The last five years have been a wild ride for the bike industry. COVID brought chaos with parts shortages, crazy high demand, and more than a few production headaches. Add in a change of ownership here at Kona smack in the middle of that, and it has been anything but business as usual.
Certain very cool and very new bikes have been blurred to protect their identity.
Kona Co-Founder Jake Heilbron and Charles Russell welcome dealers to the 2025 Kona Ride
Since Jake and Dan brought Kona back, things have started to feel steady again, and a sense of normalcy has returned. Last week, it all came full circle with our first face-to-face dealer launch since 2019!
Product Managers Justin Clements, Nick Marshall, and Pat White introduce some very special new bikes!
Dealers could choose from gravel loops...
...Or laps of Galbraith's world-class singletrack.
Bringing our dealers back to Bellingham to ride the full 2025/2026 lineup felt huge. Gravel, MTB, e-MTB, you name it, we had it out on the trails. It was the result of a huge effort from the entire Kona crew: product, sales, marketing, warehouse, and credit. Every single person pulled together to make it happen, and we owe a big thanks to Bosch, SRAM, Shimano, Gruff Brewing, Hammer Nutrition and WTB for their support in making the event a success.
The best part was seeing our Canadian and US dealers and key international distributors grinning ear to ear after shredding our new bikes on Bellingham dirt. After a tough few years, that stoke is exactly what keeps us fired up and pushing to keep Kona the world’s biggest little bike company.
Kona Factory Rider Eddie Reynolds was on hand to show dealers just how capable our Remote eMTBs are.
Heiko Krause from McBike in Smithers, BC, getting lofty on the all-new Kona Hei Hei CR
It wasn't all bikes; dealers also got to sample Bellingham brews and experience some seriously epic weather!
