"Welcome to the past!" - this sentence escaped one of our testers when she saw the Kona Lisa. The bike looked like it did five years ago, especially because of the wide saddle. The sentence was immediately punished by sending the riders uphill. The 13.85 kilos hit the downhill with full force and squeezed a few more beads of sweat from the testers than on the competitor models. This was aggravated by the compact geometry, which caused the front wheel to rise, especially on steep sections.
A quick glance at the geometry table confirmed this - 543 millimetres in the top tube and a 75 millimetre short stem. This made it clear once again: Kona bikes are developed in the Canadian Northshore jungle and not on kilometre-long Alpine climbs. On the trail, the bike proved to be extremely lively. Even the slightest turn of the handlebars was implemented directly - the steering angle of 70 degrees leads to very direct steering behaviour.
The fork/shock pairing was another shortcoming: while the Recon SL responded sensitively, the Fox element was rather sluggish at the rear. With Shimano Deore and Kona's own components, the equipment level is behind that of the competition.
ConclusionCompact bike, suitable for small bikers. The equipment is comparatively weak.
+ Beautiful optics
- Short, steep geometry
- Relatively heavy
- Drive influences
Price: 2099 Euro
Weight: 13.85 kg
Web: www.konaworld.com
