I've had a 2003 Kona stuff from new. End of year sale for £500, then another 20% off with staff discount... £400 bargain! That was about 8 weeks of my part-timer wages.
It was my first 'real' bike, and until a few weeks ago, my only 'real' bike. A few weeks ago I got a modern enduro rig to take over the MTB business, leaving me finally able to rebuild the Kona into a dedicated dirt jumper.
Circa 2006, completely stock bike, down at the Forest of Dean. My buddy's Stuff behind has some ridiculous 200 mm Hope M4 brakes. For some summers we shredded trails and jumps.
Circa 2008, throwing some savage moves. Panaracer Fire DH 2.4" tyres. Low speed, high drag.
From various bike shops' spares bins over the next couple of years I got hold of some Tektro Auriga hydraulic brakes, upped the front rotor to 180 mm, and put on a full SRAM X7 2x8 drivetrain.
Then I took a long break from biking. Not really sure why, guess it was mostly not having a car for a while then just forgetting biking was even a thing.
Fast forward to 2021 when I remembered biking is indeed a thing, and I got back into MTB albeit on a budget.
The Kona had sat in the garage unused but 2021 shortages and the finance officer denying me enough pocket money for a new bike led to the Kona being brought up to modern-ish standards as an all-rounder freeride machine:
- Tubeless conversion with Maxxis DHF and DHR tyres.
- 720 mm chinacarbon bars with 35 mm chinaluminum stem (best upgrade ever!).
- 100 mm dropper post.
Aside from these new changes and the brakes/drivetrain upgrades made in previous years, the rest of the bike is stock. This build saw me through red XC trails all around the country, 2-spot downhill runs at FoD, and some great times at Flyup 417 bike park.
But I just got a modern enduro bike for all that, so the Kona can finally return to its roots and become my dedicated dirt jumper! Here it is at the start of the teardown.
We're on a budget still (the enduro bike was not cheap!) so we're crashing through eBay for parts. Here's a £10 purple 30 tooth chainring, which needed some dremel work to fit the cranks. Could have gone 32T and it probably would have fit fine, but I did maths and 30T looked better for the 13/14T single speed conversion I've been eyeballing. It'll probably melt in the first year but then it'll get replaced with something nicer.
See, maths. It shows 30T up front should give nice ratios for the 13T and 14T rear sprockets included in the single speed conversion. If the numbers look odd it's because I've adjusted for the now-uncommon crank length of the Kona. Noob/Mid/Pro numbers courtesy of forum-trawling for a few minutes.
I've decided on purple as a theme. Might get some purple chainring bolts so this side can be shiny too. Side note - I thought ISIS Drive would be a dead standard 20 years later, but ebikes became a thing and apparently my cheap bottom brackets are no longer cheap.
Gearing and front brake stripped off. 3D printed (temporary) headset spacer replaced with purple. Rear Tektro brake is staying until I can get the original mechanical Shimano BR-M475 back from a buddy, and I'll wrap a long cable round the stem - 2022 goal is learning bar spins. Want mechanical for low maintenance, plus the Tektro is probably 12 years old and very leaky with no parts available.
Part 2 to follow with single speed conversion and new tyres...
It was my first 'real' bike, and until a few weeks ago, my only 'real' bike. A few weeks ago I got a modern enduro rig to take over the MTB business, leaving me finally able to rebuild the Kona into a dedicated dirt jumper.
Circa 2006, completely stock bike, down at the Forest of Dean. My buddy's Stuff behind has some ridiculous 200 mm Hope M4 brakes. For some summers we shredded trails and jumps.
Circa 2008, throwing some savage moves. Panaracer Fire DH 2.4" tyres. Low speed, high drag.
From various bike shops' spares bins over the next couple of years I got hold of some Tektro Auriga hydraulic brakes, upped the front rotor to 180 mm, and put on a full SRAM X7 2x8 drivetrain.
Then I took a long break from biking. Not really sure why, guess it was mostly not having a car for a while then just forgetting biking was even a thing.
Fast forward to 2021 when I remembered biking is indeed a thing, and I got back into MTB albeit on a budget.
The Kona had sat in the garage unused but 2021 shortages and the finance officer denying me enough pocket money for a new bike led to the Kona being brought up to modern-ish standards as an all-rounder freeride machine:
- Tubeless conversion with Maxxis DHF and DHR tyres.
- 720 mm chinacarbon bars with 35 mm chinaluminum stem (best upgrade ever!).
- 100 mm dropper post.
Aside from these new changes and the brakes/drivetrain upgrades made in previous years, the rest of the bike is stock. This build saw me through red XC trails all around the country, 2-spot downhill runs at FoD, and some great times at Flyup 417 bike park.
But I just got a modern enduro bike for all that, so the Kona can finally return to its roots and become my dedicated dirt jumper! Here it is at the start of the teardown.
We're on a budget still (the enduro bike was not cheap!) so we're crashing through eBay for parts. Here's a £10 purple 30 tooth chainring, which needed some dremel work to fit the cranks. Could have gone 32T and it probably would have fit fine, but I did maths and 30T looked better for the 13/14T single speed conversion I've been eyeballing. It'll probably melt in the first year but then it'll get replaced with something nicer.
See, maths. It shows 30T up front should give nice ratios for the 13T and 14T rear sprockets included in the single speed conversion. If the numbers look odd it's because I've adjusted for the now-uncommon crank length of the Kona. Noob/Mid/Pro numbers courtesy of forum-trawling for a few minutes.
I've decided on purple as a theme. Might get some purple chainring bolts so this side can be shiny too. Side note - I thought ISIS Drive would be a dead standard 20 years later, but ebikes became a thing and apparently my cheap bottom brackets are no longer cheap.
Gearing and front brake stripped off. 3D printed (temporary) headset spacer replaced with purple. Rear Tektro brake is staying until I can get the original mechanical Shimano BR-M475 back from a buddy, and I'll wrap a long cable round the stem - 2022 goal is learning bar spins. Want mechanical for low maintenance, plus the Tektro is probably 12 years old and very leaky with no parts available.
Part 2 to follow with single speed conversion and new tyres...
(mine is cracked and looking rather sad)
