2026 Kona Process 246 Bike

Kona knows that kids are the future, and they stoked out the full-suspension mountain bike market this year with their Process 246. It's a stout little machine that has a big wheel up front and a small back wheel to make sure grom shredders feel just as cool as their adult freeride counterparts as they hit the drops and jumps dreaming of being Eddie Reynolds. With a solid Manitou Junit fork and RockShox Deluxe rear shock, Maxxis tires just like mom and dad use, and 120 millimeters of travel, we were stoked to get this bike under our pint-sized tester to see if it could live up to Kona's reputation for fun on the trail.

Kona Process 246 Highlights

• Frame Material: 6061 Aluminum
• Travel: 120mm front and rear
• Rear Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select
• Fork: Manitou JUNIT 34mm Comp
• Drivetrain: Shimano CUES 10sp 11-39t, 28t chainring
• Brakes: Shimano Deore, 160mm rotors
• Seatpost: TranzX Kids Dropper 31.6mm with 100mm drop
• Front Tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ TR 26x2.3"
• Rear Tire: Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ TR 24x2.3"
• Sizes: One size
• Weight: 31.5 pounds / 14.28kg
• Price: $2,699 USD

Geometry

Let's be clear, a full-suspension mountain bike isn't a necessary requirement for a kid to have fun on the trails. At the same time, with bike parks popping up all over the place, jumps getting bigger, drops getting higher and skills centers proliferating, having that squish may help a child's riding progress more safely. You could argue that they may learn bad habits with all that travel. We found through the testing period, however, that the 120mm of travel on the Process 246 helped push our little tester further than he ever thought he'd go. 

First Impressions and Setup

Our experienced tester, at 4'9" and 73 pounds, hopped on the Kona and felt right at home. He thought it looked cool, too. He came off a dual 24-inch full-suspension bike and noticed right away how big the 26-inch front wheel of the Kona felt. Popping wheelies to impress neighborhood kids took some getting used to with the longer wheelbase of the Kona. The 680mm handlebars were also narrower than what he'd been riding, so he noticed that he preferred a wider bar. 

Suspension setup was easy, starting with recommended pressures and adjusting accordingly. A firmer setup was settled on with primary riding being done at the local bike park featuring drops and jumpy flow trails. At the park, bottoming out on the recommended pressures was a common occurrence. A similar situation took place with tire pressure. what we thought might be a good trail pressure for grip and traction resulted in rim pings on bigger drops and squirm on jump lips of the faster flow trails. We ended up with 19 PSI front and 21 PSI in the rear for the EXO casing tires. If we were to take the Process to a lift-served park, we'd probably bump up another couple PSI in each tire just to be safe.

On the Trail

There was a new confidence found in our tester after a few days on familiar trails riding the Process. One morning he said, "I'm ready to hit the big drop," (there are 3 drops at the skills zone with the largest being a 6-footer — something he'd never hit before). Queue a few successful practice hits on the smaller drops, and he rolled to the big one. Without hesitation, he stomped it! The Process handled it just as calmly as he did. 

The Kona Process 246 is built to shred and take a beating, not clock KOMs. 

Once the big drop was stomped, plenty more hucks, boots and park laps were clocked on the Process. The heft of the bike aids in stability in the air and the big wheel eats the rocks with confidence. Throughout our testing period of 5 months, it's been undoubtedly durable, too.

What's the Bottom Line?

Comparing the price of the Kona to other full-suspension kids bikes in the market, $2,699 is on the high side. The spec is generally comparable to competitors with a nod going to Kona in the suspension and brake department, however. The Process' weight (which we attribute to durability in this case) can be a downside to those looking for a bike ready for more miles than than air time. At 31.5 pounds, it's the same weight as most adult 130mm trail bikes with similar tire spec. We can't find fault with this, though. The Kona Process 246 is built to shred and take a beating, not clock KOMs. Any young rider hopping aboard is sure to find smiles and take their mountain biking to new heights with confidence.

Hit up Konaworld.com for more info on the Process 246