The fall of Kona Bikes :(

[cash05458]

I am not in the industry but have been riding and buying now for coming on 40 years...always fascinated how things come and go...

We want the lightest...were told that for how many decades? now it doesn't matter if the bike is light we are told...I guess it might have advantages being heavier when going downhill, sure...tho Aero frames are heavier...far better...add in the braking stuff...age tested rim brakes are just not going to stop you...also thought most of us were driven crazy by noises on our bikes? Well, time to buy those disc brake frames and system as the old rim thing is obsolete...most of us go along with it thanks I guess to the gravel symptom or something...electronic shifting, like any of us were losing watts doing a finger throw...

The industry has done it's work well...convincing folks that their gorgeous ten year old non aero, rim brake bike is just subpar and just part of some old old non tech past...personally I think that is BS and just all marketing...if they want to pretend they are Pogo or something great...but reality is otherwise...and prices have risen accordingly...

[KonaSS]

Originally Posted by benb

My takeaway from listening to this (listening to Josh on part 3 right now) is that we need to be hunting deals.

It's really not in the cards for me to bring another bike in right now just with garage space or whatever.

But they are talking about their being truck sized containers of groupsets and warehouses full of extra bikes and other stuff out there that were duplicate orders and dumb supply chain accidents and they are sitting on them all.

So at some point there's gotta be some smoking deals on replacing worn components/groups to new stuff and/or doing upgrades.

I guess my two main bikes are basically sitting there waiting to get converted to fanci(er) electronic groups when the deals are found.

My 2022 MTB has mechanical eagle on it.. I definitely gotta be looking for a deal on the AXS upgrade kit that's basically just dropping the new rear derailleur and the shifter on.

Of course I am wondering if the show is a distorted picture due to the small # of people they interviewed. Is it only certain brands of bikes that got over-ordered, etc.. or is it a wide swath all the way across brands and companies.

There has already been a good number of deals over the past year. Most have been on the mid to lower end bikes. But some on higher end. And good deals (30-50%) on higher end components have also been seen from time to time. I got a Fox Performance SC 120 fork for $300 with free shipping from Jenson. Lots of good deals on Sram Eagle AXS, Force and Red components. Most of those are due to new generations being introduced though. Right now is also a good time to get 12 speed Shimano MTB components. Sale prices tell me that a new generation is coming there too.

When you find a good deal on a higher end bike or component, they usually sell out fast. So you do need to be constantly looking and pull the trigger as soon as you see it.

[Mike V]

So it looks like Kona is saved.

https://theradavist.com/kona-founder...kent-outdoors/

[EB]

Originally Posted by Mike V

So it looks like Kona is saved.

https://theradavist.com/kona-founder...kent-outdoors/

Great news.

[notsew]

Stoked to see the brand survive and nice to see it back in the hands of its creators. Hope they can make it work!

[fourflys]

Awesome! I had a lower level hardtail back in the day (Fire Mountain maybe?) and it was actually really decent and took any punishment I could give it on San Diego trails.. ended up donating it to the local high school MTB team..

[unterhausen]

I wonder if they had to assume any debt. I hope the timing was right that they have bikes to sell, anyone know?

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

I wonder if they had to assume any debt. I hope the timing was right that they have bikes to sell, anyone know?

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...apter%E2%80%99

While the new owners said they would pause consumer direct sales — on the company website, consumer sales were turned off soon after the sale was completed on Friday. They also pledged to avoid deep discounts like the buy-one-get-one promotions Kona ran last year. But they said they expect to offer bikes at aggressive prices, especially in the short term as they work through excess inventory. But now, the sales will go through bike shops.

Sounds like they have lots of bikes to sell (though the bikes they have to sell might not be the bikes people want).

[charliedid]

I sure hope this is a good idea.

Always been a fan.