Take It From Joe - Let Kona's Regular Joe Bring You Into His World.....
Take It From Joe - Let Kona's Regular Joe Bring You Into His World Each Month With Tales Of Mountain Bike Exploits
He rides with a smile, and smiles when he rides. He’s a Nelson, B.C. boy and has been a Kona rider - and family member - since he was 16; racing with the Clump. He's hucked, hurled, competed at the first Red Bull Rampage event and spent as much time in front of the camera as a Victoria's Secret model.Now, nearly a decade later, after helping to define the freeride movement during its formative stages, he’s stepped back from launching off large things and rides Mother Earth as an instructor and guide.
From Switzerland to B.C. mountain peaks, our backyard to yours, he’s Kona’s all-round, all-rounder. He’s Joe Schwartz and he's regular because he’s regularly regulating some badass trails somewhere near you.
When you think of Regular Joe think mellow Canadian guy who let's his bike skills speak for him. Each month Regular Joe will report for Kona on his exploits in the saddle filling the biking world in on some of the world's best trails and Kona bikes that can rip. A quasi-bike test if you may. And, although Regular Joe is just regular, he does still have a penchant for putting the throttle down and putting the rigs he rides to the test.
Some of Joe's go-to testing methods on worldly trails include: marathon abuse sessions, repeated aggressive “hucking” maneuvers and as much berm bashing as possible. Last season proved to be Joe's biggest bike testing challenge ever. He was given the task of dirt approving Kona’s new Magic Link design suspension platform for the CoilAir Series of freeride/enduro bikes. As per Joe's job, he devised a rigorous testing schedule, one not seen before in all his years of professional riding. In part, we can thank this Regular guy for helping Kona fine-tune one of its most innovative bikes in their 20 year history.
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So, if you consider yourself normal and regular on a bike and you like hearing about the cool riding another fellow regular biker is getting into, check out Joe's monthly reports at www.konaworld.com - which will feature fresh images and video sure to make you laugh and feel regular.
He rides with a smile, and smiles when he rides. He’s a Nelson, B.C. boy and has been a Kona rider - and family member - since he was 16; racing with the Clump. He's hucked, hurled, competed at the first Red Bull Rampage event and spent as much time in front of the camera as a Victoria's Secret model.Now, nearly a decade later, after helping to define the freeride movement during its formative stages, he’s stepped back from launching off large things and rides Mother Earth as an instructor and guide.
From Switzerland to B.C. mountain peaks, our backyard to yours, he’s Kona’s all-round, all-rounder. He’s Joe Schwartz and he's regular because he’s regularly regulating some badass trails somewhere near you.
When you think of Regular Joe think mellow Canadian guy who let's his bike skills speak for him. Each month Regular Joe will report for Kona on his exploits in the saddle filling the biking world in on some of the world's best trails and Kona bikes that can rip. A quasi-bike test if you may. And, although Regular Joe is just regular, he does still have a penchant for putting the throttle down and putting the rigs he rides to the test.
Some of Joe's go-to testing methods on worldly trails include: marathon abuse sessions, repeated aggressive “hucking” maneuvers and as much berm bashing as possible. Last season proved to be Joe's biggest bike testing challenge ever. He was given the task of dirt approving Kona’s new Magic Link design suspension platform for the CoilAir Series of freeride/enduro bikes. As per Joe's job, he devised a rigorous testing schedule, one not seen before in all his years of professional riding. In part, we can thank this Regular guy for helping Kona fine-tune one of its most innovative bikes in their 20 year history.
Take it...
So, if you consider yourself normal and regular on a bike and you like hearing about the cool riding another fellow regular biker is getting into, check out Joe's monthly reports at www.konaworld.com - which will feature fresh images and video sure to make you laugh and feel regular.
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Member since Mar 20, 2000
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There's nothing wrong with a single pivot design. Plenty of benefits and great to hammer on. Nothing wrong with using a four-bar linkage to actuate the shock. Kona's are super stiff laterally. You can pound on them and they hold up well, when you do break something Kona's one of the best companies I've ever had to deal with for warranty and customer service....
They are heavy and there's certianly bikes that pedal better but that's true of just about every single pivot bike on the market so, please share your wisdom... what exactly makes them "shitty"? I, for one, would take my Stinky over your BigHit any day of the week.
floating brakes come on the higher end models, and I've never had brake jack so I don't need it.
kona does not claim to be an "innovative" company. they make durable simple bikes for people to beat up. They do what they do very well.
hayes are super tough and long lasting... just not the most powerfull.
Marzo is heavy yes, but super durable. RS uses plastic parts in their forks and manitous feel nice for about a month before they degrade very quickly. marzos will remain in good quality regardless of what you do to it. thats why you see so many old marzos for sale and barely any RS of manitous... because they break and get thrown away.
I've ridden various years of just about ever mountain bike they make, as well as comparable product from all of the major companies(RM, norco, cove, transition, specialized, santa cruz, trek, devinchi, and many more).
Konas have very rider friendly geo. They are a very nice middle ground between price and quality. they allow people who do not have lots of money or are new to the sport to purchase an affordable bike that will do MOST things decently well.
they are not a company specializing in world class DH rigs, or hardcore urban assualt bikes... nor do they claim to be.
The fact that you ride a Specialized with a progressive FSR Horst link suspension and bag on Kona for lack of suspension inovation and a progressive suspension rate and that you rock a Manitou but think Marzocchi sucks just shows your age and how long you've been riding. I mean, do you even understand what differentiates the two suspension designs... from an enginering and performance stand-point instead of a marketing and hype stand-point? Or better yet, do you even understand just how "super simple" the FSR linkage is or that Specialized has "used it for years" because "they say it works"?
You obviously know whats "cool" right now, and if that work's for you that's fine, but you need to ease up on just throwing out baseless opinions and bashing shit for no reason. It's not about what the guy you pass on the trail or the kid next to you in the lift line thinks about your bike, its about what you think and how much fun you have riding it... and whatever the hype, the fact is that riders the world over have been flashing stupid grins while throwing it down on Kona's for a long long time and the smart money say's they'll still be grinning for a long time to come.
I hate norcos, I hate the geo I have the way they feel. But many people do like them, and if I went around saying norcos were shit and not worth the metal they are made of I would have lots of people all pissed off at me.
And honestly the last thing this world needs is more anger.
Go ahead, be a kona hater. I'm not trying to stop you. Just realize that things aren't automatically shit when YOU don't like them and people will be much more open to you and your opinion as a person and as a mtb'er.
(for the record, I do not believe norcos are unworthy of their metal... they are good bikes that I just happen to not like the feel of)
Joe is a sick rider no matter he rides! He could rip s*it on an old road bike.
But you know what they say... Opinions are like a@@ holes, Everybody has one!
Peace, M.
then maybe you should use some of your internet time researching your comments before bagging a Brand that has put out a positive press release!! Joe is a great rider and can be seen shredding on some of the early NWD films on a Kona....still with 'em. Wonder what he thinks.