The Kona Blast mountain bike is a legend in its own time and one of the most popular choices of hardtail off-road bike ever.

Now the 2011 model has been launched with even better components and detailing. Kona has used Superplastic-formed tubing and the smoothest of weld for the Blast 2011 model, upgrading the aluminum frame from stiff and light to super-responsive and amazingly strong.

It’s a fabulous looking bike, too, with a bright blue and white scheme that will make a grand design statement when out on the muddy trails.

The Rockshox Tora fork – with handy lockout feature – is even more robust than before and will handle some of the rockiest routes and gnarly trails. This is a fork that you can be confident will give you a smooth ride whatever your ride throws at it.

As you’d expect for a mountain bike priced at £574.99, (down from £699.99) the brakes are hydraulic disc. But it doesn’t always follow that they will be Shimano. We’re delighted to see that Kona are living up to their reputation for no-quibble quality with back and front Shimano M445 hydraulic disc brakes.

The saddle is another great feature. The WTB Valcon amounts to a sleek race saddle featuring a smooth and contoured line that is as good on competition circuit as it is for all-day comfort.

And there’s no need to ever worry about making up the steepest climbs or riding at top speeds on the flat, for the Kona Blast has a fantastic 27 gears thanks to a nine-speed Shimano HG30 cassette. The gear ratio was about as perfect as we’ve seen on this level of bike.

We had thought that the Kona Blast couldn’t be improved, but this 2011 model has just proved us wrong. As we said, it’s a legend!