kona kula 2-9 07 vs surly KM,pompino 3sp?monstercross q.

I found somebody selling a 07 kula 29er frame locally,for 250eu,ish.
as it has v bosses I was thinking I might build up a monstercross type thing.
I’ve recently built up a 3sp pompino and that was lovely.sadly (for me)it was a present.
I’ve been thinking about a fully rigid 29er for a while,like the td1,but the price on that just keeps creeping up.bit dear now,at 1400eu.
seen a karate monkey,for 350eu,frame+fork.new.

so,2 q.
anybody had the kula 29er?geo seems exctl the same as the td1.
plus its got sliding dropouts,meaning I could run fixed on a disc cog,by flipping the wheel.
used alloy frame doesn’t really appeal that much tho.

the Karate monkey is new,bit heavier tho.cheaper as it already has a fork.
or just htfu and build up a 3sp pompino,with the benefit of a hub gear?
got a spare 3sp nexus.
actually got everything for a build,except wheels and brakes.

max tyre in a pomp is about 40mm tho.that puts me off a bit.

or get a scott scale 29er frame.about 500eu.bodge hydro levers on drop bar,or get something like a jones bar.or bar ends..the horror.
wait for the lurcher?
somebody give me some ideas/advice.
thanks,
em.
ps,what happened to those kona frames crc were supposed to be selling nos in a few weeks?anybody else noticed them?there was a kula29er amongst those.

You’ve hopefully realised/thought of how to deal with the fact all those bike have long top tubes for flat bars?

I hot a Big Kahuna 2 sizes too small and put drops on it, works well as 29er monstercross and cross, I also toured on it…

a Singular peregrine is built for road/monster cross
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Doney’s Peregrine[/url] by Singular Cycles[/url], on Flickr

or a gryphon
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Gryphon in Japan[/url] by Singular Cycles[/url], on Flickr

I have a Pompino, had a Peregrine.

The Pompino is a great bike for general purpose use, but I always felt limited by its maximum tyre size because I tend to head off up any interesting track I see no matter what bike I’m on. I bought a Peregrine to replace it, and that also was a good bike, but again found my peregrinations were leading the bike on to unsuitable territory.

It was trying a set of Big Apples on one of my bodge bikes that made me see the light. The fatter tyres allowed me to ride anywhere I wanted. I had bought a Kona frame to chop for a belt drive conversion, so I tried building it up for the road with 2.35″ Big Apples. It has become my road bike and the much esteemed Pompino gathers dust and I sold the Peregrine.

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This photo is a good example of where my bike goes. This was supposed to be a little ride to Ullapool, but when I got to the Ben Wyvis carpark, I diverted and instead had a go at riding around the back of the mountain and got to here (Loch Bealach na Cuilaidh).

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Obviously I don’t see my bike as a TdF contender. 🙂

If I was starting from scratch, I reckon buying a Gryphon would be the trick.

thank you for the ideas,
Cynic-al.got a 70-60-50 and 35mm stem,so reach shouldn’t be a probl.

rocketdog,those bikes look good,but I think vees would make things easier,otherwise I’d have to use bb7s,had them and not that keen.
besides it’s usually really really dry where I live now.

Epicyclo,thats exactly what I mean.something like the 40s rando bikes,big balloon tyres,low gearing.or j.f. scott’s bike in klunkers.
I remember the hampsten bike I saw a while ago,looked nice.
used 33mm tyres tho.bit too limited.

I’ve done some sums,and a 3sp pompino,even with a carbon fork,and the components I have (r700 crank,thomson bits)would weigh 8.7kg aprox.
the kona with a generic carbon fork would weigh the same.
so nothing to be gained by having less.
Besides,if I gear the top gear to around 66,then the bottom gear on a3sp is in the high 30s.bit high.middle gear is 55 which is nice.
might as well go 1×9,or 2×9.
I’ll have a look at the gryphon and report back.
I’m sure I can bodge discs onto road bars.

thanks all,for your imput,
nice pictures epicyclo.

With an Alfine and heavy 2.35″ tyres the weight is just over 28lbs

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thats not too bad-12.25kg.
I think I could probably get it to 9kg,a shade under 20lbs in your money.
ideally it would be around 8kg,suppose it’s doable.

I like your classy and understated colourway coordination.
though some cinelli tan bar tape would look lovely on that.

how much does the gryphon frame weigh?looked around but can’t seem to find it.

Epicyclo that’s nearly identical to my Kona…

Emanuel just shoving a short stem on can give shite handling.

cynic-al,oh.you’re right.
dunno if I should buy the kona,move some stuff over and try it out,then buy the gryphon.or just buy the gryphon.really seems to be the best frame for this.
thanks to those who pointed it out.

doesn’t seem to be in stock though.

ps.this is inspiring.

http://jeffsbike.blogspot.com/2011/10/karate-monkey-landspeed-record-attempt.html

emanuel – Member
…I like your classy and understated colourway coordination.
though some cinelli tan bar tape would look lovely on that.

I’m such a sad case that I have now replaced the blue cable with white for the portion of the frame that is white. Also a white saddle on it now. 🙂

I loathe modern bar tape. Nice cushy grips for me.

New Genesis 29er Adventure frame looks like a good cheaper alternative to a Salsa Fargo. No V brake though

It’s for flat bars, going by the TT.

I think I’m going to try out a drop bar on a 14″ mtb frame I’ve set up as a ballon bike for girlfriends,it’s got vees and big apples,tt is short enough.that way I can see what it’s like by buying some v drop levers and not much else.
26″ wheel though.so might/will probl be completely different.