2022 Kona Process 153 27.5 Bike

(discontinued)

Long-ish travel, 430mm chainstays, and a lot of laps of any trail you want. One of the last fun mountain bikes and sad to think it will disappear with the dissolution of Kona. That said, it was arguably one iteration too far on the modern geometry for Kona's loyal fanbase and worse yet the price per spec was becoming harder and harder to justify, even post-covid and during the sales.

Luckily, I got the Shimano spec of this bike but sadly... The wheelset is I guess about as low end a boost wheelset as Shimano sells. Not only is the rear hub reminiscent of the average Walmart freehub engagement... But it's not too strong either despite being a 27.5 wheel as I nearly taco'd the front rim on a rough landing and the rim seam split (rendering it scrap yard fodder).

But aside from that, this is a tremendous all mountain trail bike for the budget minded rider who still wants to do everything. From jump lines to basic XC to steep tech and everything in between. Of course with Kona's status up in the air there's no real reason to get one if you aren't likely to find replacement parts. But a heavily discounted secondhand deal will have you smiling the whole ride as you pop this thing up and down the trail (while casually ignoring how any bad wreck damaging the bike can render it a paper weight at best).