Kona’s Asphalt Bikes Rack Up Media Awards

April 2004 – Cyclists researching a new commuter bike for National Bike to Work Month this May just got some help. The Kona Bicycle Company’s new line of chic, urban workhorse Asphalt bikes have just received two prestigious media awards. The Kona Smoke was awarded “Best Town Bike” in Bicycling Magazine’s 2004 Editor’s Choice Awards held on April 17th at the Sea Otter Classic cycling festival in Monterey, California, and the Kona Dr. Dew won “Best Commuting Bike” at the annual British Bicycle Awards held on April 16th at The Bike Show in Birmingham, England.

The Smoke and Dr. Dew are part of Kona’s new Asphalt line of bikes specifically designed to be ridden on, over and through concrete. The 2004 model year was the first year for Kona’s Asphalt line after many years of research and development.

“We are bike designers who ride our bikes to our bike design jobs. So we’ve been building customized bikes that have been taking us to work and back for all these years,” said Jake Heilbron, Kona’s chief executive bicyclist. “This year we’ve put nine of these models into production to make up our Asphalt line. These awards are a reflection of our many years of experience riding in the city.”

The Smoke is designed to tackle the physical, mental and fiscal challenges associated with owning a bike in the city. The steel frame, mountain bike geometry understated paint job, straight blade fork, Tioga City Slicker tires, all have comfort and durability in mind. The bike comes ready-to-ride with mudflap fenders and a Mojo horn, and the $350 retail price keeps your stress level down when you lock the bike to the fence outside of your favorite bar or coffee shop.

The Dr. Dew is more of a messenger-style urban bike. With more aggressive geometry that closely resembles a road bikes, disc brakes, a triple chainring, flat handlebar and beefy tires, the Dr. Dew is an agile speedster that can handle all the abuse urban roads can dish out. The Dr. Dew retails for $999.

For Bicycling Magazine’s Editor’s Choice program, Bicycling’s 8-member gear testing team collaboratively decided on three finalists in each product category. In March, the team reviewed all finalists’ products head-to-head in Sedona, Arizona, to determine the Editors’ Choice winners. Products were evaluated on performance, ease of use, durability, price and value versus competitors. The Smoke topped the other category finalists, the Schwinn Heavy Duty and Electra Deluxe 7, and will be featured in the June issue of Bicycling, which goes on sale May 3rd.

For the British Bicycle Awards, BikeBiz.com, MBUK, What Mountain Bike, Cycling Plus, and Ride Magazine determined the finalists in each category and then were voted on by members of the public.

SOURCE Base Camp Communications