Northwest Tune-Up just keeps getting better. Every year, the festival grows, and this year's fifth edition brought bigger crowds, way more brands, an incredible music lineup, and another epic weekend celebrating everything that makes Bellingham so damn rad.
We rolled into Waterfront Park with a demo fleet featuring a stack of all-new Remote 160 CR e-bikes, a selection of Hei Hei CRs, and the new LBF. From the moment the festival opened (well, technically before the festival opened), the bikes barely had a chance to cool down. Demo slots filled fast, and rider after rider came back grinning from ear to ear. The feedback on the new Remote 160 CR was overwhelmingly positive; this bike is so much fun.
One of the best parts of Northwest Tune-Up is having Galbraith Mountain right on the festival's doorstep. Just a short bus ride away, riders could demo Kona bikes on the same trails where they're designed, tested, and refined.
The events were just as exciting. Eddie Reynolds put on a show aboard his custom Shonky, taking the win in both the Kona Pump Track Competition and the Whip-Off, pocketing $750 for each victory. Sophie Allen added another podium with a second-place finish in the women's Pump Track Competition, earning $500, before she and Mathew Fairbrother both claimed second-place finishes in their respective E-Enduro categories.
It was also great to have a big Kona crew on hand throughout the weekend. Test Team riders Jules Gallant, Luc Prentice, Jacob Tooke, Peter Wojnar, and William Symonds made the trip down from Squamish to soak up the festival atmosphere, catch up with friends, and put in plenty of laps on the local trails.
Of course, Northwest Tune-Up is about far more than just bikes. The live music kept the energy high all weekend (Souls of Mischief, a crowd favourite!), the vendor area was bigger than ever, and Waterfront Park was packed with riders, families, and fans enjoying everything the festival had to offer.
Huge thanks to everyone who stopped by the Kona booth, took a demo bike for a spin, cheered on the racing with their Kona cowbells, or simply came over to say hello. If Northwest Tune-Up isn't already on your calendar, it should be. We'll see you back in Bellingham next year.
