Notes: After a year of riding my 2001 KONA Stinky Dee as a guide and race bike I started feeling that the Stinky was holding me back a bit for racing (for free-riding it will be a long time before I have maxed it out). So I got talking to the folks at Kona and they helped hook me up with a 2002 Kona Stab Primo. When I finally got it I was blown away about how great the spec was: adjustable 8"-9" of rear travel, Hayes 8" hydraulic disc brakes front and rear, 7.5" Shiver up front, overbuilt stem and handle-bars, monster beefy frame ... the only thing I changed was to take the grips off and put some ODI Rogues on. Despite getting the Small, the bike still felt a bit big and heavy (mainly due to the Shiver) but after a couple of runs I could feel how that was a good thing. The Stab Primo required a different style of riding from what I was used to (coming from 10+ years of riding hard-tails) -- basically it is happiest at high speed, plowing through rough and rocky sections, or landing monster jumps. Moving the back-end to the 8" setting quickens up the cornering in the tight stuff, and it rails corners like a demon, happily gaining speed and snapping out of the turns. Interestingly, I found that doing alternate days of riding on the Stab and on the Stinky really pushed my riding up. The Stab made anything seem easy, so I tried it on my Stinky and found it was still pretty easy on that, so I went looking for the next harder thing. I guess the biggest problem for me is that I am not super aggressive or ballsy as a rider, so I find the front end a bit heavy going off jumps, and that the fork pulls me down quicker than I would like. A stronger or more aggressive rider would probably not find that a problem.

Good Points (Out of Five) +++++ Inspires ridiculous amounts of confidence, begs to jump off big things, begs to be dragged at high speed through the rough and chunky stuff +++++ The definition of stable +++++ Takes the punishment and loves it! I could never max this bike. out ++++ Downhill specific, race ready, mean machine ====== ++++ Overall a FANTASTIC bike for DH, particularly on brutal, rocky courses with massive jumps Bad Points (Out of Five) - HEAVY front end. Requires a strong, aggressive rider to keep the front end up, and not suited to lots of finesse small jumps in rough stuff (just let go of the brakes instead, and the bike will do the work for you) - The rear suspension system is not as sophisticated as some, so there is some pedal-induced bob 0 Nope, can't think of anything else bad! ===== - A fantastic downhill race bike. Massive overkill for almost anything else (although big-air free-riders would probably love it as well). Most suitable for strong, aggressive riders wanting to muscle through rocky terrain. The extra weight takes some getting used to, but gives so much confidence that you'll find yourself doing sick stuff in no time!

Ideal User:
Aggressive, strong, ballsy, no fear style downhiller.

Don't Do It:
Super-finesse DH riders wanting lightning response to pedal strokes will probably find the Stab overbuilt, heavy and a bit sluggish.

Reference:
Check out the Kona web site on www.konaworld.com

Postnote1: I wrote this review back in 2002 when I first got this bike, and as my first DH bike I learnt a massive amount about riding, racing and pushing the limits on it. Since 2001, the downhill race courses in Bolivia have evolved to include many more big jumps, which definitely suits this bike but not me! I'm still a chicken on the big jumps -- I'm much happier with my wheels on the ground. I eventually swapped the Marzocchi Shiver out for a Rock-Shox Boxxer (which is MUCH lighter, although requires more maintenance) and was a lot happier with the balance and front ... and I 've even started jumping a little bit. However, I am the first to admit that I never pushed this bike as hard as I could have.

Postnote2: After two years of me riding and racing on this bike I managed to talk the kind folks at Kona into doing us a killer deal on three of these exact frames so that some of the more promising local Bolivian downhill racers could finally have some serious bikes. As of July 2004, three of the Bolivian members of the TEAM GRAVITY race team are racing these bikes (Omar Hernandez, Dandy Guachalla and Jubert Guachalla) and these boys are FLYING. Mac Hosking (an Aussie import who guides and races for TEAM GRAVITY) also purchased a 2003 Kona Stab Primo (complete) and he's been racing faster than ever before! For more information about TEAM GRAVITY, the downhill race scene in Bolivia, race results and photos of the team in action check out the "Team Gravity" link in the top menu.

Postnote3 (By Mac Hosking): Stab Primo '03 - My Stab had an upgraded shock ('04 Fox DH with intensifier). This gave me plenty of adjustments to play with as far as progressiveness and stiffness in the travel. I found that once I was used to the weight it really does inspire you to be a lunatic! It takes a little more technique to bunny hop but can really eat almost anything up. After years of being happy with Mavic rims I managed to destroy the supplied stock Mavic 521 Downhill rims after only seven weeks, possibly just unlucky, but I'm now running an Intense Mag30, which seems to be holding up fine. On my model, Kona fitted Tioga White Tiger tires. I have never been a fan of Tioga as I seem to pinch flat them too often. Anyway, after not very long I ripped the sidewall out of one and had to throw it away. Since then I have tried a few different downhill tire combinations. I am running a 3" Gazzaloddi on the front, which is great for free riding (but a bit heavy for racing). The only problem is that it just buzzes on the crown of the Shiver when I bottom out, which is pretty rare. I also found the bar height a bit high so I flipped the stem, giving me about a 1-cm drop instead of a raise.