Hei Hei

[Vitorzip]

Here are some pics of the Hei Hei i´ve been working on lately. It´s not finished yet, and i need some tips and opinions, so it´s time to post some pics and read what do you guys think of it.

The thing is, i´m always worried with building a bike that is period correct, wether there are bling CNC or rusty steel parts to do it.

In this one, from 97, i have a slight dilema which i´m going to share with you guys.

First thing: Pics.

Now.
Parts that i´ll keep for sure:

FSX forks
White Industries hubs, 117 ceramic rims, Onza Aggro/Rip
Syncros ti seatpost and bar, Syncros Stem
Proshift brakes and levers
Flite seat
Action Tec BB
King headset

Parts i´m not that sure:

Proshift shifters and derailleurs
Cook RSR crankset with Real rings

I think that a good old bike should have period correct components, something that shouldn´t be more than 2 years older or newer.
That said, i have chosen these Cook Bros cranks instead of my Syncros Revolutions. But the thing is, i´m not sure if they look good on the bike. Something about them doesn´t seem right.

The Proshift shifters and mechs have the same problem. I think they are nice, they look nice, and are a great match to the Proshift brakes and levers the bike will have, but...
... everybody knows they don´t work as they should, a complete rubbish...

So, this gets me to a dilema:

M950 is not a real retro groupset to me, even being the most correct to the frame´s age.
M900 is a bit old, and it doesn´t feel right when combined to a Carbon Judy and CNC brakes, for example.

What should you do?

Stick to this, or change crankset to Revolution and gears to somehing more "usable" (but what?)from Shimano or so?

I aprecciate all the opinions i can get. Thank´s in advance.

 

[Harryburgundy]

Oh the choices....lovely looking bike, personally I wouldn't worry too much about age related stuff...if it works, suits your ride and is age sympathetic...who cares when you have such a nice bike.
I'm not helping am I
Carl

 

[purplewicked]

i like it a lot.
i would raise the bars w/ a 15º syncros stem but that's entirely related to fit.

agree on the proshift derr. i would have xtr 950 incl cranks.

 

[Vitorzip]

Thank´s for your comments, guys.

Carl, in fact, you did not helped me... it is a fine looking bike, but maybe i´m getting too picky, so these parts seem wrong on this build... Still, you are very right about that. If it works and suits my ride...

Flavio, obrigado, companheiro!
I like a very racing XC position, so to me, a 0º rise stem suit me perfectly, even more in a 17" frame like this (my Seven is a 17,5", for example).
Do you think it would look nice with shifters and a rear der. like M950 instead of this Proshift? If i change the crankset, i would go to something more "pimp", like black Tune´s, or something like that. I have some Caramba´s, but they look a bit big on a titanium frame...

 

[andrewl]

A little off topic but I note the you have reproduction MY98 decals on a MY97 frame (rear derailleur cable routing is the give away).

Have you considered putting the correct powder blue decals on, or is that the least of your groupset concerns at the moment?

 

[Vitorzip]

A little off topic but I note the you have reproduction MY98 decals on a MY97 frame (rear derailleur cable routing is the give away).

Have you considered putting the correct powder blue decals on, or is that the least of your groupset concerns at the moment?

Well spoted, mate!

Actually, i have asked Gil_M to make me these decals because i like this black/white combination more than the 97´ in blue. Besides, these decals match almost all colour combination i decide to mount on the frame...

You refered the rear derailleur cable routing. What´s the difference between mine and 98 models?

 

[andrewl]

You refered the rear derailleur cable routing. What´s the difference between mine and 98 models?

For MY96 and older the routing for both deraileurs is via the down tube.
For most of MY97 the front deraileur routing is on the top tube rear is on the down tube.
For MY98 the routing for both is on the top tube.

Serial number wise yours should start with a B (ie B17xxx for a 17") where MY98 onwards start with KH (ie KH17xxx) similarly MY97 King Kahunas start with a K and MY98 onwards start KK.

 

[LongboardSi]

I reckon the cook bros look wrong - the more angular lines of the syncros would be much nicer on a smallish Kona, and tie in well with other syncros bits.

I reckon in a similar vein the 950 mech would work, and the dark colour would work with the forks stem and keep a bit of balance.

Si F

P.S. Where those wheels the ones on ebay a couple of weeks back? if so you got a bargain there...!

 

[andrewl]

Initially I too thought the Cooks didn't quite work, but the silver crank with Ti is groing on me.

Its also worth noting that in both 95 and 96 Kona catalogues the Hei Hei is speced with Cooks E cranks (black in 95, green anno in 96), so they do work from that respect. Maybe some black chain rings with the Cooks would work nicely...

 

[Vitorzip]

Andrew, thank´s for this precious info. My frame is a B with 17", so it should be a 97 model for sure.

I also kinda like the silver cranks, but something on the set doesn´t look right. Maybe it will work with black rings, maybe it´s better to go all the way to some black cranks, Tune or Syncros Revo as Si suggested.

Si, i guess i´ll try a M950, i´ve been thinking on that since yesterday, and if the bike is going to be used, it might be better to have some proper gears...

These wheels were build by me this week, i bought this pair of hubs on ebay usa about 2 months ago, or so. Bought them for a very nice price, a cheap BIN a few hours after the auction was placed...