Sea Otter 2010: Kona Hei Hei 2-9

2010 Kona Hei Hei 2-9

When Tim was on Kona’s Abra Cadabra, I got to spend some time riding Scott O’dell’s personal ride: the Kona Hei Hei 2-9. There were some major changes to Kona’s Hei Hei 2-9 from 2009 to 2010. Included are the tapered headtube going from the 1 1/8” to 1 1/5”, 15mm thru-axle front hub, Easton wheels and an increase in travel from 3.5 inches to 4 inches. The fork travel has subsequently increased as well from 80mm to 100mm.

Scott’s personal Hei Hei 2-9 eschewed the Easton wheels for some very trick I9 wheels and some very nice parts upgrades including carbon bars, Thomson seatpost and XTR cranks. Since there were so many upgrades, lets just focus our thoughts on the frame and fork.

frame & fork are a great compliment. The tapered headtube combined with the 15mm TA fork make for a stiff combination along the relatively smooth Sea Otter loop. I was able to get some XC air (in my book: less than a foot) at a good speed. At one point, I really got going and was surprised by a jump. I nearly freaked out when that happened as I felt I was going too fast and was not in control to handle the minuscule air time. The Hei Hei 2-9, however, was comfortable getting air and landed smoothly almost encouraging me to go even faster next time around. On climbs, engaging the propedal on the RP23 came in handy and most rear ward movement was muted.

The frame itself is a butted scandium frame with magnesium rockers. It was quite solid and, granted I was on a pretty smooth trail, had no flex. The dark blue scheme with light blue highlights were super sweet. I’m a fan of white frame parts and the rockers were no exception.

Thanks to Scott O’dell for lending me his personal Hei Hei 2-9.

For more info on the Kona Hei Hei 2-9, click here.