Chip’s Kona Honzo
Join us on a journey through the complex behaviours and inner and outer lives of Smooth Jazz Lines’ CFO (Chief Facilitating Office) by way of plant-based spectral velocipede introspection (by checking out his bike). You just might learn something about the local flora and fauna, but probably not.
Let’s start with the obvious first question. Who is Chip?
Chip is in many ways a sort of creature you meet at the base of Exit 27 or along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, which will greet you with its natural call of “Hello.” Long thought by many to only exist in Fall City folklore and mythology, Chip is more commonly encountered on a Kona hardtail, often with snacks in its pouch, sometimes with other substances too.
Why a hardtail? Chip is tall. Tall tall. And Chip treats his bikes like garbage—in this case synonymous with riding them a lot, riding them hard, and sometimes pushing through clear signals that it’s time for maintenance.
But that’s just how you have a good time. That’s how you open new forest pathways, reconnect with pine-centric airspace, and establish novel cosmic alignments.
Chip explores a wide range though, not limited purely to the I-90 corridor. Some have reported seeing Chip engaging with new age evergreen glade practices as far north as Whistler and as far south as Bend. In the course of these migrations, Chip enjoys collecting shiny things that he affixes to his bicycle. This explains the affinity for the Kona Honzo frame (Bellingham), the Chromag stem (Whistler), the Marzocchi suspension (Vancouver), the PNW Components grips and dropper (Bellingham), and Cascadia Wheel Co. wheels (Tacoma).
There are some bits and pieces that aren’t from Chip’s range though. Shimano’s excellent 12-speed groupsets are from Taiwan, Maxxis’ ubiquitous Minion DHF (which Chip specs front AND rear) (and to settle this once and for all, F stands for FREERIDE and R stands for RACE!) is from Georgia, SDG Components Bel-Air saddles come from Huntington Beach. (And all these things are made in the far east.)
Zeroing in on the rear end of the bike, you can see more evidence of Chip’s size. The maxed-out adjustable dopout, the heel rub down to aluminum on the chainstay weld, and maybe it’s starting to make sense why this rider needs a hardtail. Hardtails carry a few key benefits over full-suspension bikes that really come into play for Chip:
They’re still incredibly fun
With modern geo (like the Honzo DL’s) you won’t feel underbiked too quickly
There are ZERO pivots to destroy
There is ZERO rear suspension to bottom out (except for the tires)
This is a great example of matching bike, build, and rider to support your goals. Chip has ridden full-suspension bikes for years and he’s chewed them up too quickly. Breaking bikes too often means downtime means you ride bikes not often enough.
So matching Chip to a burly hardtail is good.
Building that bike with parts designed and even sometimes manufactured in the area is good. These are components made by people who understand the demands of our incredible trails.
And getting Chip on a groovy bike he can’t break (well, can’t easily break) with a solid connection to his favorite places to be is perfect.
Check out the full gallery below, and come by before the season’s over to let us help you put together your perfect combination of bike, build, and rider!
