By Vernon Felton
Sometime ago, I took possession of Kona’s cross-country, full-suspension 29er, the Hei Hei 2-9. Since then, I’ve ridden the bike through every season and in every possible condition. For 2010, the evolution of this model gets a bit more interesting, but we’ll tackle that later in this review. For now, a long-term review of the existing bike is in order.
Beyond the occasional 3- or 4-month stint aboard a test bike, I haven’t spent too much time riding 29ers. But there are some constantly rolling, root-strewn, low-lying trails in my neck of the woods and on these trails many longer-travel bikes tend to wallow about annoyingly. Pat White, product manager at Kona, suggested the Hei Hei 2-9 as a solution.