I’ve been rattling around the forums for the last few days with regards to 2010 kona five 0 bike. I am due to go to the 7 stanes in early oct and want to make my bike a little more xc to make the trip easier. I love the travel I get with the bike (140mm) but because of the gearing I struggle to climb, it is a heavy bike but I have got a lot of confidence from it. So I planned to make it lighter by getting lighter forks lighter wheels, but after going out today I can see that I would want to upgrade the brakes, standard shimano and I need an extra cog on the crank to let me use granny to climb.. My issue is, is it worth it on this bike?

They’re grand bikes those… But does it not already have a double chainset on it?

Once you’re replacing loads of bits it can make more sense just to replace the bike but a Five-0 ought to do the job you want it to.

Have a go on some other bikes and see what you reckon, if you prefer them etc.

Maybe you could pick up a new frame and chainset and go from there?

It seems daft to spend a lot of money when you like the bike just because its a bit heavy and the gearing isnt easy enough.

What is the spec list? Ideally you want to loose weight without loosing strength or useability. All bikes are a compromise between being good at descending and being good at climbing. Its easy to put a granny ring on it but you might need a mech and shifter and that adds weight and cost. You might be better off getting a new cassette with 11-34 or 12-36 gearing, you may need a new chain and chainring to go with this depending on how worn it is.

What forks do you have? Do they have external travel adjust or can they be modded with say a uturn coil?

If you take up the advice given out on your other recent thread, you won’t need the other cog.

As for brakes, go for SLX or buy a bleed kit for £12 and sharpen your existing set up.

What are your current brakes ❓

Is this your bike?

http://www.konaworld.co/bike.cfm?content=fiveo

FWIW my SLX brakes with the ice tech finned pads are brilliant. Feels like a barely use them as they just scrub the speed off that well.

Yeh that’s my bike, current brakes are shimano not sure of specific model.

that’s my bike

Very nice, looks just the job for some rocky riding.

I struggle to climb

24 x 32 is quite low. Perhaps put the saddle up a little?

I would want to upgrade the brakes

New pads and a bleed. Then if they are still not powerfull enough drop some cash.

You won’t find any other bike/chainset on the market with significantly lower gearing. At the most, you could get the equivalent of one more gear on the cassette.

The setup you already have should be more than sufficient for the 7 stanes, which don’t really have any particularly steep climbs (some long ones though, and the carpark climb at Innerleithen can feel fairly steep to be fair).

Most people would ride a day at Glentress (for example) without using the Granny ring at all, maybe as a bail-out if you’re knackered.

I’m terrible at climbs, got no will power when it comes to hills, I’m getting great feeling about the bike that I have from the feedback I’m getting, I am currently trying to get different forks perhaps air as advised in a previous thread, as the marzocchi are really heavy. Do you agree that a move for rock shox reva or pikes is a good move for this bike?

Most people would ride a day at Glentress (for example) without using the Granny ring at all, maybe as a bail-out if

Another stw generalisation 🙄
I use my granny ring on all Stanes rides, no way could I get to the top of th black @ GT without it 😆

Forget spending any money on your bikr, just ride it the way it is and enjoy 😆

You will see people from all walks of life riding all sorts of bikes on the Stanes routes. Until very recently I was riding a 16yr old bike with equipment much less capable than your bike 💡

Ignore all the boolshite that you read on this fotum 🙄 about having the best of everything on the market according to the stw massive 😉

What he says ^

Thanks and that’s good advice. I agree with the fact that you don’t have to have the best to enjoy and be good, but the forks are monstrous lol, and when I lift the bike it’s a good weight. If I change the forks to a lighter pair it will be easier to lift and control for popping and hopping about, but will I lose much of the ride quality? I do think I can make the front end lighter and benefit from it, but don’t want to compromise anything else.

I heard that a SantaCruz Tallboy LTC was the absolute must have bike for Glentress, however you can get round fine on anything. And you don’t need a granny ring. Pretty sure it’s all doable singlespeed!

So this is what I plan to do, thanks for the help and guidance

1. Service brakes
2. Give chain set another go..
3. Look to change the forks, as I really think this will benefit overall riding…. (but please jump in if you think or know it will ruin it)

Just do what I do. Ride up as far as you can be bothered and walk the rest.

On a serious note. I think the things you might gain the most from, assuming you have a standard bike ATM< is travel adjust forks and better wheels. Your brakes should be ok for now. Give Windwave a call and see if they can sell you an adjustable travel cartridge for your current forks.

I don’t think you should try to make the bike more xc as this will ruin what you like about it. If you want new forks get some Pike coils you should be able to pick some up for about £150 or so. Don’t bother with air the coil uturns will be more reliable. And you will be able to wind them down for the climbs.

This has been really usefull thanks

A coil Pike is a hefty beast. Probably won’t save much, if anything. A nice bolt thru air Rev will save you a good chunk. I replaced a coil Pike with one & it felt much better, but was at the expense of some stability over some rocky sections.

The setup you already have should be more than sufficient for the 7 stanes, which don’t really have any particularly steep climbs (some long ones though, and the carpark climb at Innerleithen can feel fairly steep to be fair).

Black Craigs at Kirroughtree? I still have nightmares….

Scorpion at Mabie

stevomcd – Member

Most people would ride a day at Glentress (for example) without using the Granny ring at all, maybe as a bail-out if you’re knackered.

Hah, I sez. I don’t use it at GT because I’m super mega awesome, but the average red route riders are fairly well split between granny ringing up the red, and pushing. That’s the ones that don’t just skip bits entirely to dodge the climbs!

Not that there’s anything wrong with any of this, not everyone can be super mega awesome.

Now im puzzled again, Coil or Air on this – which is the best? Advantages & Disadvantages?

Dont go changing everything all at once, try Bike setup first, its free.

Anyhow, have a look online about bike setup, make sure you have your saddle at the right height, I also firmly beleive in the knee over the pedal setup (you will see this when you look), opinions vary on KOP.

Correct setup will make a big difference to a poor setup & its completely free to try.

https://www.ebicycles.com/article/determining-your-bicycle-saddle-height.html

According to these two links coil uturn Pikes are about 1lb lighter than the 55s that are currently on the bike.

http://www.marzocchi.com/template/detailProdotti.asp?LN=UK&idC=1592&IdFolder=113&idMY=56695&uf=IU&IdOggetto=56811

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/forks-suspension/product/review-rockshox-pike-454-u-turn-10-37495

So that in itself is a pretty good weight saving in my eyes, yes you could get lighter forks but I doubt they would suit the character of the bike and they would cost more.

Looking at the specs also shows that the axle to crown height of the Pike is 29mm shorter than the 55. This will steepen things up a bit but also make the bike easier to climb because the front end is lower. With this in mind maybe a 150mm Sektor Dual Position Coil would be a better bet. As this would keep the front end high and still allow you to drop it for the climbs.

As for air v coil it basically goes like this.
Air
Lighter
More tunable for rider weight
More complex
More expensive to maintain and probably buy
Unreliable external travel adjust.

Coil
Simple
Cheaper to buy and maintain
Better external travel adjust especially uturn
Need a new coil if they are too hard/soft for you.

Horses for courses really, I have air on my 160mm FS and coil on my 140mm HT both work great.

I had a pair of 140mm 2009 Marz 55Rs. Ignoring claimed weights, I weighed em myself and they weighed SEVEN pounds 😯 😯 . The 2010 140mm Revelations that replaced them are close to half that.

Shimano 475 hubs are apparently cast from lead, I dropped well over a pound going to Hope hubbed wheels from these on the other half’s hardtail. Have a look in classifieds, Pro 2/Hope Hoops come up every few days for around £150.

edit: youve also got a 24T granny ring. A 22T will cost less than a tenner and give you a smaller bottom gear.

These would save nearly 2lbs.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rockshox/2012-sektor-rl-dual-position-coil-maxle-fork-ec030198?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/components/forks-suspension/product/review-rockshox-sektor-rl-dp-coil-12-46064

im trying to get the sector 2nd hand

Sorted – 2011 Sectors on the way £190 posted 🙂

astura – Member
Sorted – 2011 Sectors on the way £190 posted

Good choice.

Did you go for air or coil?

Cool, as above what model did you get? RL? Coil? Fixed or DPC?

druidh – Member
Scorpion at Mabie

Yes I don’t fancy that on a single speed, takes me all my effort to get my 29er with 26/36 up it. At least I managed it without getting out the saddle last time.

I can’t imagin what a single speed with a 32/22 or similar would be like. Quads like Chris Hoy or weigh about 3 stone.

Went for coil, this thread has really helped thanks alot

Dont suppose anyone has a fork adater for rockshox forks for sale?

fork adaptor?

Yeh

You did get a 20mm through axle version of the forks didn’t you? Have you got a link to the forks you bought so we can try and work it out?

You shouldn’t need an ‘adaptor’ if you bought the correct forks…

Unless i’m missing something.

Yeh, sorry link to forks on the way.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-2011-rs-sektor-fork-115-150mm-with-20mm-thru

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rockshox/sektor-rl-u-turn-maxle-2011-fork-ec024510?currency=USD&country=UNITED%20STATES

Do you mean brake adaptor or even headset race? Let me check on the brake adaptor but you should be fine with swapping over the headset race.