The Kona Unity is a new model designed for carrying hefty loads on big bikepacking escapades, and comes replete with mullet wheels and capacious tyre clearances.
The Unity arrives hot on the heels of Kona’s LBF (Legend of the Big Fork), a monster steel gravel bike with a 100mm suspension fork that launched last month. If the LBF is designed for the roughest terrain, the Unity takes a bold swing in the opposite direction and prioritises load-carrying capacity.
Built around a butted chromoly steel frameset (but not of the Reynolds 520 variety found on the LBF), Kona says the Unity can’t be pigeonholed into one genre.
The brand summarises playfully: “It’s a mountain bike. It’s a gravel bike. It’s a bikepacking mule and a burly beast of burden built to go further, deeper, and more rugged than most bikes dare.”
Kona is offering the Unity in only one build, priced at £2,599 / $2,699 / €2,699, with no frame-only option.
The elephant in the room
The mullet wheels are certainly a talking point – but the benefits mountain bikers find outside of bikepacking, with improved handling and traction on technical terrain, are just as pertinent for loaded adventures.
Kona says it opted for mullet wheels (where a 29in front wheel is paired with a 27.5in rear wheel) for three reasons – it puts the bike’s centre of gravity where the brand wants it, makes for a stronger rear wheel and allows for more clearance when it comes to rear racks and seat bags.
The brand says it wanted the Unity to accept bigger loads, but didn’t want this to be at the expense of the ride quality.
Kona recommends a maximum tyre clearance of 29x3in or 27.5x3in on the Unity.
If you don’t want to run the smaller wheel out back, Kona says you can use a 29in mountain bike wheel, provided it’s paired with a lower-volume tyre, such as a 2.5in.
Custom frame-mounted front rack
The Unity features a custom integrated front rack that’s bolted directly to the frame with 12 mounting points, and is rated to handle up to 6kg.
Kona says there’s “no flop, no sway, no wresting with weight up front”, saying it’ll always offer predictable handling, even with a week’s worth of gear.
In a neat touch, you’re not tied into running this rack – Kona says the Unity is compatible with most common third-party front and rear carriers.
Everything but the kitchen sink
The first thing your eyes are drawn to is the Unity’s striking front triangle, which Kona has designed carefully for maximum frame bag space.
There are 20 mounting points in total on the frame, with 11 on the fork, allowing for endless setup options.
On most bikes, you need to carefully consider how you pack cargo to avoid a weight imbalance. But Kona claims boldly that the Unity is designed to handle front-loaded, rear-loaded or balanced setups effectively.
Naturally, there’s a SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) dropout to open up compatibility with SRAM Transmission drivetrains.
The dropouts also slide, enabling you to fine-tune your wheel position or run the bike singlespeed. The stays are also offset by 5mm to keep the tyre and rack clearance on point.
The Unity relies on a 31.6mm seatpost diameter and can take long-travel dropper posts – up to 175mm drop on a size large or 200mm on an XL.
All of the cables and hoses are routed externally, bar the dropper post, with Kona including sealing plugs for the dropper to ensure consistent performance.
The Unity can accept up to 203mm disc brake rotors.
The new bike is not compatible with a suspension fork – Kona says it would interfere with the front rack and cable routing, and could cause damage.
Kona Unity geometry
The Unity is available in four sizes, from S to XL, and Kona says the geometry has been optimised for riding under load with predictable handling.
| | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube length (mm) | 370 | 420 | 470 | 530 |
| Top tube length (mm) | 591 | 623 | 656 | 691 |
| Reach (mm) | 435 | 460 | 485 | 510 |
| Stack (mm) | 615 | 620 | 629 | 643 |
| Standover (mm) | 725 | 760 | 816 | 849 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 65.8 | 65.8 | 65.8 | 65.8 |
| Head tube length (mm) | 160 | 165 | 175 | 190 |
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 75.8 | 75.3 | 74.8 | 74.3 |
| Chainstay length (mm) | 440-456 | 440-456 | 440-456 | 440-456 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1,176-1,191 | 1,203-1,219 | 1,232-1,248 | 1,263-1,279 |
| Front centre (mm) | 745 | 772 | 796 | 831 |
A rugged build
There’s just the one build, priced at £2,599 / $2,699 / €2,699.
The build is centred around an 11-speed Shimano XT Linkglide groupset with Race Face Aeffect cranks, including a steel 28t chainring for extra durability. On stopping duties are Tektro’s Gemini four-piston brakes with 203mm rotors.
As for wheels, you get WTB KOM Tough i40 rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs. Compared to DT Swiss’s higher-end 350, 240 and 180 hubs, which use the brand’s revered Ratchet System, the 370s rely on a traditional three-pawl arrangement.
Voluminous 3in WTB Ranger TCS Tough tyres are mounted on them, with the rest of the build a mix of own-brand Kona parts, other than the WTB Volt saddle.
