Kona Honzo ESD First Ride // Working Out The Kinks

I've been missing a bike like this for a long time, its great to finally have it again to really round out the stable with the Kona Honzo ESD! I really wanted a hardcore hardtail to beat on the local trails with, and I think this is going to do that just fine.
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[@hardtailhenry1405]

those Kona Honzo's are some of the coolest hardtails out there right now honestly

[@SuperKeenan95]

HARDTAIL GANG! I tried to get my hands on one of those, and ended up going with On One Hello Dave. The long steel hardtails are out of this world fun times! Enjoy!

[@michaelsturgeon5210]

Yeah i got a dave also... I bloody love it

[@daveandmerlin]

I'm looking at this or the Dave ....one thing that puts me off about the Dave is the cables going down the downtube and underneath the BB and getting damaged from rock strikes etc.

[@michaelsturgeon5210]

@@daveandmerlin most bikes the cables run under the bb ,I've never had a problem .

[@daveandmerlin]

@@michaelsturgeon5210 I've had my rear brake cable cut complety in half also the cables would prevent a downtube protector being installed

[@dirtwolfmtb]

I’m in love with this bike. Hope to have one soon. Awesome video looks like fun rippin those trails! Great video.

[@pdorn9475]

Best of luck Bruddah Love the content I’ve been battling back from two crashes and pretty major injuries Always stoked to follow and it’s kept my fire burning through a lot of hard rehab and down time Respect

[@PuffinPass]

Good to see some film at Beacon Hill, planning to get up that way this spring and summer on the dropbar to test myself a bit more. Hardtails are my favorite as well, something about the unforgiving nature of picking a bad line instead of allowing you to plow through brings line selection at speed up a level.

[@clydes001]

The bike looks sick! Congrats on the new bike, Jim.

[@ESKJC]

I too built up the purple Honzo ESD. Love the color.

[@kylecomstock2426]

Went down the “hardcore hardtail” rabbit-hole this winter. Just put the finishing touches on my Cotic BFE Max. Gotta have a good hardtail in the stable!!

[@TheShredist]

Its been too long for me!

[@snbsmtb]

Sick Riding Dude!! The bike looks sooo sick!! Great video Bro!!

[@roryennis96943]

i built one of these up last summer after waiting for 7 monsths for my Honzo ST frame to come in, freaking love it. went 140mm(its the fork i already had) and for 3 months there i had it set up as a single speed. Freaking machine likes getting rowdy thats for sure. Love it on the steep tech and the loamy stuff i have in my area

[@r.mcgill3235]

Beautiful vid! I just bought a large purple ESD last week! I'm very new mtbing. Please post more videos. Also I'd be interested to see the whole process of shortening the chain stay and how you are adjusting your fork.

[@ryanl1414]

Steel frame hardtails look so good! Sweet new ride.

[@paulmanias8269]

Great to see a video with the ESD where someone adjusts the chainstay length. I've seen a lot of reviews and nobody seems to touch therm. You'd think that would be a huge selling point of this bike compared to other hardtails.

[@ElYesse]

Your trails look sick! I just bought a Honze ESD frame, I'm looking forward to trying it out.

[@whitney425]

As you said, the ESD is crazy hard to get a hold of. When the first gen came out we had customers calling up about them for months and we couldnt even backorder the next years model for them becuase they were all gone. Super crazy bikes!

[@beanburnham01]

Love my Honzo. The ESD looks fun

[@jameszibura]

I managed to snag a frame for custom build at my LBS! Can't wait to wait on parts! 😂 Stoked about it though!

[@andrisvelmeris]

Sick! Sick! And sick again!!! The bike looks amazing❤

[@BenYorkeMrHardtail]

ESD is a fun and sweet bike brother!

[@MB-ek1ub]

Nice to see a refreshing new view. Short(er) chain stays are not always better. Many frames get discarded upfront due to too long CS.

[@ktom300]

I feel sorry for good riders that have never ridden a modern geo hard tail.😂 That ESD is all grins all day, some of my pr's are on the HT vs my sentinel fs. I ran my stays all the way short for about a year and only recently moved them 3/4 back and it made the bike even more fun. Nice review!

[@southeastmtb816]

Sick video! I always love a good hard tail!

[@olivercole4832]

Bike looks SICK!!!

[@FrANTiXzz]

Finally a real bike! Looks awesome!

[@konaman23]

thank you for showing the bike first thing!! Its annoying how some KZbinrs will talk for half the video before revealing it.

[@LoganJohnston190]

Yoooo!! As an ESD owner I’m stoked for you to have one :) enjoy!!

[@MTBFlowRider]

It’s crazy how changing the chain stay by mm can make the bike feel so different. Inspiring me to get a hardtail!

[@TheShredist]

I was impressed by that as well. I thought I made a mistake springing for this bike at first, but fell in love with it after making that small tweak.

[@hauless1140]

Interesting how you could feel the chainstay. Longer chainstay must compensate for the huge front-center/wheelbase ratio. Triple combo of low bb, long wheelbase, 175mm boost crank makes for petal strike madness, if there's any tech pedaling. For down charging and gaps without much pedaling it's right on . I'm thinking the Honzo ST with shorter cranks.

[@PAULEYBOY84]

That trail looks rad

[@durtyt4770]

Line choice is important on hard tails. You can't count on the rear suspension to make up for bad lines on them.

[@jasonlewis6914]

Yesss I fu*king love hardtail man 👍 super rad!

[@ericmonty]

Back in the 90s when I was blowing out rims every other month vertical earth was always there to get me riding again!

[@ESKJC]

I just realized are you me? I also have the Honzo ESD and a Transition Spire. Perfect combo.

[@RoyalKyleBarker]

Absolutely love my ESD, ended up upgrading brakes, tires and added cushcore. The thing takes a beating

[@TheShredist]

Cushcore is going in soon, already have a small ding lol

[@PeterCPRail8748]

Love the HONZO ESD, the best North American designed hardtail period. The steel frame gives it that solid tortion you want in a bike. No give just solid. Sick choice for a HT bomber sled.

[@TheShredist]

The more I get familiar with it, the more I want to ride it over the spire lol

[@s14tat]

@@TheShredist as a honzo esd owner and also a dh bike owner. This is normal.

[@mason2441]

LFG NEW UPLOAD DAY WOOOO!

[@matthewcove6758]

Nice bike love a hard tail

[@YoungDoug13]

Been looking at that bike. I'm close to a shop that has one. Looks like a party machine.

[@The_McNoodle]

Time to go singlespeed with that steel hardtail with horizontal sliding dropouts!

[@Rid3thePiggy]

Smashing!

[@ackeheh]

One weird thing on the steel honzos. The adjustable chainstay bolts crush in on the paint when you tighten them and crack off some of the paint. I guess there is no avoiding that ?

[@kodyridders5813]

Damn, I got this bike in Nov and was hoping I'd have the only one in spo lmao you're going to freaking love this bike! I'm still falling in love months later. I slammed my chain stay which made the long wheel base more manageable

[@TheShredist]

Sorry, just had to get one lol. I did the opposite and left it in the longest setting

[@kodyridders5813]

@@TheShredist haha all good! I made that comment about the chainstay before seeing you're preference. But i think its pretty cool that the adjustable dropouts cater to everyone.

[@digbyvincent2396]

i lvoe your videos mate, they are so underwatched! especially the build videos. i do this thing where i save the best "recent uploads" too last 😂😂like Berm Peak and u and Matt jones and stuff. i save you till last 3!

[@Oregonfreerider]

Yes! I'm not the only one that does that. Good too see you do the too! Love the channel so much!

[@reinhardwagner8559]

Great vid, I was looking for a useful review on the ESD and I'm super happy I found yours. That's some very impressive riding that you're doing there on the ESD, hats off mate. Great to see how you worked with the bike and the geo to find the sweet spot. I'm currently on a Chromag Doctahawk size L, which is comparable to the large ESD (the reach is 10mm longer though), and considering to add another Kona to the stable. Which frame size did you go with, and how tall are you? Which adjustments / upgrades did you make since you posted the video? Cheers mate, happy trails.

[@TheHuester44]

Where are these trails ? Awesome video . Nice bike and ride .

[@nabooska]

steel is real!

[@louisephil5636]

Nice color

[@squidgyquijabo2422]

Can you make a video on your lifted Chevy Astro again? That's how I found your channel. Thinking of lifting a 2wd one & putting a rear locker in it.

[@therealridedmc]

I agree that 175mm crank arms seem a tad long for that bike. If it were me I would consider swapping to 165mm when it comes time to make the change. I know you said you prefer 170mm, but for a bike with a BB as low as the Honzo ESD that is begging to be ridden in chunky technical terrain, I'd think long & hard about going even shorter.

[@darrengruendel3466]

Agreed. Went to 165 on mine - much better!

[@jackridesbikes7451]

I’ve got the same one it’s mega

[@AFugax]

Bike looks fantastic! Trails look pretty dry too… maybe time to head over for a ride!??

[@TheShredist]

Its all good to go!

[@evol777]

Hey! Nice video!! I think I'm gonna buy one but I need to understand if I'm buying the correct size. You said the bike size is Large but what's your height?

[@langheldphoto]

Whoa… i hit the thumbs up button milliseconds before you said “bing!” That was weird 😂

[@alanmtbuk]

I'm dreaming of a new bike day

[@robinhardwick588]

Hi, weird question but is it also usable for a bike tour(around 100 km/day)? Or is the weight too heavy for longer distances? Kind regards

[@themtbchannel116]

Sheeeeeeeeeeesh

[@claytonjessup6163]

That’s a great bike ! I have been thinking off replacing my frame of my SantaCruz Chameleon with one of these frames and rebuild it with this frame and my 150mm Domain fork. Would you recommend maybe doing the frame option and building it as a do it all hardtail?

[@TheShredist]

Definitely! If I could have built mine from a frame...with a bike like this, I think that's the best way to go. Its a confidence inspiring bike for sure!

[@claytonjessup6163]

@@TheShredist that’s great to know ! I am strongly considering replacing my SantaCruz Chameleon V7 frame for one of these Honzo ESD’s , my local shop said they could get a frame so I am highly considering it. You think I should go for the gram up build ?

[@rlboyles1]

Jim - you're the one that convinced me to buy my Commencal Meta HT! It is awesome. I'm in Missoula. Where is this video filmed? Is it Spokane? Other? I'd like to ride these trails! Thanks!

[@danwebber9494]

Beacon Hill in Spokane. He’s on the Sekani side, more flowy. The Esmeralda side is all rock tech.

[@matrixracing8268]

Beacon Hill in Spokane WA

[@TheShredist]

The commencal was still a great bike, just felt a tad small for me. I'll be taking this on the rocky side of the hill soon 🤘

[@lukesteele5013]

I love this bike, I love hardtails, really want this one. Enjoy!

[@matrixracing8268]

Honzo ESD is probably the best choice for an enduro-style hardtail! Edit: Are you gonna be doing any videos with that at Silver?

[@TheShredist]

As soon as I put some cushcore in the rear 😭

[@matrixracing8268]

@@TheShredist Probably a good idea 😂

[@matrixracing8268]

@@TheShredist Will definitely wreck your wheels if you aren't running Cush Core at Silver

[@neaaat5545]

What is the name of the trail network

[@1979bateman]

Hello. How tall are you and what size is the bike? thank you

[@Roginator007]

What’s your height? For reference on size large

[@pablosbiking]

Does changing the chain stay stretch the chain? because it is changing the shape of the bike.

[@TheShredist]

Yeah, I ended up installing a longer chain to compensate for it.

[@hardtaillife4071]

Don’t miss my crap hardtail, but I do miss hardtailing it😪

[@ericjonpo]

F I N A L L Y The purple Honzo ESD in action. Too bad, I canceled my order and got me an RSD instead.

[@ixcel83]

What rsd did you get? I have been looking at the middlechild aluminum.

[@ericjonpo]

@@ixcel83 I got the RS291 chromo

[@Soso64bit]

As many have asked previously, what is your height? Sizie-wise it would help a lot of viewers out! thanks.

[@jeremyrobinette2563]

What have you changed/upgraded on this bike so far?

[@TheShredist]

Just upped the rear rotar to a 203, and put an insert in the rear. Pretty capable as is!

[@AppleJack76]

Military jets... I know when I hear 'Merica!

[@rivercloud33]

I have same bike

[@clipless03]

Looks like the front end is wandering all over the place during the intro. Does it feel like that, or am I seeing things?

[@TheShredist]

It did! It was totally throwing me off. It was a combination of the short chainstay and me not riding over the front enough. I think I have it figured out now though lol

[@TheMartindotcom]

Hallo, nice bike but is this realy ESD frame ? looks like Honzo ST. ESD has a different seat tube or?.

[@TheShredist]

This is an esd, yeah

[@TheMartindotcom]

@@TheShredistOk thanks! Then they have 2 variants of the frame.

[@SymaticStar]

I think the triangular gusset is on the large and up frames not the small and mediums...

[@tobypresnell316]

If you are thinking about buying one of these and are here because you are on the fence: BUY IT. Flat out the most fun you can have on a bike. It looks crazy, but it doesn’t ride like you would expect (just by looking at it).

[@mormonguy89]

Where is this trail system?

[@TheShredist]

It's beacon hill in spokane wa

[@charlesbarton96]

i thought Jim just bought a transition?? did i miss a video?

[@TheShredist]

Nope, I have 2 bikes in the stable lol. Will probably stay this way for a while too!

[@charlesbarton96]

@@TheShredist Fair enough!! I rock a rocky mountain growler. Definitely fan of the hardtails. love your content man, keep it up

[@TheShredist]

I was actually hunting down a growler before this popped up! If the honzo didn't fall in my lap I'd be riding a used one of those right now instead.

[@benwigginsbikes]

That bike seems harder to climb than your Spire.

[@TheShredist]

Spire is definitely harder lol

[@YanDoroshenko]

Ain't that a nice bike.

[@kirkjohnson1551]

I'm plumped for you. wait. nevermind.

[@TheShredist]

#soplumped

[@heathdouglas-monks7568]

love your videos but for me not that keen on videos that are all mounted go-pro to be fair I am getting free content so shouldn't really complain