The Kona Humu Is Back—But Is It Better?

We love the Kona Humuhumunukunukuapua’a here at Klunkers! First introduced in 1992, it immediately conjured ’70s style and has been a mainstay in the world of restorations and builds ever since. Check out our “Reader’s Rides” Humu!

Sick, right? So when Kona seemingly out-of-nowhere dropped a re-release, it got our attention. And with its funky paint job, modern geometry and customization-ready features—it got a lot of peoples’ attentions.

Then we saw the price. I’ll get back to that in a sec. First, let’s just look the bike. (All images credited to Kona Bicycles.)

What hasn’t changed? Well, it’s still a cruiser-architecture, double-top-tube, factory single-speed, Klunker-style cruiser. It has a low-rise (80mm) handlebar yet still puts the rider in an upright position. This is more cruiser than Klunker, but it shares the vibe.

Updates include Boost spacing, which increases wheel stiffness and adds more tire clearance, International Standard (IS) disc brake mounts (so you can kit it out how you like) and sliding dropouts.

Interestingly, it has a 32-tooth crank and an 18-tooth cassette, giving it a ratio of about 1.78:1. So this thing is very low-geared—great for hills, but man you’d be spinning those legs to get anywhere in a hurry. I guess that’s the point? This bike ain’t for hurrying. Although I will mention that the 29″ wheels should offset that a little.

I also like that it comes in four sizes, though at time of writing it looks like the XL is sold out. I’d imagine they all will be in the not-too-distant future.

The paint job has everyone talking—some like it, some don’t. But it will turn heads. it’s the work of Alex Heilbron, an LA-based known for use of repeated patterns. And according to Bike Rumor, she’s also the daughter of Kona founder Jake Heilbron. Do with that what you will.

But let’s address the elephant in the room. This Humu is selling for $1,699 USD/$1,999 CAD.

WTF?

OK, I get that it has a cool paint job, and they’re only making 200 of them and each is numbered… and it’s a full Chromoly fork and frame and all the components are nice, but I cannot see buying this over a Surly Lowside, which is about the same price.

And it’s also fair to point out that the approximate $450 price tag of a 1992 Humu would put the price at about $1,070 today. And that bike didn’t have disc brakes.

I also wanted to call out that for every bike sold, Kona is donating $20 to Indigenous Women Outdoors, which is an awesome organization based in British Columbia. So I’m sure they’ll be stoked to receive 1% of each sale.

(If that seems backhanded, I don’t really mean it be… I’m just wondering if it would have killed Kona to cough up $50. Twenty bucks seems a little light.)

You can read the full specs and geometry HERE, but I thought I’d post the highlights:

FRAME	Kona Butted Chromoly	HANDLEBAR	Kona 31.8mm / Back 17º / Up 7º / Rise 80mm / Width 820m
FORK	Kona Chromoly	SEATPOST	Kona Thumb w/Offset 27.2mm / Length S-M 350mm / L-XL 375mm
CRANKSET	FSA Comet Heavy Duty 32t	GRIPS	Kona Key Grip Lock-on
CASETTE	Single Speed 18t	SADDLE	WTB Comfort
BRAKE CALIPERS	Tektro HD-M280 2-piston	FRONT HUB	Formula 15x110mm
FRONT BRAKE ROTOR	Tektro 180mm 6B 1.8mm	REAR HUB	Formula 12x148mm HG
REAR BRAKE ROTOR	Tektro 160mm 6B 1.8mm	RIMS	WTB ST i30
BRAKE LEVERS	Tektro M280	TIRES	WTB GROOV-E 29×2.25″
HEADSET	FSA No.10 ZS44/ZS44	STEM	Kona 31.8mm / Rise 0º / Length 45mm

OK, ultimately—it’s a lust-worthy ride. I can’t wait to see one in the wild, so I can really check out that flower-pattern paint job that’s got everybody talking. Although with 200 being sold, I probably never will.

What do you think?