We sent Kona Team member Graham Agassiz into the wilds of his interior British Columbia homeland to see what he thought. With 170mm of super plush travel, ultra short chainstays and geometry that's quick, intuitive, and totally committed to going down, the Entourage is all about progression Kona style. And if the feedback from one of the world's best big mountain riders is any indication, we're on to something good. Get the real lowdown from Agassiz and his fellow gang member, Kona's Gravity Product Manager, Chris Mandell. Together they've crafted a jewel, one explained in detail through our newly released Proto Testing video, and in a Sneak Peek interview with Mandell where he breaks down the design philosophy and marquee features of the all-new 2012 Kona Entourage.
Check out the Entourage Sneak Peek microsite, featuring an interview with Kona's Gravity Product Manager, Chris Mandell
Aggy testifies his Entourage. Photo: Jeff Conner
The 2012 Entourage Prototype, size Large. 36.5 lbs, HTA 65 degrees. 170mm front and rear travel.
Designed specifically for the modern gravity rider: bike park, DH, tech singletrack, dirtjumps, and big course slopestyle.
Double shear stay pivots with 30mm OD bearings.
Chainstay main pivot with 40mm OD bearings w/ 17mm axle. Super short chainstays: 415mm / 16.3 inches
Top view of main pivot, 7005 aluminum frameset
Bottom bracket height: 343mm / 13.5 inches. Main pivots feature non-drive side hex bolts for easy maintenance.
Stoked.
Kona seem to have gone from making noisy bikes to quite ones.
Operator was long (although it was a large), felt nice in a basic test.
I wonder if they'll keep the Stinky in their 2012 lineup?
fabien barel for example ... he won the world champ title on a Stab !
90% rider 10% bike
the stab was the most innovative bikes form `03 to `05 (prototypes not the resale models) and ALL other bike companies copied the stabs geo
so you could say the stab was the basis for modern DH bikes
Fabian Barel = 99% rider 1% bike.
they finally made the chainstays shorter, which is the biggest, (or only) improvement i can find here. i've had a stinky, it was fun, but it was about as innovative as a farm tractor from the 1940's. i wonder if kona will keep the 4-bar rear end for ANOTHER 15 years. lol.
Unless you talk about looks, in which case you're not talking about how a bike rides or performs but instead are talking about how it looks when photographed or when sitting in your truck's bed or on your vehicle's rack.
Which may count for much in sales, but it is pretty irrelevant in bike performance.
I assume you mean that wining a world cup title is more dependent on the rider than on the bike. If that is the case then what difference does it make what bike you buy and following that logic it's quite silly to pay $3000 for a frame when a $1800 frame will do the job. I still don't know why people dislike Kona with such ferver
i've got a 06' stinky for Park / Slopestyle ... but when it goes to DH i take my Session 88
and i agree with you ... most of people dont like kona because other people already told that they sucks! (and they have never ridden a kona)
and one fact on kona is great:
they're cheap ! so most the kids can buy one and get skills on a bike
first off, every other company out there should take note at how well this was put together, how it wasn't just a "look cool" look we got the best rider in the business video. it came with vigor and most importantly.. information, which drove this msg home.
do i know Aggy? no, do i enjoy his riding alot? very much, do i care for kona bikes?, not at all.
this was scripted and shot almost perfectly in my opinion, and i can't wait to see more.
thats what it says , nothing about xc worthy.. i ride a coiler deluxe with a lyrik u-turn and don't like xc on that one either, its possible yes but only my choice if i have 1 bike to bring on a longer biketrip..
for the purpose its meant i think the bike wil do fine , kona's are fine i think ( my coiler is holding up fine for 3 years now and i am the 3rd or 4th owner... and not being gently..)
i like the entourage , curious about the paintjob , might buy one eventually.. second hand probably..hahaha
I consider any pedaling ride "XC" and don't know why anyone would be in a hurry to limit "XC" to lycra, heart rate monitors, 1.9" bald tires, visorless helmets, and disco slippers.
I agree that the "one bike to do it all" is absurd when it has 7" travel and weighs between 35 and 40 lbs.
On the other hand, I agree that as a gravity-oriented bike pedaled only lightly and occasionally, 7" travel and 35-40 lbs is pretty nice, but I doubt 7" is needed.
In 5 years we're going to see travel amounts come back to what they were 5 years ago. It's already happening with bikes like the Yeti ASR5 and the new SC Blur TRc. People are realizing that just as 24" wheels and 3.0 Gazzaloddis on a 50-lb Banshee Scream were way overkill, so are modern ideas of burliness and travel requirement.
Or maybe it will be worse and people will stop learning how to ride bikes, and instead will be able to buy bikes that do everything for them!
I would buy one, but I would have to buy Tanuki also... So bikes like Stinky TL (or, if you are Kona hater, new Specialized SX) are better option for "if you want one bike to do everything, this is the bike".
And to be cool... I have the same old Kona T-shirt.
erm you mean a 2011 Coilair ?
Magic link geometry adjustments, with a good build get it below 15kg and can definatly hold up a day in the bikepark or dh track imo
Aesthetically it's not terrible... but I am on your side again about the one-piece rocker arm.
I am curious... is this a DH bike? With an interrupted seat tube I can't see it being pedaled anywhere.
I would be very surprised to see this bike come from the factory under 36 pounds with the size of the clevises and tubes.
nice one
(the short CS is a great improvement, though)
The specs compared to the sx trail and bighit:
chainstay: 415mm vs. 419mm vs. 426mm
bb height: 343mm vs. 356mm vs. 365mm
travel: 170mm vs. 180mm
ht angle: 65 vs 65.5
st angle: 62ish vs. 70 vs. 71
seatpost: 150mmish vs. 300mm
I'm sure it behaves very different than the specialized bikes (insanely short chainstay, insanely low bottom bracket, very slack angles). FSR generally pedals more pleasantly than single pivot. This is definitely a gravity centric/specific bike designed descend and rail and be agile, but not a pedal bike..think whistler where they have lifts and machined trails.
Also, check some of the explaining www.leelikesbikes.com/how-seat-tube-angle-determines-bike-character.html regarding seat post angles.
but still the entourage is a nice bike but it is more in secialized`s sx trail category and not a do it all kind of thing.
Looks like its geared to compete with the Voltage FR
Sx-trail is over $3000, Transitions TR250 build kit is $4800. Kona Stinky $2300.