Employee Bike Check: Brian's Kona Sutra ULTD

Path buyer Brian Blair recently built up a 2021 Kona ULTD, a bike-of-all-trades that is truly ready for just about anything! 

The Sutra ULTD is the result of Kona’s quest to make a drop-bar bike as badass and capable as possible. It has a 69.5-degree head angle (slack for this sort of bike) and a long reach that allowed Brian to run a 60-millimeter stem while eliminating the dreaded toe overlap.

There is also clearance for 2.6 tires mounted on 35-millimeter rims, room for larger chainrings (also rare with this kind of tire clearance), and multiple braze-ons for bottles, racks, etc. 

"It also has cable routing that actually makes sense," said Brian, who has owned a bevy of drop-bar bikes over the years. "And I have the ability to run an internally routed, 180-millimeter dropper post, which is just awesome. These are all details that make me feel like this thing will be around for awhile."

Brian's build:

56cm Kona Sutra ULTD
Shimano Pro dropper lever that is accessible from the hoods and the drops
180mm OneUp dropper
SRAM 1x11 drivetrain
Old (like....OLD) X9 cranks that have seen some shit
King cages.....because they're the only ones
Tektro Spyre brakes
52cm Salsa Cowchipper bars
Stan's Sentry 35mm rims on DT 350 rear/Hope front
Supacaz bar tape.....because it's really good.
Blackburn tool roll with Voile ski strap