Kona Honzo ESD

https://www.bikemag.com/gear/mounta...mail&em_hash=fddc8997f264f3a62f62fc60935c42d0

"The frame tubing layout looks pretty much identical to the existing Honzo, but the ESD is an entirely different bike. Its head angle has been slackened to 63 degrees, its reach extended to 490 millimeters (size large), and its seat tube accordingly steepened to 77.5 degrees. Its fork travel is bumped up to 150 millimeters, and its chainstays are still adjustable, in this case from 417 to 432 millimeters long, resulting in a wheelbase somewhere in the area of 1,245 millimeters."

WOW 63 degree HT slackness... be fun to demo this bike i'm sure.

 

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And 150 fork. Climbing machine!
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Finally a Honzo I could live with. 63 sounds extreme until you ride slack hardtails. Subtract around 2° from your preferred FS HA and that's your HT number. (<130mm forks need not apply.) Mine, 66 FS, 64.5 HT. I could go a little slacker with the HT and be happy. YMMV...

 

It reminds me of the slacked out hardtails that CRC has carried on the other side of the pond for the last few years.

 

Whoa.......68 to 63*......no middle ground, just jumped straight to the super slack.

It's great they are building HT's like this.....long travel, slack.....but when does it become too much?

I thought my Chameleon felt slack with a 66* HA on a 140mm fork.

 

The beauty of metal bikes...

Small adjustment to the jig, and a few changes tot he cad drawings, and you can create a new prototype.
If you find something that work (and would sell) ramping up production could follow quickly.

 

If you look at the regular m.y. 21 Honzo, I think it's got around 67degree h.a. this one is a special aggro version

 

My rationale with a slack hardtail is that I want it still slack during fork compression, because that's when I most need it to be slack. If I start at 66 with a 140+ mm fork I'm bombing the tech terrain intermittently with a virtual XC HA. So when I see 63 I immediately think 64 including sag and steeper angles from there. Then it doesn't seem extreme to me.

 

I feel that the adjustments coming with modern geo, as it advances, are starting to go too far.

 

Based on your experience riding a bunch of slack HTs?

 

I wonder how well a 63 HTA with 150mm fork will climb?... is this bike meant for all day long distance adventures? (in my case that means 10 miles) but still... haha

 

That's why I kept my mouth closed.

My head says that Snake may be right... But the little red devil on my shoulder says this is one cool looking ride, and I'd love to take it for a run down the stuff in my back yard. And it even ticks off that one feature that leaves a lot of other bikes out of the discussion for me- sliding dropouts. NFW! A single speed that can compete on an enduro type run? Fack me, that looks like fun.


Edit: Ok. Now that I've come back down to earth... What does she weigh? Probably more than a lot of full suspension bikes. Not that that would turn me away...

 

I imagine that it’ll climb depending on how it’s built.

Steep single track, probably want to wander a bit. Less steep fire roads, probably not a problem.

However considering they spec it with an Asagai on the front and a DHR on the back, you are gonna feel like it’s tied to a tree.

 

The Radavist is reporting that the frame only will go for $665. Don't be surprised when one shows up in my garage!

https://theradavist.com/2020/08/the-kona-honzo-esd-is-here/

 

Did they quote a frame weight?

 

FWIW I'm at 64.5 with a 140 fork. The frame is designed for 130-150. Anecdotally, it rides nicely all day. Would slacking it 1.5 degrees and adding 10mm to the fork make it a poor climber or a bad choice for all-day riding? I would have a hard time believing it would in absolutes. If you hop off your 69° MTB and jump on 63 you might complain, but a half hour into the ride you'll have made the adjustments and it feels PF normal.

Nailed it, that's it completely for me, 100%. If I have to bust ass to get to the top, I don't want anything substandard on the way down. I don't want to not take my SS on a trail because it's gnarly. I don't care if it's slightly less efficient going up than it could be. And I'm taking those light tires off my HT, too. They pedal easier, but they don't work with the concept. The engine can be improved, but the tires are what they are and I need traction. I'd rather be overbiked going up than the reverse.

 

Hmmm... Not sure why they wouldn't want to broadcast that from the rooftops.

 

Based on my Paradox V3. As the HTAs go slack, the STAs go vertical. I've never ridden a frame like this one where my feet were so underneath me. I feel stretched out and forward. Not crazy about it.

 

Just cause I like pictures

 

One other data point that I would like to know and haven't seen yet... rear tire clearance?

 

I took a serious look at the Honzo. Looks like a fun ride.

 

Sliding your saddle rearward and using a shorter stem will lessen that feeling. That and more climbing up rough terrain.

 

Guess its a good thing i cancelled my order on a DV9...back to the drawing board.

 

Beautiful but brittle... looking. If I was in the market for a HT, this would be on the list.

 

My saddle is all the way back to the marked user zone limit and the stem is 40mm. Can't place myself any further back.

 

Doesn't look like you could stuff anything bigger than 2.6... maybe?

 

Kona makes some good bikes and seems really willing to quietly jump into a lot of different niche areas. Good on 'em!

 

Only one thing from my list left, then.

Not really... You can use a shorter stem and get an offset dropper. So yes, you can get more rearward.

 

You need longer arms.

 

Maybe! @SnakeCharmer, what’s your ape index?