I wanted to spruce up and modernize my 2019 Kona Process 153, so I decided to purchase a Works Components 2 Degree Angle Headset. The 2019 Process was a continuation of the 2018 Process, meaning the geometry that was probably pretty progressive at the time, is now 5 model years old.
Kona lists the head tube angle for the 2019 Process 153 at 66 degrees on their website. I was able to verify this using the level app on my phone. A 2 degree angle headset installed in the slack position should give me a 64 degree HTA, and according to the app on my phone, that is the case. Yay!
This puts my bike right between the 2022 Kona Process X (an even longer, slacker, enduro bike with more travel) and the 2022 Kona Process 153, which have 63.5 and 64.5 HTA's respectively.
I was curious what other affects this would have on my bike, specifically to the reach, seat tube angle, wheelbase and BB height, so before I installed the Angle Headset I took some measurements for reference.
I am going to share that info here, just in case anyone else is considering an Angle Headset and is interested in knowing how it will affect other aspects of the bikes geometry. Keep in mind these figures were obtained using an iPhone app and a metric tape measure - and I find millimeters really hard to read accurately as I get older. So this info is hardly scientific and could be subject to errors of a millimeter or two here or there.
Head Tube Angle: -2 degrees to 64 (measured by holding iPhone against fork stanchion)
Seat Tube Angle: Unchanged (I did not bother measuring the effective seat tube angle the way Kona does on their website. Instead I just extended my dropper post all the way and slapped my phone against it to get a reading).
Wheelbase: +15mm
BB Height: -2mm to -4mm (this was hard to measure accurately and still be able to read the tape measure)
Effective Reach: -7mm (yikes!)
I use the term "effective reach" because I didn't measure from a hypothetical line from the center of my BB to the center of the headtube/steer tube. That would have been too tricky to do on my own. Instead I measured from the front side of my seat post directly above the collar/clamp to the center of my top cap/steer tube). This loss of reach concerns me. I'm 5'10" with ridiculously long arms for my height. I probably should have gotten a size Large frame, but in the midst of a Pandemic, beggars can't be choosers so a size Medium it was. I've played around extensively with different length stem and bar combos and finally had my bars in a place that felt comfortable both on the climbs and the descents. We'll see if this makes any difference...
I have not had a chance to ride the bike yet, so I cannot comment on how any of these very minimal changes affect the performance or ride experience, but I am hoping the slightly slacker head angle and slightly longer wheelbase are noticeable when the trail starts to get steep - because that's the main thing I'm looking for.
I will report back when I've had a chance to go for a ride. If anyone has any experiences they'd like to share using a Works Components Angle Headset, by all means please share. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.