My Kona Cindercone '07

max丨mo

Bought new in July '08 for £485

All old news:-

Changed grips to Raceface good/evil ones
Just ordered a pair of 2.4 Conti Moutain king tyres, some red DMR V8 pedals and a decent seatpost clamp (these are the only parts that have worn out so far)

Took a tumble 8 days ago and broke my finger in 4 places and scraped the old face. Currently sitting with pins and wires in my hand so off the bike for a month while I heal

In doing this I have kind of realised how crap most of my components are, would anyone have any advice on what needs upgrading as a priority?

I mostly ride light trails and offroad, but want to get more into some real trails and red routes etc in future.

Thanks for taking a look!

xtreem

Priority No.1: If you're riding a bit harder then buy a fullface helmet.
Priority No.2: Because from the picture I can't see rebound adjuster on your fork,
then that fork has to be changed.

Overall your bike looks nice. But you don't look to good I'm affraid.

max丨mo

There is a rebound adjuster on the top of the fork, but they are crap forks though. Been keeping an eye out on ebay for a deal on some Fox floats or type F's.

max丨mo

Just a bit of an update on the Kona...

Added Schwalbe Marathons as I am using this as a commuter mostly nowadays. What a difference the right tyres make! This thing accelerates and glides down the road silently and stealthily, loving it!



Upgraded to SLX shifters when one of my deore triggers snapped.
Finally replaced the leaking, crappy Hayes Sole with some Avid Juicy 5's (thanks Rich) which may I say have transformed my ride. The stopping power and control is lovely.
I took these pictures before I added the front.



Been through a couple of chains, currently using sram pc971, can't beleive I've only just discovered the joys of the powerlink.

Plans for the future, main intention being to lose weight.
1. Workstand
2. New wheelset, possibly Mavic Crossrides seem like a cracking deal for the money.
3. 2nd Hand Fox F100 from eBay (or here if anyone has some)
4. Lighter alloy Stem, Seatpost and Handlebars.. possibly Raceface Deus
5. SLX Chainset, XT mechs, XT cassette (when current drivetrain gives up the goose)

Plans subject to change of course, would love to hear anybodys thoughts and opinions...

hoathy

Looks good! Nice choice of upgrades too. Taking those hayes soles off will have shaved some weight which is always a bonus. I think you would benefit from a better fork, the Marzocchi is functional enough, but its quite an entry level fork, I would suggest that a Fox F series would be really good, I am very pleased with mine. A cheaper but very decent and worthy alternative would be a Rockshox Reba, you can often get a deal on these new, check out Merlin particually.

Did you also hurt your elbow/forearm when you fell, or were the nurses just winding you up by imobilising your left arm?

max丨mo

Thanks, I couldn't believe how heavy those hayes soles were when I removed them, they felt like swinging weights of cast iron or something. The bike feels so much lighter and more responsive now.

I have been keeping an eye out for some nearly new Fox F100 RL's for a little while now, I've heard good reports and I reckon I should shave another couple of pounds off my front end with those.

Haha and yeah I reckon they were having a laugh, I had to spend 2 days in hospital and then walk around with a bloody big cast on my whole arm for 6 weeks for a shattered little finger! The morphine was good fun though...

jay12

nice bike and now with the upgrades looks really nice. it would be good to get those F100's but if you don't as someone said the rock shox reba's are a very good alternetive. good luck

saltyman

8) nice bike.

rottitera02

like the bike maxmo, like the other guys said the upgrades you specify will do your steed the world of good and the steed will 'look after' you too.
the only thing i could suggest is the tyres, i use my cove for commute as well as off-road and bought a pair of hutchinson cobra xc airlights, they are bloody quick, very quiet and a blast uphill, i have tried (and spent a fair few bob) on tyres trying to find a good all-rounder, these fit the bill nicely......

Keep on ridin....

hoathy

But if you are using it only for commuting you have a much more appropriate tyre already.

max丨mo

Thanks for your comments guys, I'm sat planning my next upgrades now for payday.. I seem to have to index my rear mech every few days, so I'm wondering if there is some kind of problem with my rear mech or maybe I am just finding an excuse for a shiny XT one

rottitera02, I'll certainly check out those tyres although at the moment I am purely riding roads and the Marathon's are proving great so far. I have a couple pairs of knobblies for when I finally get out in the woods soon.

saltyman, I notice you live in Gateshead too! Just moved to Low Fell myself, might have a blast round Saltwell park on Saturday and check out my new surroundings...

Hoathy and jay12, yeah I've heard nothing but good things about the Rebas and there's some good deals on CRC at the moment for them, but there's just something about those white Fox forks that catches my eye... a fool and his money..