Kona
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Fix or Replace? Part 2 – fixing parts
My 14 year old Kona has seen better days. Or to be more precise, certain parts have worn out and others are a bit ropey! It definitely needs the entire drivetrain replacing, including shifters, the front brake level is slightly broken and I’ve always thought the fork was too heavy for such a light bike. As I said in my part 1 post, that adds up to most of a bike, and could actually be as much as a new bike, but what would I get and which is better? So in this post I’m looking at the parts: what to get, what it would cost, and how would it change my bike. Read More
Why I love steel
In the beginning there was steel, and only steel. And the steel was good, steel was strong, cheap and easy to work with.
Then came the others: aluminium, titanium, carbon, magnesium, metal matrix composites, trying to make a lighter, better bike.
And aluminium won, the end.
Well not quite. Read More
Fix or replace? Part 1 – The dilemma
I currently have a Kona Explosif 1999 model, which I hand built myself, and I’m very fond of. It has a steel frame – Reynolds 853 tubing – and has a ride that only steel gives. It accelerates like whippet, especially offroad and on technical sections and gives me a grin even when I just take it round the block.
However, I built it in 1999, and it needs some serious maintenance and upgrades now. The entire drivetrain is shot and needs replacing, the forks are worrying me a bit (but are probably ok) and at the weekend I bent one of the brake levers (it’s got V brakes and it pre-dates discs!). Read More
D5 Creation