At Kona we like to keep track of things. Staff birthdays, number of miles we rode last week, bicycle industry trends, how much coffee the sales team goes through in a month. So when it came to our attention that our millionth bike was soon to be produced, we took action. We found out the model, where it would be manufactured, when it would be a complete bike, and then went to work on documenting it all. We followed the bike all the way to one particular shop and ultimately the lucky person with the intent to purchase Kona's 1,000,000th bicycle. Little do they know, however, this special bike has no price tag.

Turns out Kona’s number 1,000,000 is a Cinder Cone. Fitting, considering we’ve been making Cinder Cones since our inception in 1988. The bike is one of the original four models we introduced in our first year, the others being the Explosif, Lava Dome and Fire Mountain. In case you didn’t know, a cinder cone is a steep conical hill of volcanic fragments that accumulate around and downwind from a volcanic vent.

Over the years, the 77,115 Cinder Cones we’ve produced have been designed specifically to be an all-purpose hardtail mountain bike, especially noted for its durability, reliability and well-balanced ride. Virtues that best represent Kona’s essential design philosophies. While the sloping top tube design that Kona helped pioneer was considered radical 20 years ago, today it has become an industry standard.

The ride of today's Cinder Cone is light years away from the bike we made in 1988, but Kona doesn't change simply for the sake of change. Every minor or significant modification is made purely to improve performance.

Now let’s take a trip back to the beginning of one iconic bike’s rise from computer drawing to trail ripping ride

End of an epic journey. Find out who ends up taking home Kona's One in a Million Cinder Cone