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http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Kona-what-happened.html

Quite an interesting read. I am considering some of their new range of bikes, they are looking really good and coming back strong.

anyone had experience of these recently? The Carbon Operator is a lovely looking bike.

I'm riding the Satori at the moment, and was on the King Kahuna up til January- I took on Kona in the shop for the 2013 range - I have a if I won't ride it I won't sell it policy, and looking at them across the range they stack up well for spec to price and although fairly understated (or boring) paint work they look good. The King Kahuna I loved is a fantastic bike super fast super stiff and rides really nicely but my back gave up so had to buy a fully - I've got the Hei Hei as a demo bike so went for the Satori, it's a lot of bike comes in at about 30lbs so is mega heavy compared to the king kahuna but pedals well and rides really nicely, I rate them I like the Hei Hei too, I think they've really got it together now the bikes look good, are finished well, come well specced, ride nicely- tick all the boxes. People are def still a bit hung up on this old rep of the frames snapping which is a bit frustrating to deal with seeing as it holds no ground now hasn't done for a few years- personally I get on them and I'm happy to go- the king kahuna I put a narrower bar on for racing though. But that all said it's easier to sell the Massi and Felt bikes!

I was a huuuuge Kona fan in the 90's

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/mai ... emId=12057

91-95 - they were making some drool worthy bikes.. long tt's.... slackish angles.. lots of standover... mint

glad to see them back on it - that carbon Operator looks peachy. That Pinkbike article is excellent too. They have been cranking out some really good stuff recently.

I still got my cindercone 2000 in the garage, first proper mountain bike that i have not got the heart to sell it but don't use it.... well unless it starts coming up in the retro section and price goes up

I have a bit of a soft spot for Kona's having owned a 2005 The King, a super light xc bike, my first full sus, and which i learnt so much from riding. Then i crashed it and bent the frame. I replaced it with a Coiler, which at the time as way too much travel for any of the places i was riding, and my ability. It finally got replaced with a Specialized pitch, but i was sad to see it go. I now have an Operator, which i must say is one of the most flattering bikes i have owned, its got me out of a few sticky situations where my skills were lacking. I have yet to really test it properly on a decent downhill track, but so far i am really impressed.

We had a Kahuna from about 2004/5 in the family that I had various times. We got this just as Kona went donwhill in terms of quality, and it was a pretty poor bike really. My mate has it now and it's well and truly buggered.

I remember a few of my friends had them back in the day -the Stinky, Stinky 9, Stinky and Stab Primo. I was never that keen on them then. Big fan of their new models now though.