, you’ll find tubeless compatible rims on most of our XC Race Light and Enduro bikes, as well as throughout our Cyclocross and Road platforms.