Product Description
Kona's Hei Hei has a long heritage: back in the 90s it was the Canadian brand's ?er lustworthy Sandvik 3-2.5 titanium dream machine. It was a pure, undiluted mountain bike, the kind you'd sell your kidney for. Then it fell out of Kona's range and out of memory for a few years. Now the Hei Hei is back, utterly re-imagined and reborn as a Scandium-tubed, 2.5in travel out-and-out cross-country race bike. All it shares with its predecessor is the name, so can Kona's phoenix truly continue the Hei Hei's classic lineage?
Frame
Built from butted Scandium tubing, the Hei Hei is both light (11.4kg/25.1lb for the 20in frame) and firmly race focused. Its 70.4-degree head angle, 73.9-degree seat angle and traditional front triangle employing a long 23.8in top tube, combine with a 120mm stem for that head-down stretch.
The butted, oversized, bi-oval down tube keeps weight down and strength up. There's a tidy gusset at the head tube junction to reinforce the front end and a subtle flared gusset at the top tube/seat tube junction. There's also two sets of bottle bosses on the inside and underneath the down tube. The back end employs Kona's asymmetric rocker-activated, single pivot configuration and the overall look, with the ball-burnished finish, is decidedly old school.
Equipment
For a cross-country race machine, the component spec is nailed, save for the RaceFace Evolve low riser bar, which raises the ride position to that of a fast trail rig rather than a true XC racer. This might lift the appeal of the Hei Hei to enduro and marathon riders. The transmission is Shimano XT-based and 07 Rapidfire shifters became firm shifting friends with their Two-Way Release technology.
The trail is smoothed by Fox's short-stroke FLOAT RP2 shock with rebound adjustment and ProPedal platform damping that's switchable between open and closed, although we had instances where it annoyingly switched automatically. Up front, RockShox's SID Race fork is light if a little flexy compared to current competitors, and we never got more than 80mm (3.1in) of the claimed 100mm (4in) travel out of it, but it does the job.
Ride
Purely and simply, the Hei Hei is fast. Flat out, endorphin-fuelled fast, up, down and along - the job lot. The Maxxis CrossMark tyres roll scarily well, and with the ProPedal damping clicked in for pedalling, the bike drives forward faster than The Stig in a Lamborghini. Click out of ProPedal and the shock gets to grip more effectively with trail buzz, but just knocks the nose off the crisp acceleration.
The 12.8in bottom bracket and reasonably tight back end (with 17in chainstays) also ensures that the Hei Hei gets the Kona groove on in flowing, techy singletrack, flitting sprightly into and out of corners before accelerating cleanly away, and always chomping at the bit for more.
Product Technical Details
Available Colours:Silver
Available Sizes:14 Inches, 16 Inches, 17 Inches, 18 Inches, 19 Inches, 20 Inches, 22 Inches cm
Bottom Bracket Brand:RaceFace
Bottom Bracket Height (in):12.8 in
Bottom Bracket Model:Evolve XC X-Type
Brake Levers Model:Shimano XT
Brakes Brand:Shimano
Brakes Model:XT Disc
Cassette:Shimano Deore LX 11-32 9-speed
Chain Model:Shimano HG-53
Chainset Brand:RaceFace
Chainset Model:Evolve XC X Type
Chainstays (in):17
Fork Brand:RockShox
Front Derailleur Model:Shimano XT
Front Hub Brand:FSA
Front Tyre Size:26x2.1
Gearing:22/32/44, 9 speed
Grips/Tape Brand:Kona
Grips/Tape Model:Race Lite
Handlebar Brand:RaceFace
Handlebar Model:Evolve XC
Handlebar Type:Riser
Head Angle:70.4 Degrees
Headset Brand:FSA
Headset Type:Orbit DL
Max. Fork Travel:100mm
Pedal Type:Clipless
Pedals Brand:Shimano
Pedals Model:PDM520
Rear Derailleur Model:Shimano XT
Rear Hub Brand:FSA
Rear Shock Brand:Fox
Rear Shock Model:Float RP2
Rear Tyre Size:26x2.1
Rims Brand:FSA
Saddle Brand:WTB
Seat Angle:73.9 Degrees
Seatpost Brand:Race Face
Seatpost Model:Evolve XC
Shifters Model:Shimano XT
Size:18 Inches
Spokes Brand:FSA
Standover Height (in):30.9 (in)
Stem Brand:Race Face
Stem Model:Evolve XC
Top Tube (in):22.9 in
Tyres Brand:Maxxis
Year:2007
Kona's Hei Hei has a long heritage: back in the 90s it was the Canadian brand's ?er lustworthy Sandvik 3-2.5 titanium dream machine. It was a pure, undiluted mountain bike, the kind you'd sell your kidney for. Then it fell out of Kona's range and out of memory for a few years. Now the Hei Hei is back, utterly re-imagined and reborn as a Scandium-tubed, 2.5in travel out-and-out cross-country race bike. All it shares with its predecessor is the name, so can Kona's phoenix truly continue the Hei Hei's classic lineage?
Frame
Built from butted Scandium tubing, the Hei Hei is both light (11.4kg/25.1lb for the 20in frame) and firmly race focused. Its 70.4-degree head angle, 73.9-degree seat angle and traditional front triangle employing a long 23.8in top tube, combine with a 120mm stem for that head-down stretch.
The butted, oversized, bi-oval down tube keeps weight down and strength up. There's a tidy gusset at the head tube junction to reinforce the front end and a subtle flared gusset at the top tube/seat tube junction. There's also two sets of bottle bosses on the inside and underneath the down tube. The back end employs Kona's asymmetric rocker-activated, single pivot configuration and the overall look, with the ball-burnished finish, is decidedly old school.
Equipment
For a cross-country race machine, the component spec is nailed, save for the RaceFace Evolve low riser bar, which raises the ride position to that of a fast trail rig rather than a true XC racer. This might lift the appeal of the Hei Hei to enduro and marathon riders. The transmission is Shimano XT-based and 07 Rapidfire shifters became firm shifting friends with their Two-Way Release technology.
The trail is smoothed by Fox's short-stroke FLOAT RP2 shock with rebound adjustment and ProPedal platform damping that's switchable between open and closed, although we had instances where it annoyingly switched automatically. Up front, RockShox's SID Race fork is light if a little flexy compared to current competitors, and we never got more than 80mm (3.1in) of the claimed 100mm (4in) travel out of it, but it does the job.
Ride
Purely and simply, the Hei Hei is fast. Flat out, endorphin-fuelled fast, up, down and along - the job lot. The Maxxis CrossMark tyres roll scarily well, and with the ProPedal damping clicked in for pedalling, the bike drives forward faster than The Stig in a Lamborghini. Click out of ProPedal and the shock gets to grip more effectively with trail buzz, but just knocks the nose off the crisp acceleration.
The 12.8in bottom bracket and reasonably tight back end (with 17in chainstays) also ensures that the Hei Hei gets the Kona groove on in flowing, techy singletrack, flitting sprightly into and out of corners before accelerating cleanly away, and always chomping at the bit for more.
Product Technical Details
Available Colours:Silver
Available Sizes:14 Inches, 16 Inches, 17 Inches, 18 Inches, 19 Inches, 20 Inches, 22 Inches cm
Bottom Bracket Brand:RaceFace
Bottom Bracket Height (in):12.8 in
Bottom Bracket Model:Evolve XC X-Type
Brake Levers Model:Shimano XT
Brakes Brand:Shimano
Brakes Model:XT Disc
Cassette:Shimano Deore LX 11-32 9-speed
Chain Model:Shimano HG-53
Chainset Brand:RaceFace
Chainset Model:Evolve XC X Type
Chainstays (in):17
Fork Brand:RockShox
Front Derailleur Model:Shimano XT
Front Hub Brand:FSA
Front Tyre Size:26x2.1
Gearing:22/32/44, 9 speed
Grips/Tape Brand:Kona
Grips/Tape Model:Race Lite
Handlebar Brand:RaceFace
Handlebar Model:Evolve XC
Handlebar Type:Riser
Head Angle:70.4 Degrees
Headset Brand:FSA
Headset Type:Orbit DL
Max. Fork Travel:100mm
Pedal Type:Clipless
Pedals Brand:Shimano
Pedals Model:PDM520
Rear Derailleur Model:Shimano XT
Rear Hub Brand:FSA
Rear Shock Brand:Fox
Rear Shock Model:Float RP2
Rear Tyre Size:26x2.1
Rims Brand:FSA
Saddle Brand:WTB
Seat Angle:73.9 Degrees
Seatpost Brand:Race Face
Seatpost Model:Evolve XC
Shifters Model:Shimano XT
Size:18 Inches
Spokes Brand:FSA
Standover Height (in):30.9 (in)
Stem Brand:Race Face
Stem Model:Evolve XC
Top Tube (in):22.9 in
Tyres Brand:Maxxis
Year:2007
Main Products
Mountain Bike , Touring Bike , Urban Bike ,power Tools