Kona have released preview images of their new Raijin titanium 29er hardtail frame via the tongue-in-cheek blog of Team Seagal. While the blog is focused on fun, the bike looks to be all business.
Built in Tennessee by Lynskey Performance, the Raijin looks to be a thoroughly modern and thoughtfully versatile chassis. Key features include a conventional double-diamond layout with a slightly curved down tube for fork crown clearance, a 44mm-diameter head tube for use with straight 1-1/8in or tapered 1-1/8 to 1-1/2in steerers, a PressFit 30 bottom bracket shell, slider dropouts for geared or singlespeed use, and a 27.2mm-diameter seatpost for a little extra flex.
A 44mm-diameter head tube will accept either straight 1-1/8in or tapered 1-1/8 to 1-1/2in steerer tubes
Cables are routed along the top tube with neatly welded zip-tie style mounts for full-length housing. Projected release date is early April and there will be five frame sizes: 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22in. Geometry is based around a 69.5-degree head tube angle, 74-degree seat tube angle and 12.2in (310mm) bottom bracket height (18in frame with a 100mm-travel fork).
Target weight for an 18in frame is 1.8kg (4lb) and retail price will be a fairly reasonable US$1,899. We'll be on hand at the product launch in mid-February where Kona say they'll have prototypes available for ride testing.
The non-drive side is reinforced with a short, welded-on strut. Threaded adjusters allow for precise rear wheel positioning