Waltworks V1, My Kona Unit Extension.
My all-time favourite bicycle wouldn’t exist if Kona had just slacked out the day’s Unit to a 66° head tube angle (HTA), grown the Reach a couple of centimeters per size, and upsized the seat post I.D. to 31.6mm. Or, perhaps more accurately, my two-wheeled soulmate would say Kona on the downtube, Unit on the top tube, and it would, probably, be green*.
It’s not that big of a stretch. Sure, it took a few years, but other than the head tube angle, a size large Unit is essentially there. And I’m always holding out hope, ‘New Year, New Unit,’ because single-speeding ruins everything, good geometry is free, and, having owned plenty of rigid bikes, that extra couple degrees slacker HTA makes itself known pleasantly on the trail, but is never a negative anywhere else.
*{Model-T and I would have matching bikes!?}
{2025. Photo: MEATengines}
{2018. Photo: MEATengines}
I was passively daydreaming about my eight-ish-year adventure with my Waltworks V1 on New Year’s Day, as I spun up the trail-friendly 30x22t one-speed drivetrain and navigated my way to East Vancouver on quiet streets. It fits perfectly, coasts along wonderfully with no hands on the bars, and has a beautifully balanced fit between the wheels.
My Unit-inspired, rigid-specific, Shore-XC bike became the perfect ATB/commuter when the much longer, none meaner, Waltworks V2 showed up. V2 had a couple degree slacker HTA, a couple of centimeters longer rear center, and a couple of centimeters longer Reach measurement. With a super-short stem and higher bar, it was the beast to V1’s beauty.
But, as I said, single-speeding ruins everything. And, two head tubes later, V2 is just a leverage bar now. My Arcturian Voyager is unrideable whilst waiting for a little frame fix {it will rip again, thank you, Thomas}. And my fresh commuter rig isn’t done. And with a pile of other parts juggling, well, I currently have one mountain bike rolling and one bicycle with fenders, and they’re the same bike.
{2018. Photo: MEATengines}
{2019. Scare Yourself. Photo: Deniz Merdano}
{2022. Photo: MEATengines}
{2023. Photo: MEATengines}
{2024. Photo: The Clairebarian}
{2025. Photo: The Clairebarian}
The still-beautiful Toxik Harald dirty-fade paint job is chipped extensively and flaking in a number of spots, especially around where I asked WZRD Emma to add some fender and rack braze-ons. There’s a decent amount of surface corrosion on top of the gun-blued refinish.
I still run a 50mm stem with an alt-bar, 180mm dropper post, and big brakes. There’s a quirk where the Hayes Dominion caliper won’t fit with a 180mm brake rotor, so I ride 203mm front and rear. The bike doesn’t fit properly in my NS-Rack without removing the front fender. The shorter wheelbase, steeper head tube angle, and short non-corrected, 51mm offset, fork make for a nimbler riding bike than anything I’ve ridden down hard trails in years. Since, in fact, my V1 was my go-to rigid mountain bike.
My other random thought is that the Schwalbe Wicked Will is the perfect rear tire for this bike. A combination that is meant to be. So I’m happy to have had the opportunity to build it up and try it.
{2019. Photo: MEATengines}
{2019. Photo: JacAttack}
I pulled off my WZRD YGWYGAYDGU rack and my commuter wheels with the 700x40c Schwalbe Amazing Alvin’s. The six-speed friction drivetrain will move to my new around-townie. The brakes, rotors, and Wolf Tooth Resolve dropper post came from my Freeride BMX. The drivetrain is a blend of Arcturian Voyager and an oval 30t WTC stainless steel ring that simply refuses to die.
The front XR4 29×3″ tire is starting to weep a bit from the sidewalls, but every kilometer counts when it comes to stretching a hoard of dead rubber, so I’m still running it.
Spec-wise, the first bike that I rode Hayes’ fantastic Dominion 4-piston brakes on was my V1. Many laughs with Jeff Bryson while we did our teardown and install, more than a few being about how folks were going to react to testing DH brakes on a rigid bike.
The one part I’d never tried with my V1 Walt is the Outlier Pendulum pedals, and they lend themselves wonderfully to a bike that already loves to be coasted and pedaled with no hands.
{2026. Photos: MEATengines}
For my first ride – post-gravel, groad, ATB – I took my first Walt for the type of nice Shore-XC pedal for which it was originally imagined. Riding from home. Roots, rocks, pedaling. It’s lithe and limber but stable and stiff. With the lower bar and 50mm stem, the position is more over the front than I’ve ridden off-road in years. But with the shorter Reach and wheelbase, it works wonderfully.
My second ride on the renewed V1 was a mix of mostly-quiet pavement and gravel. Swapping out my fixed 27.2 post for a dropper added a notable amount of stiffness in seated pedaling, but between my Sagma suspension saddle and the fatter tires, a couple of hours of pedaling passed by peacefully.
Ride number three, on Karen’s Boundary Trail, was a reminder of where the idea for V2 came from in the first place. And yet, full circle, as I picked my way down, coaxing the harder rubber to behave on greasy rock, root, and wood, I was reminded of what first drew me to the modern rigid mountain bike experience.
Yes, it took me way longer than on the big-forked, sticky-rubber setup I’ve been riding lately, but with concise braking and creative control, it was a wonderful Tech-C experience.
{2026. Photos: MEATengines}
I’ll be back running a 170mm fork and sticky rubber on my big-beefy one-speed soon enough. And, I’m going to be beyond slow at the Wednesday Night Ride. And, this frame has a lot of hard hours on it, and single-speeding ruins everything. But, in the meantime, this throwback to when my rigid bike was more Kona Unit than Waltworks V2 is lovely.
If V3 happens, it will be much closer to V1 geometry-wise, rather than V2, right down to the steeper HTA and longer stem. Or, maybe there will be a surprise this year when it comes time for Kona to show the new Unit?! But, in the meantime, I’m asking the V1 back to rigid MTB duty, and a few rides in already, it’s been delightful.
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