MSYT
Retro Guru
This bloody build got expensive.
Ok so it started off when one of the lads messaged me and said "Hey - you should get this bike" and me not thinking about the potential costs getting this to original spec went and bought it. Oh boy. This bike came from a "community bike project" place of some sorts up in Nottingham and well it was hammered. I think the only original thing on the bike was the frame. The LX crankset had a unbranded NDS arm that was HANGING off, the BB was trash, rear derailleur was ok, wheelset was garbage, the stem has a bolt stripped in it and the Maguras were all gummed up and a lever was cracked. On the plus side... the fork seemed popular when I sold it and the Roox was definitely a bonus. I still feel like I paid way too much though...
Anyway, the build went on and I started looking for parts. The Shimano parts were easy to find, as was the stem. The bars were a little tougher to find and at the time I was searching I could only find one set in the US that I paid through the teeth for... and then a set came up for £20 a few weeks later. Typical. Crankset too... that was an order from Canada which yeah, wasn't cheap. I actually ended up buying two forks and two sets of brakes. The first fork was an aurbergine colour and the second a grey to match the frame. Not the original colour but it looks better. The brakes, Avid Arch Rivals, people really make you pay for them eh and when you ask if there's any play in the pad carrier and they say no... there is.
But anyway, I digress. The build came together with the Roox on but I hated that so I changed it back to a triple. It's actually a really comfy ride and I love the bike but it's one of those that I think WHY did i spend that much.
I'm digging through the catalogue again now though and I noticed something...
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/78787-3/1999+Kona+Cat+compressed+_2_.pdf
Both the Chute and the Stinky are spec'd with XT rears and LX fronts but they both look like they have different models. I went for the M750 rear but it looks like the catalogue has the M739 and others I've seen also have the M739. Weird. Is that something Kona did back then? Used the old 8 Speed XT mech on the 9 Speed Chute? It also looks like the front mech is one of the high band derailleurs rather than the low band M570 generation I went for.
Can anyone confirm if they have a Chute, that's how they came? I honestly like the older generation stuff more so wouldn't mind throwing something like that on.
Anyway, here's some pics of how it stands now!
Ok so it started off when one of the lads messaged me and said "Hey - you should get this bike" and me not thinking about the potential costs getting this to original spec went and bought it. Oh boy. This bike came from a "community bike project" place of some sorts up in Nottingham and well it was hammered. I think the only original thing on the bike was the frame. The LX crankset had a unbranded NDS arm that was HANGING off, the BB was trash, rear derailleur was ok, wheelset was garbage, the stem has a bolt stripped in it and the Maguras were all gummed up and a lever was cracked. On the plus side... the fork seemed popular when I sold it and the Roox was definitely a bonus. I still feel like I paid way too much though...
Anyway, the build went on and I started looking for parts. The Shimano parts were easy to find, as was the stem. The bars were a little tougher to find and at the time I was searching I could only find one set in the US that I paid through the teeth for... and then a set came up for £20 a few weeks later. Typical. Crankset too... that was an order from Canada which yeah, wasn't cheap. I actually ended up buying two forks and two sets of brakes. The first fork was an aurbergine colour and the second a grey to match the frame. Not the original colour but it looks better. The brakes, Avid Arch Rivals, people really make you pay for them eh and when you ask if there's any play in the pad carrier and they say no... there is.
But anyway, I digress. The build came together with the Roox on but I hated that so I changed it back to a triple. It's actually a really comfy ride and I love the bike but it's one of those that I think WHY did i spend that much.
I'm digging through the catalogue again now though and I noticed something...
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/78787-3/1999+Kona+Cat+compressed+_2_.pdf
Both the Chute and the Stinky are spec'd with XT rears and LX fronts but they both look like they have different models. I went for the M750 rear but it looks like the catalogue has the M739 and others I've seen also have the M739. Weird. Is that something Kona did back then? Used the old 8 Speed XT mech on the 9 Speed Chute? It also looks like the front mech is one of the high band derailleurs rather than the low band M570 generation I went for.
Can anyone confirm if they have a Chute, that's how they came? I honestly like the older generation stuff more so wouldn't mind throwing something like that on.
Anyway, here's some pics of how it stands now!
