KONA brings a very practical user oriented philosophy to the bikes they design and build.  The man behind most of the bikes is Doug Lafavor.  Here is a recent interview of Doug "Dr. Dew, Dewey" Lafavor on Bike Radar.  It gives a very good introduction of Dr. Dew.  But if you have ever been around this man for even a short time your realize that this interview just barely scratches the surface.