Kona has brought a stretch limousine to a chicane competition it seems. The new Process X is a far cry from what most of the bikes in this article are in terms of geometry and length. While the length and geo make it a downhill superstar, it does not love tight corners and hates uphills just as much as kids chasing the ice cream truck. The flip-chip that increases or decreases the chainstay length does make a big difference in the ride. So it’s all about finding that perfect set up.

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Before diving into this review there needs to be a disclaimer… “this is not the Kona Process 153 or 134.” Kona released the Process X in the mid-2020 summer. These bikes all have different travel and serve very different purposes on the hill.

The Bike

The Kona X is a downhill smashing 161mm rear travel bike. The 161mm promotion is because of a flip-chip on the rear axle, so the bike either has 158mm or 164mm of rear travel. The flip-chip sets the chainstay length at 435mm with 158mm of travel or 450mm with 164mm of rear travel. The difference in chainstay length does have a fairly significant impact on the overall feel and responsiveness of the bike.

For the geometry, the Process X does not hold back. The head tube is set at a very slack 63.5-degrees, and the seat tube angle is a steep 78-degrees on a large frame. The steep seat tube angle does help, as the reach on a large frame is a massive 490mm. Not many bikes come close to that number in their large frames. The XL frame smashes the 500mm bar at 525mm—go go gadget arms! While a lot of the bikes on this list are trying to be all-around, the Process X seems to be quite content at just being a downhill oriented ride. We are all good with that!

Climbing

As you probably have guessed, with the length and amount of travel, the Process X is not the quickest horse in the stable. The Kona has been built with the lockout switch in mind, so right away you can understand that the rear suspension was not really built as a solid pedaling platform. With the steep seat angle, the rider is in a good position to keep weight on the front wheel and have a good ability to drive into the pedals. Without the lockout, there would be a considerable sag in the suspension while out of the saddle.

Downhill

Point the front wheel downhill and enjoy. The Process X—with the longer reach, steeper head tube, and long travel—is built for thrashing down rough terrain quickly. For some riders, it got to be a bit unwieldy with how long it is. There is the feeling that you really need to put some effort in to get the Process to come alive on the trail and really find those perfect lines.

While it is not as poppy as the other Process models, it will fly comfortably off larger kickers—though it may not jump off little bumps and set up into different lines. With the chainstay in the short setting (435mm) the back end is easier to control and can get away from you if you push it. The Process’s bread and butter are rough high-speed trails that don’t require too many sharp corners. Like Jeep against a Ferrari, they are built for different things, and the Process X has its niche and is quite comfortable there.

Build Options

For the Process X, there are only two build options available at the time of writing. The Process X, $4,999, and the Process X DL, $6,999. The DL stands for deluxe, and deluxe always sounds nice. The Process X bikes do some with some decent components, including but not limited to Fox suspension and burly Maxxis tires. At the time of writing, there was not a frame only option for the Kona Process X.

As mentioned earlier, there are still many different Process bikes available by Kona—like the 153 and the 134. They all have different amounts of travel and frame materials. So do your research before diving into the Process world, because there really is a bike for everyone in the Kona catalog.

The Bottom Line

The jury is still out on whether the super aggressive geometry is working. It does make the downs super stable and secure, but the compromise of sluggish slow-speed handling keeps it out of the one arrow quiver category. If you mainly ride to the top of a mountain in a chair or gondola and need something that can handle big hits and fast terrain, the Kona Process X is definitely worth a look.

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