

Satori DL Details



• Intended use: trail riding

• Rear wheel travel: 130mm

• Fork travel: 140mm

• Wheel size: 29''

• Aluminum frame

• RockShox Deluxe RL DebonAir Trunnion

• RockShox Revelation RC Solo Air

• Crankset: SRAM Descendant

• Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle 12-spd

• Brakes: SRAM Guide R, 180/160 rotors

• Seat Post: RockShox Reverb

• MSRP: $3,499 USD



Satori Details



• Intended use: trail riding

• Rear wheel travel: 130mm

• Fork travel: 140mm

• Wheel size: 29''

• Aluminum frame

• RockShox Deluxe RL DebonAir Trunnion

• RockShox Recon Gold RL Solo Air

• Crankset: RaceFace Aeffect

• Drivetrain: Shimano Deore 10-spd

• Brakes: Shimano Hydraulic, 180/160 rotors

• Seat Post: Trans-X Dropper Internal

• MSRP: $2,699 USD



So, What's New?

The new Satori isn't an all-mountain bike, clearly, but Kona does go so far as to say that there's some Process DNA in its genes, as well as the more obvious connection to their Hei Hei and Hei Hei Trail platforms.



Back in 2014, the old Satori (pictured at right) employed Kona's 'Swinger Independent Suspension' design that was a just a single pivot, linkage driven setup that Kona said ''retains the same advantages and performance features as our other designs, but at a more affordable price. In other words, more function than flash, which also kinda sums up Kona as a whole.

2014 Satori

Geometry

Two Satoris

The last time we saw the Satori name, it was back in 2014 and the bike was a 130mm-travel, 29'' wheeled trail bike. For 2019, the all-around machine that takes its name after the Japanese word for an awakening returns to Kona's lineup, again with 130mm out back (paired to a 140mm-travel fork) and 29'' wheels.But while those numbers are the same, the expectations of how a trail bike should perform have shifted, and Kona has completely re-worked the 2018 Satori chassis with that in mind.While the name, rear wheel travel, and all-around intentions remain the same as they did in 2014 , similarities between that old bike and the new Satori pretty much end right there. The aluminum frame is all-new, the geometry is contemporary, and the suspension layout has been completely re-worked. The idea is still the same, however, with it looking like the kind of bike that's equally ready for a monster death march into the unknown as it is sessioning a tricky bit of singletrack that might trouble an under-gunned trail rig.The same could be said of the new Satori's 'Fuse Independent Suspension' layout, with its single pivot, flex-stay rear-end and vertical shock mounting (pictured above) that delivers 130mm of travel.The Fuse design is even more simple than the old Swinger system, with Kona skipping the axle pivot in favor of a lighter (and probably more laterally rigid) flex-pivot. They've also gone to a trunnion-mount shock that's driven by a stout looking little rocker link, and it's no coincidence that the design language used for the Process and Hei Hei models can be easily seen in the Satori.I bet you know where Kona went with their new Satori's numbers compared to the old bike's digits... Yes, longer and lower but, interestingly, not any slacker up front. If we compare the old large-sized Satori to the new large-sized Satori, we see that the reach went from a now tiny 439mm to a much roomier 475mm. Of course, 2014 saw Kona spec what looks to be a 300mm long road bike stem (not actually), whereas the new geo is paired with a stubby stem straight from Kona. The middle of the road 68-degree head angle stays.You've heard it all before: your center of gravity is moved more rearward relative to the front axle, but the cockpit shouldn't feel cramped due to that long reach. Kona wasn't the first to do this, but their original Process series made the PNW brand one of the earlier major brands to adopt this now standard-ish approach.Sometimes overlooked but just as important, they've also steepened the bike's seat tube angle to just over 78-degrees. That's 4-degrees closer to vertical than the old Satori, by the way, which should help to mask the bike's extra length when pedaling in the saddle. Bottom bracket drop goes from 25mm to 29mm, and the wheelbase grows from 1,176mm to 1,201mm despite the chainstays being shortened by 10mm to 430mm. Shorter out back but much longer up front.If you're considering a Satori for your stable, you probably won't have to deal with choice paralysis as there are only two models to choose from, at least for the time being. Both the standard Satori and the higher-end Satori DL are assembled around the same aluminum frame and therefore share the same geometry but, with a wider gear range, four-piston brakes, and better suspension, the DL version looks like a more capable machine.The DL comes with a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, a Reverb, RockShox's 140mm-travel Revelation fork, and a custom tuned RockShox Deluxe RL Solo Air that looks after the 130mm out back. That package goes for $3,499 USD, but you can save $800 USD by going with the entry-level Satori and its Rockshox Recon Gold fork and custom tuned Solo Air rear shock, a Deore drivetrain, two-piston TR30 brakes, and a party post from Tranz-X.I've got myself one of the new $3,499 USD Satori DL models in for testing, so stay tuned for a long-winded review of Kona's new mid-range trail bike down the road.