i relise you have one too LOL i must say and im being honest here i think yours is the nicest white one iv seen upto press, it looks stunning it really does, well done.
But you are right, there are a lot of people like myself that saw one or two very nice white retro Kona builds on here and blatantly copied them, so there are now quite a few around.
Now that would look quit sifisticated i think, but also very diffrent.
Oh yes the forks would be match, just not sure if im going to get some Pace RC31s or some suspension Judys or leave the originals on, if i went for suspension id powdercoat the outers same as frame, just not sure if i could handle a rigid bike again. i had a rigid Pace rc200 and a rigid Clockwork. aahhhh.
Re the flooding. The pics of the bike look over a lots of water. The last time I saw that much water round your way was back in 2001. Remember going down Tody high street in a boat.
I really think canti's will look better but you could always go the Hydraulic rim route.
I have trouble stopping with any brakes except my Hope V2's but i'm thinking of going with some Maguras just cos they work for me better than any other rim brake.
White ones do look cool but its a bit old now. Heres my last one. I had the forks resprayed and made custom decals to match the frame. It was little big so I got myself a smaller one. It needs a respray but wont be gong white again. It will be something a little different this time.