KONA AA rebuild questions....with added pictures !

[JCKN]

OK, I'm going to risk sticking my head above the parapet here...never a good thing for a complete newbie on a forum...but there seem too much expertise here not to ask....

I have - and absolutely adore - a Kona AA. It has been ridden hard over the years but is still going strong, and aside from new tyres is pretty much specced with all the original parts.

In a fit of indulgence I have decided that I'd like to get it rebuilt: new wheels, new chainset, cranks etc, new shocks, new brakes (ideally disk brake on the front).

I am in the fortunate position of having a budget of about £1300.

(And yes I know I could get a pretty nice brand new bike for that - but I love my bike and the frame just fits me perfectly...so I want to give an old friend some TLC rather than dump her and go for something flashy and new !)

Grateful fro some advice from a bunch of people who are obviously far more knowledgeable than me about this stuff...

What should I buy ? How should I spend the money ? What should be my priorities ?

 

[matthew71]

brakes

disk brakes

 

[the beaver]

youll build a nice bike for that mate, what year is it?
im currently building a 94 aa up with mainly xtr parts at the moment,
a low travel fork xt/xtr parts from the same era,
stick with it and dont give in and buy new stuff, disc brakes etc!
unless of course you want a retro frame with modern parts.
its really up to you

 

[JCKN]

Ok, I'm guessing that this is very probably utter sacrilege to say so here, but my plan is to rebuild it with modern parts....the aim being to mix the best of the new (that I can afford) with a great retro frame.... (Edited to add:It's a '94 model - lovely alu frame)

 

[MiniNinjaRob]

Well with that sort of cash you have 2 options. Go for a full XTR modern groupset, but with V brakes. With the wheels and everything that would look super smart. You could get new finishing kit too. That would be the quickest and it would certainly work very well!
I think it does "respect" the retroness of the frame too - you are saying that the retro frame is SO good that modern XTR is what it deserves!
Or the second option is to go for NOS pimp machined ultra anodised retro loveliness parts. Will probably cost the same but it'll take faaaaaaar longer to get the bits.

To me, either way is good. If it's a bike you ride constantly then I'd go for the modern option as it's easier to replace stuff, will work better in many respects and may be lighter (might be wrong there but it'll probably be stronger anyway)

 

[BobCatMax]

I think you need to get some pics of it up too..

nice to see another AA on here, there don't seem to be that many

 

[JCKN]

Madness....

Ok, no doubt people on here will think I'm mad...but this is what I'm going for (I think):

Shimano SLX FCM Hollowtech II chainset
Shimano HG81 SLX 10 speed cassette
Shimano XTR M981 10 speed triple front derailleur
Shimano XTR M980 10 speed rear deailleur
Shimano XTR M980 10 speed rapid fire shifters
Avid Elixir 5 front disc brake
Shimano M770 XT v-brake for the rear
Rockshox SID RLT 100mm forks
Mavic Crosstrail disc - set for the wheels.

And here's what she looks like at the moment (will deffo post one when the rebuild is finished):

 

[hamster]

Personally I'd keep the old chainset - or at least find some snazzy 5-arm one as the 4-arm external BB ones just look horrible to me. I also don't hear good things about BB life on them.
Being a retro grouch I also expect 10 speed to be really tetchy and would be skeptical if you ride anywhere muddy.

But I think that as it's to be ridden then screw the purists and hot rod it!

 

[BobCatMax]

Which ever way you go, it'd be good to see pics during the build, as well as finished.

Looks great as it is tbh, but I'm sure it'll look good with the new stuff on too

 

[JCKN]

Well that plan didn't survive long...since I'm told that I can't fit the Rockshox to the AA because of the steering stem/headtube (which is 1 1/8th). Not quite sure I understand the problem (I'm a rider...not a mechanic...) though the chap in the shop was distinctly - indeed, given the money I was willing to part with, quite amazingly - unhelpful. Utterly miserable sod who was uninterested in helping to find a solution which would have unlocked the sale of a bunch of other parts. "Go and look on the internet" was his suggestion.

So here I am again: Oh retro experts - What is a good, modern set of forks that it's possible to fit to a Kona AA ? And which among them is it possible to adjust/modify so that they won't screw up the ride geometry - given that the original Marzocchi forks only have 80mm of travel and pretty much everything these days has 100mm ?