Kona founders buy once more the mannequin; Kona Bikes returns to rider-owned and operated roots

Kona Bicycles lives on. Solely a month after Kent Outdoors abruptly stalled Kona’s operations on the Sea Otter Primary, launched job cuts and the sale of the 36-year-old mannequin, the long term has taken a shocking nevertheless optimistic flip. The mannequin has been bought once more by its genuine founders, Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron, who promise to return Kona to its roots.

Based mostly in 1988, Kona Bicycles was bought by the Canadian sporting gadgets agency Kent Outdoors in 2022. Nonetheless, the post-Covid monetary system hit Kona onerous. After “a bumpy couple of years,”  Kent Outdoors decided to hoist the “For Sale” test in April, opting to spend cash on its water sports activities actions firms instead.