2019 Kona

Process 153 SE

I’ll happily admit I wasn’t immediately convinced with 29” wheels. The feelings of a snappy and playful bike have always resonated with me more than trucking capabilities and rollover capacity. So, I’ve kind of stuck to 27.5” wheels. For most of the 29” bikes that I’ve ridden, it’s hard to not notice the extra inch-and-a-half in diameter, both on the way up and the way down. So, naturally, when I jumped on the Kona Process 153 CR/DL 29, I knew it’d take a lot to change my mind about this whole wheel-size thing. However, the last time I a rode a Process 153, it was the first iteration of the company’s 27.5” model and I was immediately smitten. The thing cornered like a dream yet trucked like a train. It delivered a new standard of playfulness that I hoped every bike afterward would live up to. And so, due to the faith I had in Kona after that experience, I was as curious as I was happy to see how they adapted the Process 153 to work with 29” wheels. As a company rooted in Ferndale, WA, just north of Bellingham, Kona is well aware of the ways in which modern trail bikes are being pushed to the limit, and they’ve certainly done a good job in keeping up with the times. The Process itself is marketed as a “go-everywhere, do-anything workhorse” and its credentials have been continually updated with the ever-changing specs of the industry. So, the question is, can Kona translate the ethos of the Process between wheel sizes? There’s only one way to find out.

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Long, low, and flickable, the Process 153 enduro bike is more rip than race.

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A one-ride report on Kona's 2020 Process 153 CR 29er, and next year's 153 model lineup.

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