Kona Sutra ULTD and LTD Models and Specs Officially Announced

I’m a longtime fan of the Sutra LTD, so I my ears perked when I heard that Kona was releasing a new bike to the lineup. A week after the teaser, Kona released the official specs and details about the all-new Kona Sutra ULTD. According to Kona, the ULTD is the “continuation of a dream to make a drop bar bike as badass as possible.” And based on the geometry chart and build kit, I’d say the ULTD steps up the Sutra’s dirt game in a big way. In short, the Kona Sutra ULTD is a completely different beast from its predecessors. Read on for details and analysis.

Several of our initial and obvious predictions were true. The new ULTD got a lot more mounts (two new pairs under the top tube and one on top), internal dropper routing, and an oversized seat tube for a dropper post. However, we guessed that it was 30.9mm in diameter, when it’s in fact 31.6. Another visible change we noticed was the tapered head tube, which as it turns out, is home to a completely new 430mm fork (the Sutra LTD is based around a 415mm fork length). That means the Sutra ULTD has been optimized for a 40mm suspension fork, should you be interested. Unfortunately, it’s worth noting that there aren’t many carbon forks available in that length at this point.

One wrong prediction we made that was about the rear dropout; we thought Kona may have switched to a flip chip or sliding rear dropout. However, Kona used the same cast rear dropout that’s on the Sutra LTD. Unfortunately, that probably means the same soft aluminum derailleur hanger (I’ve gone through quite a few of them, for the record). In addition, they also carried over the same hub spacing: 142 x 12mm in the rear and 100 x 12mm in the front.

Another early observation was that Kona lowered the standover height, but there are a lot more alterations to the Kona Sutra ULTD’s geometry than we first expected. As you can see in the two geometry charts below (the Kona Sutra ULTD is on the left, and the 2021 Kona Sutra LTD is on the right), the Sutra ULTD not only gets a longer fork and more standover, it also has a 1.5° slacker headtube, a steeper seat tube, and 5mm of additional fork offset. With 10mm of more reach (for the 56cm model) and 36 more millimeters of wheelbase, it’s a significantly longer bike, overall. The bottom bracket drop and chainstay length are the only two numbers that stay relatively the same, although it appears that Kona made some size-specific alterations to the BB Drop this go around.

Kona Sutra ULTD Build Kit

As expected, the Kona Sutra ULTD complete gets a Rival 1 drivetrain with integrated dropper actuation in the left lever. That’s a nice addition. Unfortunately, Kona ditched the XD hub driver in favor of a standard HG driver. That means that it loses the 10-tooth cassette cog and the 11-42t cassette effectively shaves 38% off the total gear range (from 420% to 382%). Not ideal. One addition I do like is the Maxxis Rekon Race 29×2.25″ tires. I’ve been using these tires for a while and love their perfect blend of fast-rolling center tread and corner trustworthy side lugs. Speaking of tires, Kona offers zero hints as to what the total clearance is on the ULTD, but we’ll try and find out.

• FRAME MATERIAL Kona Cromoly Butted
• SIZES 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58
• FORK Kona Project Two Cromoly Disc Touring fork
• CRANKARMS SRAM NX
• CHAINRINGS 36t X-Sync
• B/B SRAM 73mm
• CHAIN SRAM PC1110
• FREEWHEEL SRAM PG1130 11-42t 11spd
• R/D SRAM Rival 1
• SHIFTERS SRAM Rival 1 w/ Integrated Dropper Lever
• BRAKE CALIPERS SRAM Rival 1 Flat mount
• FRONT BRAKE ROTOR SRAM Centerline 160mm
• REAR BRAKE ROTOR SRAM Centerline 160mm
• BRAKE LEVERS SRAM Rival 1 HRD
• HEADSET FSA No.1/No.10
• HANDLEBAR Kona Road
• STEM Kona Road Deluxe
• SEATPOST Trans-X Dropper +RAD Internal 31.6mm
• SEAT CLAMP Kona Clamp
• GRIPS Kona Cork Tape
• SADDLE WTB Volt
• FRONT HUB Formula 100x12mm
• REAR HUB Formula 142x12mm
• SPOKES Stainless Black 14g
• RIMS WTB KOM Light Team i27 TCS 2.0
• FRONTIRE Maxxis Rekon Race EXO TR 29×2.25″
• REAR TIRE Maxxis Rekon Race EXO TR 29×2.25″
• PAINT COLOR Gloss Prism Rust-Purple w/ Metallic Dark Silver & Charcoal Decals

And lastly, the new Kona Sutra ULTD gets a gorgeous Prism paint job. We’re pretty excited to see it in person. The complete Kona Sutra ULTD as specced above sells for $2,399 and is available for $599 as a frameset only. Learn more over at KonaWorld.com.

2021 Kona Sutra LTD

Aside from a new paint job, the venerable Kona Sutra LTD stays relatively the same for 2021. Find details and the complete build kit below…

• FRAME MATERIAL Kona Cromoly Butted
• SIZES 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58
• FORK Kona Project Two Cromoly Disc Touring fork
• CRANKARMS RaceFace Aeffect
• CHAINRINGS 36t Narrow/Wide
• B/B RaceFace 73mm
• CHAIN SRAM PC1110
• FREEWHEEL SRAM XG1150 10-42t 11spd
• R/D SRAM Rival 1
• SHIFTERS SRAM Rival 1
• BRAKE CALIPERS SRAM Rival 1 Flat mount
• FRONT BRAKE ROTOR SRAM Centerline 160mm
• REAR BRAKE ROTOR SRAM Centerline 160mm
• BRAKE LEVERS SRAM Rival 1 HRD
• HEADSET FSA TH848
• HANDLEBAR Kona Road
• STEM Kona Road Deluxe
• SEATPOST Kona Deluxe Thumb w/Offset 27.2mm
• SEAT CLAMP Kona Clamp
• GRIPS Velo Shock-Proof Bar Tape
• SADDLE WTB SL8
• FRONT HUB Formula 100x12mm
• REAR HUB Formula 142x12mm
• SPOKES Stainless Black 14g
• RIMS WTB KOM Light Team i25 TCS 2.0
• FRONTIRE WTB Venture TCS 700x50c
• REAR TIRE WTB Venture TCS 700x50c
• PAINT COLOR Gloss Metallic Champagne w/ Metallic Dark Silver & Charcoal Decals

The 2021 Kona Sutra LTD complete sells for $2,199 as specced above. This year, however, it appears Kona isn’t offering the LTD as a frameset for purchase, which might be a bummer for some folks. Learn more over at KonaWorld.com. Also, be sure to check out my Sutra LTD rig from earlier this year.

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