1991 Kona Hahanna - for the wife....

Cass

Retro Guru
Feedback
View
Hi, this is my first retro project. I bought a bike for the wife last year and she kept comparing it to a bike she owned many years ago that was stolen. So, I sold the bike I bought her and embarked on a mission to replace her stolen bike. I found a 1991 Kona Hahanna on eBay and won it for £30, wish I had a before photo as it was a neglected pile of dirty rusty steel, but all I wanted was the frame, forks, handlebars and stem and after browsing this site for a while I knew I'd be able to get it restored better than it's former glory. As the Hahanna was the bottom of the pile I decided to rebuild it with better spec as I wanted the misses to have something to be proud of. After a few months of searching for parts and saving money for a respray this is what I ended up with.

Shimano parts it really is quite stunning. Unfortunately due to unforseen cicrcumstances, she hasn't had a chance to ride it yet. I liked it so much I decided to sell my S-Works Epic to fund a Hei Hei build for myself. I've been riding the Hahanna to work (22 mile round trip) and it really is a joy to ride. It's not quite finsihed as I have a NOS XC Pro Microdrive hub coming soon and a 7 speed MD cassette, XC Pro thumb shifters and Suntour GG bottom bracket to put it on her, then I think she's finsihed. But it's been a joy to complete the build of this bike and this website was the inspiration. thanks.
 

Attachments

  • kona1.JPG
    kona1.JPG
    67.2 KB · Views: 3,547
  • Kona3.JPG
    Kona3.JPG
    62.2 KB · Views: 3,550
  • kona4.JPG
    kona4.JPG
    87.2 KB · Views: 3,549
  • Kona5.JPG
    Kona5.JPG
    59.4 KB · Views: 3,548
Nice build and wonderful story! You've made the wisest move of your life in building a beautiful bike for the wife - that way when you start building more of your own bikes she'll have nothing to complain about (my spend on my own stuff has gone through the roof since I built the girlfriend up her own retro Turner!)

I've only just moved from Weybridge and miss the place (well, Thai Smiles and Dexters burger bar anyway), Cambridge just doesn't have the same feel (flat as a pancake and filled with students and tourists)

Welcome to the site, it's the start of the end of your bank account....
 
Thanks, went to Thai Smiles once, must have caught it on a bad day, Valentines day I think, with the wife and her daughter, must have been too busy as we were there for an hour without even a starter. Live just round the corner on York Road. This was my first Retro build and it went way over budget, justified it by telling myself it was for a good cause. Got a Hei Hei on it's way, 1998, going to build with XTR, got some M900 bits already. Made good money stripping the Epic to fund it. I;ve been browsing the site for a while now and it's put in dent in my wallet without even being signed up. :LOL:
 
They'll be a good number of people on here wanting to see that Hei Hei! If you want a full XTR groupset then try the 'ebay' watch section on here, there's a Saracen with full m900 going cheap(ish, by the time everyone here's had a punt)

If your visit to Thai Smiles was before their refit (they've decked out downstairs and doubled the number of staff), then give 'em another bash, I had a similar experience in their early days but it was uphill from there - make sure you tryout the 'crying tiger' dish, fantastic!
 
nice, I like pink - why dont you get a nice pink rolls saddle for ? cost about £100ish :shock:
 
It's as close as you can get to the orginal magenta, Argos matched it up. the combination of the pink, black and shiny steel are all a good contrast and it looks really nice, I hadn't thought about a pink saddle but quite like the idea, plus the Avocet isn't the most comfortable saddle I've sat on.
 
Back
Top