Kona Remote 160 eMTB Review

By Drew Rohde | Action Photos by Jesse Polay
Still Photos by Dusten Ryen
Charged by RISE BREWING

Our Kona Remote 160 ebike first hit dirt last fall here in Central Oregon. We spent several months getting to know the bike intimately before we took it to Palm Springs for our 2020 eMTB Roundup. As a top contender in our Enduro (155mm +) category, the Kona Remote is an incredibly capable all-around bike that has a slight bias towards rugged, backcountry terrain or self-shuttling your favorite downhill trails but features geometry well-suited for climbing technical terrain or all-day epics. Competing neck-and-neck with bikes retailing several thousands of dollars more, it’s hard to call the $5,999 Kona Remote a bargain ebike, but it’s certainly an impressive machine that can hang at a fraction of the cost, even if that fraction is ¾.

THE LAB
Built around Kona’s award-winning Process platform, the Remote 160 sports 160mm of front and rear wheel travel in a lifetime warrantied 6061 aluminum frame. A Rock Shox Lyrik Select Charger RC fork and Rock Shox Super Deluxe Select rear shock come spec’d along with Shimano cranks and a SRAM drivetrain. SRAM’s NX Eagle 12-speed shifter and derailleur handle gear changing duties while SRAM Code R brakes and 200mm rotors keep the bike under control. Kona uses a Shimano Steps E8000 drive unit and Shimano 504Wh battery that is easily removed from the downtube.

Rolling stock on the Remote 160 comes from WTB KOM Trail wheels with Formula hubs wrapped in 27.5×2.8” Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR II tires. We got along well with the wheels and tires during our test period but found that the spokes needed some attention after an initial break-in period. Kona also spec’d in-house bars, stem, grips and a Trans-X dropper post, which did give us a few problems during testing, but nothing major.

Geometry on the Kona Remote can be described as capable and well-rounded. It’s not short, but it’s also not a new-school shred sled that becomes unwieldy on slower, more technical terrain. Our size large test bike has a 475mm reach, which felt a tiny bit short at first when coming off some other limos in the roundup. However, as soon as we started riding, we liked the blend of snappiness and stability that came from the 818mm front center. Kona also gave the bike 435mm chainstays, a 65-degree headtube angle and 75.7-degree seat tube angle. Wheelbase on our size large is 1,252mm with a 51mm fork offset.

THE DIRT
Over the last few months the Kona has earned a sweet spot in our hearts. It’s a really capable and all-around performer. We rode this bike on everything from PNW loamers to Bend’s high desert DH trails to some truly rugged desert singletrack in Palm Springs, California. For some reason the bike was a bit of a sleeper in our group test. Perhaps it was the paint job, but it just didn’t scream for attention, yet every time a test rider handed it back over it was with a heavy nod of the head and a big thumbs up.

The bike is a touch on the heavy side, which made bunny hopping or trail jibbing a slight weak point in the bike’s otherwise outstanding performance. Luckily for us, the Remote’s lively and peppy suspension tune combated the weight disadvantage and we had plenty of fun getting this bike airborne anytime we needed to.

Some of our favorite places to ride the bike were on super steep trails where tight turns and awkward drops were frequently found. The shock tune was right on the money for our 165-lb riders as we regularly used full travel when we needed it, but never felt a harsh bottom. When it was time to pedal or fight for traction on off-camber bench cuts or traverses, the Remote 160 did a great job as well. It’s supple off the top yet supportive in the middle of the stroke. Kona really nailed the tune here.

Over the last few months we’ve been seeing bikes getting longer and slacker, which helps on our favorite 10% of the ride, however the downside is that the bikes are much less fun and capable getting to and from those points. Thankfully Kona didn’t do that to the Remote 160. Some may find the head tube too steep and the reach too short, but we felt it struck a great balance for the widest range of riders and terrain. It may not be the ideal shred sled for those looking for a limousine to point and shoot, however if you’ve got the skills to handle a 65-degree angled bike with 160mm of travel, it will get you down anything you need to get down. What’s great about the Remote however, is that it can get you back up to the top a lot faster thanks to the fact in can be ridden up and down mountains equally well.