We all know that getting a bike can be life-changing — even ... - Kona

Handlebars
Massive swept-back
bars might feel a
little tiller-like, but
they’re ridiculously
comfortable.
Out of
Africa
Frame material
You’d maybe expect
old-school steel here,
but it’s actually 7005
aluminium. OK, it’s not a
light bike, but it’s superstrong
and comfortable.
We all know that getting a bike can be life-changing — even more so if
you happen to live in Africa and it helps you deliver medicine to your
community or gets you an education to change your future
Words Matt Lamy
Rack
The integrated luggage-carrier
is actually part of the frame,
meaning it’s strong enough to
carry lots of shopping, or even a
couple of your mates.
Front basket
In the unlikely event
that you’ve run out of
room at the rear,
sling your handbag in
here instead.
Rear hub
Three-speed hub with coaster brake
means everything is sealed from the
elements and ultra-reliable.
Extras
Frame lock and kickstand
are included in the package
— this bike’s the full shebang
and you’re not expected to
fork out for extras.
58 CYCLING ACTIVE JANUARY 2012
JANUARY 2012 CYCLING ACTIVE 59

Bike test Kona Africabike
Africabike is sturdy
enough for dad Matt
and his twin boys
We’re incredibly spoilt at
this magazine. We get
to ride so many
spectacular bikes —
carbon, titanium, hand-built steel
classics — we get to trial the latest
and flashiest technology, from the
smoothest, fastest, lightest hub gears
to electronic groupsets. You could say
that, here at the forefront of the bike
industry, we’re the first to see the bike
world changing, yet it’s the essence of
bikes — their simplicity and pureness
of function — that can quietly change
the world itself. In the shape of Kona’s
Africabike, the simple machine that is
the bicycle is even saving lives.
The Africabike Project began five
years ago, when 200 bicycles landed
60 CYCLING ACTIVE JANUARY 2012
in Botswana as a donation from Kona
Biketown Africa. These first 200 bikes
were to be given to healthcare
workers to deliver vital medicine and
treatment to HIV/AIDS patients.
Kona described the bike back then
as “the most important bike the
company has ever developed” — a
single-speed, ultra-tough, ultra-simple
machine to withstand the rigours of
daily life in a sub-Saharan environment.
“Kona pledges to send
one Africabike to Africa
for every two that Western
consumers buy"
Over the next few years, Kona
refined both the Africabike
programme and the bicycle itself.
More bikes — nearly 4,000 to date —
were distributed to other African
communities. Although delivering
HIV/AIDS relief is still at the heart of
the Africabike ethos, bikes have also
been donated to help other groups —
most recently Africabikes helped
teenage girls in Gambia get to school
to continue their education. Also,
realising the universal appeal of the
tank-like Africabike, Kona made it
available to Western consumers,
pledging to send an Africabike to
Africa for every two that we buy.
The latest incarnation of the
Africabike has changed somewhat

Frame: Kona 7005
aluminium
Weight: 16.2kg
(35.7lb)
Tyres: Kenda Kontact
26x1.9in
Stem: Kona Control
quill
Seatpost: Kona
Thumb
Bars: Kona Riser
Drivetrain: 36t
chainring with
three-speed Shimano
Nexus hub gear
Brakes: Shimano
V-brake front,
backpedal
coaster rear
Saddle: Kona Plush
Extras: basket, frame
lock, kickstand, chain
cover, bell
Colours: white
or black
Sizes available:
One size 18in
Contact: www.
konaworld.com
Price: £450
MINI-ME KONAS
Afrikid bike
The current focus of Kona’s Africabike programme
is on helping children in sub-Saharan Africa get
an education, working with charitable organisation
A Better World Canada.
On September 10, the inaugural Africa Bike Race
was held in Canmore by A Better World Canada,
to raise funds for 500 very special bikes to be sent
to Kenya. Developed by Kona, these Afrikid bikes
are a scaled-down version of the Africabike to help
schoolchildren in rural Kenya who have to journey
up to 14 kilometres just to get to classes. It is hoped
they will improve quality of life for these youngsters
and decrease the dropout rate from school.
Thanks to the success of the race, 500 Afrikid
bikes will be on their way to Kenya early in 2012.
“The upright
position is as
good for evading
potholes as errant
wildebeest"
too; most notably, it now has a
three-speed rear hub — which is
handy on a heavy bike. Actually, once
you get the thing moving, it’s geared
pretty low and you quickly forget
about its actual mass, which is far
outweighed, so to speak, by its
functionality. The Africabike is more
than just a way to get from A to B —
it’s a means of getting you, your kids
and your combined bodyweight in
shopping from A to B as well.
Rack 'em up
The luggage rack at the rear is rather
more substantial than the piddly little
pannier holder you would normally
settle for. It’s actually an integrated
part of the frame, constructed from
fat, welded tubing. Being made from
the same structure as the actual
frame, it’s as strong as the frame and
similarly suited to carrying people,
livestock, furniture — whatever. Bolt a
plank to the four threaded holes on
top of the rack and you’ve got a
rudimentary seat that should be
adequate for two or three children
at least, we reckon. If, somehow, you
can’t fit everything on the back of
the bike, there’s a sturdy basket up
front too.
We weren’t exactly counting on
racing characteristics from the sturdy
Africabike, but it’s surprisingly fleet.
The low gearing means you’ll spin
out quickly on the slightest downhill,
but the flipside is that you stand a
fighting chance of getting up hills too.
The enormous swept-back bars made
it easy to hoik myself out the saddle
for a brave standing effort on the
inclines as well.
The steering isn’t exactly
precise, but it’s super-stable and
confidence-inspiring, meaning a
chilled-out ride. The bolt-upright
riding position gives a meerkat-like
lookout position, as suitable for
evading potholes and abruptlystopping
white vans as the odd errant
wildebeest wandering across the
track up ahead.
OK, so fancier bikes are available
here in the affluent West, but frankly,
for the casual city rider, the Africabike
is all you’ll ever need — and then
some. It will change your life because
its luggage-lugging capability will
encourage a less car-centric attitude,
but more importantly, your purchase
contributes half an Africabike for the
developing world, where this simple
machine could really change a life.
The Biketown Africa
project rolls out in
Botswana
The Africabike is
useful in the absence
of a school bus
The Africabike is
a genuine
all-terrain cycle
JANUARY 2012 CYCLING ACTIVE 63