RedRider3141 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 (edited) I guess tomorrow's rain is my fault, I got a "new" bike. From what I can tell it is a 2001 Kona Muni-Mula and it's in immaculate shape, some dust from being in the garage and the shifters are gummed up with old grease but otherwise it's in great shape mechanically. I still haven't sorted how old the tires are and how badly they need replacement but overall it's solid. Even the fork is super smooth. I've been playing around with making a dedicated gravel/paved path bike and this seemed like a great candidate for my needs and the price was right. Edited February 5 by RedRider3141 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Everyone needs a "slow bike." I was going to keep this one but it's too pretty. Soon to be available for sale at Yellow Bike (after I reconnect the chain). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 I don't know about a slow bike, maybe none of mine are real fast but I think this bike is going to be pretty fun. As of now, I think I'm gonna build it into a 650b/27.5" flatbar "gravel" bike. I use that term loosely because I really just want something a little more efficient than my XC bike on the BCRT and the like. Today I ungummed the 24yo shifter grease and got it tuned up. Swapped the bars, stem, grips and seat and got a scale weight, 27.5lbs, not too bad. I also test fit my 27.5 rim with 2.25 tire. Fine in diameter, bad on width but probably great for a 40mm-50ish width tire. Next up is hunting down some rims and deciding what to do with the brakes and drive train. The brakes work well but I don't think that I'll find a compatible wheelset. The drivetrain is decent and probably the last thing I'll Change. Considering: 1x10/11, 2x9 or SS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Kona flippin' rocks...congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 Got the rear done: 27.5" wheel with 650bx48 tire and mechanical disc brake caliper installed. Next is swapping out the fork. I could keep the current one as it's serviceable, fits the 650b just fine and and has disc brake tabs but it's got coil spring that I'm too big for and I happen to have a decent 100mm airfork with remote lockout. I'm also starting to test different bar end thingys for additional hand positions. Any advice would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St.Bernardo Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Looks nice. On both of my rigid bikes, I have Ergon grips with the bar ends. One bike has a wide flat/straight bar. The other has an Origin 8 Trail Sweeper bar (essentially flat with some sweep). I ride both bikes everywhere and think that I have a slight preference for the Trail Sweeper base with the grips. I am currently researching some Alt bars and may be settling in on a Sims Works Ramble Bar, but have not pulled the trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 21 hours ago, St.Bernardo said: I have Ergon grips with the bar ends Yeah, those are on my list, overall feedback seems pretty positive across the interwebs. What bar width are you running? I feel like I would need to narrow up to make those comfortable. Right, now I've got a pretty standard Truvativ Bar, but eventually I'd like to try out some Alt Bars. I'll probably avoid drop bars because of the added expense/ complexity of lever pull and groupsets that I'm not interested in but other ones like what you've mentioned or the Surley Corner Bar are interesting. Here's a few resources I've been reading on it: https://bikepacking.com/index/comfort-mtb-handlebars/ https://bikepacking.com/gear/adding-alt-hand-positions-to-flat-bars/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St.Bernardo Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 The flat bar is about 692 mm The Trail Sweeper is about 775 mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 I miss mine, this is it after I painted it and put the cool forks on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 I got the front fork swapped and front mech. brake caliper installed. I also installed some TransX bar ends which seem to be better ergos than the hard plastic ones I already tried. Been on two rides now and its working well. It's not ground breaking but I got a bunch of PRs on some of my normal segments so I guess it's working. Still a few things to iron out but overall it's been a fun experiment which was kind of the underlying goal for me. In all honesty, I could have just slapped the 650b tires I got on my xc bike and been 98% done. But that wouldn't be any fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider3141 Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 2 hours ago, TheX said: I miss mine, I remember when you painted it, did the eBike replace it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 19 hours ago, RedRider3141 said: I remember when you painted it, did the eBike replace it? I built the Soma hardtail, then the Heckler replaced it. The Kona rode well but had a VERY short wheelbase and was twitchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 So close to being done! Everything on this bike came from Yellow Bike Project except for the curvy handlebar that I bought online. I don't have a spare lock ring for the rear hub and I need to find a chain to wrap around the whole thing. Currently set up with a 38 tooth ring on the front and 17 tooth cog. I had to modify the right side dropout to allow the axle to move for the single speed drivetrain. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I forgot this bike. This I had with the Kona Private Jake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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