Kona announces its third-generation Process – the first range of bikes to be released since the brand was re-acquired by its original founders

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The latest Process gets a wealth of evolutionary changes after Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron are at Kona once again

Kona Process 153 in a forest
(Image credit: Kona)

Kona has announced the release of an updated new Process 153 and Process 134. These are the third generation of a line of trail mountain bikes that were originally released by Kona a decade ago. While it might not be a complete redesign, its great news to see the cogs of the Kona machine moving once again.

Earlier in the year the future of  Kona Bicycles was a bit bleak. A BOGOF sale and then an unexplained exit from Sea Otter raised suspicion that the writing was on the wall for the legendary Canadian mountain bike brand. Kona Bicycles parent brand, Canadian sporting goods company Kent Outdoors, put Kona up for sale back in April and it was bought back by its original founders, Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron. 

Kona Process 153 being jumped on a trail

The third generation of Process still comes in 153mm and 134mm travel options (Image credit: Kona)

To the naked eye, the new Process 153 and Process 134 look much the same, however, Kona has made a load of tweaks to bring the Process platform up to date. The Process 153 and 134 are now compatible with both 29er and mullet wheel setups and feature a flip-chip to maintain the geometry when switching between rear wheel sizes.

Kona has made changes to the suspension kinematics on both the 153 and 134 so it works better for both air and coil shocks The geometry itself has also been tweaked, lengthening the reach (455mm on a medium) and slackening the headtube angle to 64.5 degrees. There are more sizes too with a new small size added, while the seat tubes have been made shorter giving more flexibility with sizing and offering a deeper seatpost insertion (175mm small and medium, 200mm on large and XL) for longer travel dropper posts.

Kona Process 153 being jumped over a jump in a forest

Kona says the Process is built to be ridden hard, go big, and built to last (Image credit: Kona)

The updates don't stop there either. The frames now come equipped with a UDH hanger, more mounts for bottles and tools/accessories, and extra frame protection including a tailgate protector under the downtube in case you transport your bike using a pick-up truck.

The 134 and 153 Process will both be available in two carbon fiber (Process CR/DL, Process CR) and two aluminum (Process DL, Process) builds. Alloy frames feature external cable routing while the carbon frames have fully guided interal routing.

As things stand, pricing and release info is still unknown.

Our take

While the third-generation Process might be more of an evolution rather than a revolution, it's great to see a major overhaul from the much-loved brand. Under the new/old leadership, we hope this is a promising step to seeing Kona return to its former glories.

Canafornia - Eddie Reynolds rides the All-New Kona Process 153 - YouTube Canafornia - Eddie Reynolds rides the All-New Kona Process 153 - YouTube
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Tech specs: Kona Process

Kona Process 153 CR DL studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 153 CR DL

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona DH Carbon 153mm Travel
  • Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate RC2 Charger 3 DebonAir+ w/ButterCups 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing 
  • Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC, 200mm rotors
  • Gears: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
  • Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
  • Wheels: WTB KOM Trail i30 TCS
  • Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: Rock Shox Reverb w/1x Remote Lever 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 153 CR studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 153 CR

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona DH Carbon 153mm Travel
  • Fork: Fox 36 Performance 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
  • Shock: Fox Float X Performance Elite Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM G2 R, 200mm rotors
  • Gears: SRAM GX Eagle 
  • Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle 
  • Wheels: WTB KOM Team i30 TCS
  • Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 153 DL studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 153 DL

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 153mm Travel
  • Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select RC Charger DebonAir 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
  • Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select Plus Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM G2 RS, 200mm/180mm rotors
  • Gears: SRAM GX Eagle 
  • Crankset: SRAM NX Eagle 
  • Wheels: WTB KOM Team i30 TCS
  • Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 153 studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 153

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 153mm Travel
  • Fork: RockShox Yari RC Motion Control DebonAir 160mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
  • Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select Plus Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM DB8, 200mm/180mm rotors
  • Gears: Microshift Advent X
  • Crankset: FSA Comet Heavy Duty
  • Wheels: WTB ST i30 TCS 2.0
  • Front tire: Maxxis Assegai EXO TR DUAL 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO TR DUAL 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal w/ Shimano Lever 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 134 CR DL studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 134 CR DL

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona DH Carbon 134mm Travel
  • Fork: RockShox Pike Ultimate RC2 Charger 3 DebonAir+ w/ButterCups 140mm Tapered 110mm Spacing 
  • Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC, 200mm rotors
  • Gears: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
  • Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle Transmission
  • Wheels: WTB KOM Trail i30 TCS
  • Front tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Dissector EXO TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: Rock Shox Reverb w/1x Remote Lever 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 134 CR studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 153 CR

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona DH Carbon 134mm Travel
  • Fork: Fox Float 34 Performance 140mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
  • Shock: Fox Float X Performance Elite Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM G2 R, 200mm rotors
  • Gears: SRAM GX Eagle 
  • Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle 
  • Wheels: WTB KOM Team i30 TCS
  • Front tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Dissector EXO TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 134 DL studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 134 DL

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 134mm Travel
  • Fork: RockShox Pike Select RC Charger DebonAir 140mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
  • Shock: RockShox Deluxe Ultimate Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM G2 RS, 200mm/180mm rotors
  • Gears: SRAM GX Eagle 
  • Crankset: SRAM NX Eagle 
  • Wheels: WTB KOM Team i30 TCS
  • Front tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO TR 3C 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Dissector EXO TR 3C 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35

Kona Process 134 studio shot with a white background

(Image credit: Kona)

Kona Process 134

  • Price: $TBC / £TBC / €TBC
  • Frame: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 134mm Travel
  • Fork: RockShox Recon RL Motion Control Solo Air 140mm Tapered 110mm Spacing
  • Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select Trunnion
  • Brakes: SRAM Level, 180mm rotors
  • Gears: Microshift Advent X
  • Crankset: FSA Comet 
  • Wheels: WTB ST i30 TCS 2.0
  • Front tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO TR DUAL 29x2.5" WT
  • Rear tire: Maxxis Dissector EXO TR DUAL 29x2.4" WT (27.5x2.4" WT size S)
  • Seatpost: TranzX Dropper +RAD Internal w/ Shimano Lever 31.6mm
  • Saddle: WTB Volt 
  • Bars: Kona XC/BC 35
  • Stem: Kona XC/BC 35
Graham Cottingham
Graham Cottingham
Senior reviews writer, Bike Perfect

Graham Cottingham joined the BikePerfect team as our senior tech writer in 2020. With over 20 years of riding experience, he has dabbled in downhill, enduro, and gravel racing. Not afraid of a challenge, Graham has embraced bikepacking over the last few years and likes nothing more than strapping some bags to his bike and covering big miles to explore Scotland's wildernesses. When he isn’t shredding the gnar in the Tweed Valley, sleeping in bushes, or tinkering with bikes, he is writing tech reviews for BikePerfect.

Rides: Cotic SolarisMax, Stooge MK4, 24 Bicycles Le Toy 3, Surly Steamroller

Height: 177cm

Weight: 71kg