THE
NBOX
i
Each spring, the mountain
bike industry's movers and
shakers kick off the season on
California's bucolic Monterey
Peninsula at the Sea Otter Clas-
sic, one of the world's largest
cycling festivals. Over four
days, 90,000 athletes, specta-
tors and "bike people"—like
Kona Bikes founder Jake Heil-
bron—celebrate shred culture
and participate in races, group
rides and equipment demos.
In April 2024, Kona Bikes,
renowned for its role in the
creation of "freeride" style
mountain biking on Vancou-
ver's North Shore and pur-
veyor of hard-core cyclo-cross/
gravel bikes, folded its tent just
as the annual festivities were
about to begin. Kent Outdoors,
the U.S. parent company
that bought Kona two years
earlier from Heilbron and his
partners, announced that Kona
was bankrupt.
The torrent of rumours and
speculation that surrounded
the brand shortly thereafter
TAKING BACK
THEIR BIKES
Kona Bikes was founded in the late '80s
in Vancouver and became one of Canada's
leading bike brands. After selling the
company in 2021 and watching it falter, the
original founders bought it back and are
betting on a resurgence
by Steven Threndyle
R E TA I L
13
B C B U S I N E S S . C A
M A R C H 2 0 2 5 Illu s t r a t i o n : J a n ik S ö ll n e r/ N o u n P r oj e c t ; K o n a B ik e s
SHIFTING GEARS
In April 2024, original
Kona Bikes founders
Dan Gerhard (left) and
Jake Heilbron bought
back their company
from Utah-based
Outdoors
