1996 Kona HEI hei ti or 2004 seven sola disc?

[Jct7018]

Have both frames was looking to figure out what to set up for what. 2 hei hei ti. A 1993 and a 1996 regular not king. Seven sola has disc tabs so I was thinking of doing a 27.5 bike packing bike with it but with a lot of things switchable in these bike I was looking for some guidance. Have a set of Paul brakes so I could do 27.5 on the hei he is also.

Thanks.

 

[BerthaPog]

Whilst the brakes may be adjustable to suit 27.5, what’s the clearance for tyres like - not had a Ti Kona, but all the steel ones (various from ‘90 through “9 were not blessed with much additional clearance around the chainstay/bb area.

 

[Jct7018]

Whilst the brakes may be adjustable to suit 27.5, what’s the clearance for tyres like - not had a Ti Kona, but all the steel ones (various from ‘90 through “9 were not blessed with much additional clearance around the chainstay/bb area.

Yeah. I have my 19" with 26" with humptulips and I was watching this video from path less pedaled and it was saying that that is the equivalent of running a 650b 42 I think. Maybe 40. But that was my thought process on that. The seven has much more clearance.

 

[Prodigal Son]

The Seven is a much better bike (provided it fits you perfectly).

 

[Jct7018]

Would you say that because of the custom geometry options? I mean a custom bike I would imagine is always a better bike. But any other reasons? There is about a 10 year gap between bikes.

 

[Prodigal Son]

It´s better because titanium bike building evolved drastically in the 90s, because Seven is designed by Merlin´s Rob Vandermark, because it should be stiffer without losing it´s dampening quality, better tire clearance etc.. not to mention it was handbuilt from the best possible tubing. It´s on another level from the Hei Hei.

 

[Jct7018]

It´s better because titanium bike building evolved drastically in the 90s, because Seven is designed by Merlin´s Rob Vandermark, because it should be stiffer without losing it´s dampening quality, better tire clearance etc.. not to mention it was handbuilt from the best possible tubing. It´s on another level from the Hei Hei.

So what is the reason people love old hei heis? At least in your opinion. Nostalgia? Joe Murray design?

 

[Prodigal Son]

So what is the reason people love old hei heis? At least in your opinion. Nostalgia? Joe Murray design?

What i know is that Seven raised the bar. Also, later titanium got rid of the flex and limited tire clearance from early bikes. Seven is at the top of the high end titanium fabrication and unless it does not fit you well, it will be better than a Kona Heihei.