Kona Bicycle Company
A Pacific Northwest bicycle brand recognized for mountain bikes, technical trail designs, touring models, and cycling advocacy.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Kona Bicycle Company is a bicycle brand founded in 1988 by Dan Gerhard, Jacob Heilbron, and Jimbo Holmstrom. Although the company originated in Vancouver, British Columbia, its world headquarters are in Ferndale, Washington, while it has maintained Canadian distribution operations in Vancouver and European distribution operations in Monaco. Kona developed its identity around mountain biking and the demanding riding terrain of the Pacific Northwest, later expanding into road, commuter, cyclocross, touring, gravel, and electric bicycles. The company’s early product development was closely associated with mountain-bike designer and racer Joe Murray. Kona and Murray worked on custom steel hardtail bicycles at a time when the mountain-bike category was still evolving rapidly. Kona became associated with sloping-top-tube mountain-bike frames, a design approach that helped create more clearance and a distinctive visual profile. Paul Brodie and the TBG also played a role in the broader development and implementation of this frame concept through earlier work in the Canadian mountain-bike industry. Kona’s location near Vancouver’s North Shore influenced its move into freeride mountain bikes during the late 1990s. These bicycles were designed for steep, technical, and demanding terrain, with an emphasis on durability and suspension performance. The company became known for models and components with unconventional names and a deliberately irreverent personality. This differentiated Kona from more conservative bicycle manufacturers and supported a brand image centered on experimentation, humor, adventure, and participation in cycling culture. Beyond mountain bikes, Kona built a broad product portfolio that included road bicycles, urban and commuter models, cyclocross bicycles, touring bicycles, gravel-oriented designs, and electric bicycles. Its better-known model families have included Process full-suspension mountain bikes, Honzo hardtails, and Sutra touring and adventure bicycles. Kona products have been distributed in more than 60 countries, giving the company an international retail presence despite its relatively small, specialist-brand profile. Racing and athlete support have been central to Kona’s marketing and product-development approach. The Kona Factory Team has included riders who achieved national, world, and major stage-race success, including Ryder Hesjedal, Roland Green, Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, Fabien Barel, Tracy Moseley, Ryan Trebon, and Anne Knapp. The company has stated that Kona riders have won more than 200 national and world championships. Endurance racer Cory Wallace won multiple World Solo 24 Hour Championships on a Kona Hei Hei CRDL, including three consecutive titles from 2017 through 2019 and another championship in 2022 after the event’s pandemic-related interruption. Kona has also pursued environmental and community-oriented cycling advocacy. It has supported the International Mountain Bicycling Association since 1994 and participated in fundraising and trail-development initiatives such as the Kona Buck-A-Bike program, the Kona Bro Deal program, Interbike fundraising events, and Kona/IMBA freeride grants. In 2006, it launched the Africabike initiative in partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bicycling Magazine. The purpose was to provide specially designed bicycles to health-care workers delivering services to people affected by HIV and AIDS in African communities. The initiative later expanded its support and fundraising structure through Kona Basic Needs. Ownership changed in 2022 when the founders announced the sale of Kona to Kent Outdoors, a diversified outdoor-equipment company. Kent Outdoors announced in April 2024 that it was winding down operations and intended to sell the Kona brand. In May 2024, Gerhard and Heilbron announced that they had bought the brand back and planned to relaunch it. Kona’s current operating scale, executive structure, and detailed relaunch timetable are not fully documented in the supplied sources.
History
Kona Bicycle Company was established in 1988 by Dan Gerhard, Jacob Heilbron, and Jimbo Holmstrom. The business began in Vancouver, British Columbia, within a cycling culture strongly influenced by the mountains and technical trails surrounding the city. Its world headquarters later became located in Ferndale, Washington, with distribution offices in Vancouver for Canada and Monaco for Europe. In its formative period, Kona worked with Joe Murray, a Mountain Bike Hall of Fame rider and product designer, to create custom steel hardtail mountain bikes. The early company concentrated on practical, durable bicycles for serious off-road use rather than treating mountain bikes as merely modified road bicycles. Kona became one of the brands associated with sloping-top-tube mountain-bike frames, which provided additional rider clearance and became an important visual and functional feature of many off-road designs. Paul Brodie’s prior work with Rocky Mountain and his own company, together with work by the TBG, was also connected to the development of this frame approach in the Canadian bicycle industry. During the 1990s, Kona developed a deliberately unconventional brand voice. Some bicycles and components received playful or provocative names, including Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Sutra, Sex One, Sex Too, Stinky, and Jackshit. This naming style reinforced Kona’s self-image as an alternative bicycle company: technically serious but less formal than many established competitors. The company’s product identity combined engineering, racing credibility, and a sense of humor aimed at committed cyclists. The rise of freeride riding on Vancouver’s North Shore had a particularly strong effect on Kona’s product direction. Beginning around 1998, the company introduced freeride-oriented mountain bikes designed for rough, steep, and highly technical downhill terrain. These bicycles emphasized structural strength and control. Kona’s mountain-bike range subsequently expanded across hardtails, cross-country models, trail bikes, freeride bikes, downhill bicycles, and later enduro and electric categories. Kona did not remain exclusively a mountain-bike specialist. Over time it added road, commuter, cyclocross, touring, adventure, gravel, and electric bicycles. The Sutra became associated with long-distance touring and utility-oriented adventure riding, while models such as the Honzo and Process represented different approaches to modern mountain biking. Kona’s distribution network expanded internationally, and its bicycles were sold in more than 60 countries. Racing provided both product feedback and brand visibility. Kona-supported athletes included major figures in cross-country, downhill, endurance, cyclocross, and road racing. The roster included Ryder Hesjedal, winner of the 2012 Giro d’Italia; cross-country world champions Roland Green; downhill champions Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, Fabien Barel, and Tracy Moseley; and American champions Ryan Trebon and Anne Knapp. Kona also highlighted endurance rider Cory Wallace, who won the World Solo 24 Hour Championship in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 while riding a Kona Hei Hei CRDL. The company has stated that its riders have achieved more than 200 national and world championships. Community and trail advocacy became another long-term part of Kona’s identity. The company has supported the International Mountain Bicycling Association since 1994. Its fundraising programs and events helped finance trail construction, freeride facilities, dirt-jump parks, and mountain-bike access projects in the United States and Canada. The Kona/IMBA bowling event at Interbike ran from 1998 through 2007 and raised money for trail advocacy. In 2008, Kona supported IMBA’s Epic Rides program, which helped fund routes including the Mid Mountain Epic in Utah, Comfortably Numb in British Columbia, trails near Peoria in Illinois, and Loon Lake Epic in Idaho. Kona’s largest humanitarian initiative was BikeTown Africa, launched in 2006 with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bicycling Magazine. The Kona Africabike was developed for health-care workers who traveled to deliver home-based services and support to people affected by HIV and AIDS. Initial projects were associated with Bobonong and Gaborone in Botswana, with later work connected to communities including Delft and Stellenbosch. Kona subsequently established Kona Basic Needs to support fundraising, awareness, and continued bicycle donations. On January 19, 2022, the founders announced the sale of Kona to Kent Outdoors. The ownership transfer placed the bicycle brand within a larger outdoor-equipment portfolio. On April 19, 2024, Kent Outdoors announced that it was winding down operations and planned to sell Kona. On May 20, 2024, Gerhard and Heilbron announced that they had repurchased the brand from Kent Outdoors and intended to relaunch it. The supplied reference material does not establish the full structure of the post-repurchase business, its current product range, or the precise timing of its relaunch.
- 2024
Founders reacquire Kona
[1]After Kent Outdoors begins winding down operations, Dan Gerhard and Jacob Heilbron announce that they have bought the brand back and plan to relaunch it.
- 2022
Sale to Kent Outdoors is announced
[1]Kona’s founders announce the sale of the company to Kent Outdoors.
- 2008
Kona supports IMBA Epic Rides
[1]Kona sponsors the IMBA Epic Rides program and helps fund four mountain-bike routes in the United States and Canada.
- 2006
BikeTown Africa launches
[1]Kona introduces the Africabike humanitarian project with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bicycling Magazine to support health-care workers in African communities.
- 1998
Freeride mountain-bike development expands
[1]Kona develops freeride mountain bikes influenced by Vancouver’s North Shore terrain and its demanding downhill riding.
- 1994
Kona begins supporting IMBA
[1]Kona becomes a corporate supporter of the International Mountain Bicycling Association, beginning a long-running relationship with trail advocacy.
- 1988
Kona is founded
[1]Dan Gerhard, Jacob Heilbron, and Jimbo Holmstrom establish Kona Bicycle Company in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Products and positioning
A performance-oriented, adventure-focused bicycle brand with strong Pacific Northwest roots. Kona combines mountain-bike capability and technical riding credentials with a distinctive, unconventional brand personality and a broader range of touring, commuting, road, gravel, and electric bicycles.
Full-suspension mountain bikes
Kona Process
The Process family represents Kona’s modern full-suspension mountain-bike line. It is associated with trail and aggressive off-road riding, with model configurations intended to balance climbing efficiency, suspension control, descending capability, and technical-terrain handling. Exact specifications and current availability vary by model year.
Hardtail mountain bikes
Kona Honzo
The Honzo is a hardtail mountain-bike family associated with contemporary trail riding. Its design emphasizes a capable off-road chassis without rear suspension, making it suitable for riders seeking simplicity, lower maintenance, and direct handling on technical trails. The family has appeared in multiple materials and configurations over time.
Touring and adventure bicycles
Kona Sutra
The Sutra family is Kona’s touring and adventure-oriented range. These bicycles are designed around long-distance travel, carrying equipment, mixed-surface exploration, and everyday utility. The line reflects Kona’s expansion beyond technical mountain biking into practical, endurance-focused cycling.
Cross-country and endurance mountain bikes
Kona Hei Hei
The Hei Hei is a cross-country and endurance-oriented mountain-bike family. It gained additional visibility through Kona Factory Team rider Cory Wallace, who used a Hei Hei CRDL in multiple World Solo 24 Hour Championship victories. The model has represented Kona’s focus on efficient, race-capable off-road bicycles.
Humanitarian utility bicycle · 2006
Kona Africabike
The Africabike was developed as a practical bicycle for health-care workers delivering home-based services and other support in African communities. It formed the product basis of Kona’s BikeTown Africa advocacy initiative and was intended for reliable everyday transportation rather than recreational cycling.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008IMBA Epic Rides sponsorship
United States · Canada
Kona sponsored IMBA’s Epic Rides program, supporting the development and promotion of demanding mountain-bike routes.
Outcome. The 2008 program supported the Mid Mountain Epic, Comfortably Numb, trails near Peoria, and Loon Lake Epic.
- 2006BikeTown Africa and Kona Africabike
Botswana · South Africa · Africa
Kona partnered with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bicycling Magazine to provide bicycles for health-care workers serving people affected by HIV and AIDS. Early work focused on communities including Bobonong and Gaborone in Botswana, with later projects connected to Delft and Stellenbosch.
Outcome. Kona pledged 1,000 Africabikes and created Kona Basic Needs to continue fundraising and bicycle donations.
- 1998Kona/IMBA Interbike Bowling Fundraiser
United States · Canada
Kona supported a bowling fundraiser held during Interbike to raise money for mountain-bike trail advocacy and projects associated with the New England Mountain Bike Association and IMBA.
Outcome. The event continued through 2007 and helped fund Kona/IMBA freeride grants.
- Kona Buck-A-Bike and trail advocacy programs
United States · Canada
Kona developed fundraising and community programs including Buck-A-Bike, Bro Deal initiatives, and freeride grants intended to support trail construction, dirt-jump parks, and riding facilities.
Outcome. Grants supported projects in locations including Rapid City, Grand Junction, Hood River, Coquitlam, St. Charles, Surrey, Anderson, and East Burke.
Brand decisions
2024
Founders repurchase and plan a relaunchStrategyBackground
Kent Outdoors began winding down operations and planned to sell Kona, creating an opportunity for the original founders to regain control.
Action taken
Gerhard and Heilbron announced that they had repurchased the Kona brand and intended to relaunch it.
Aftermath
The supplied sources do not provide a complete relaunch schedule, current operating structure, or confirmed product roadmap.
2022
Sell Kona to Kent OutdoorsM&ABackground
After more than three decades as an independent bicycle company associated with its founders, Kona announced a sale to diversified outdoor-equipment maker Kent Outdoors.
Action taken
Dan Gerhard and Jacob Heilbron announced the transfer of ownership to Kent Outdoors.
Aftermath
Kent Outdoors later began winding down operations and announced plans to sell the Kona brand.
Recent events
Hyundai launches vehicle-to-vehicle charging service in India[3]
Reported:
Hyundai launched a vehicle-to-vehicle charging service for Indian Kona electric SUV customers, sending an EV to a remote location to charge a customer’s low-battery car.
Sources3 sources
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