Grips, Stem and Rotors!

Frools

So i got back into MTBing a month or 2 ago after not having ridden for years.
Bought myself an 09 Kona Hoss (as im a bit of a fat git now :oops: )
Love the bike but theres couple of niggles.

The grips are too small/short/narrow/whatever, my hand is resting on the lockon clamps most of the time which is a little annoying.
So any recommendations for bigger than average (or just bigger than the stock kona) grips?

The stem is a little long at 105mm would prefer something about 70mm i think, again recommendations for a decent not too pricy stem at around that length? (needs to be 31.8mm clamp)

The stock rotors are fine 90% of the time but on steep descents they do fade quite a lot and get incredibly hot.
Also as a big fat git i need more stopping power :P
As i understand it bigger rotors will help with all of these things? (and i get something a bit more blingy )
So what rotors are compatible with shimano M575 hydraulic discs?
I've got my eye on 203mm hope floating rotors cos they look sexy but will they work with my brakes?
Also which clamp adaptor thingy will i need?

Cheers!

Frools

nobody knows anything about stems, disc brakes or grips?

supersonic

Quite a bit, but missed your post ;-)

Bigger rotors are indeed better with heat, but Hope does not work with some systems. namely Avid.

105 down to 70mm is a big step and will make a big difference.
CRC has a huge range of stems - have a look, FSA and Truvativ got some good deals.

For grips I would visit a shop and see how they feel.

megacityman

how wide are your handlebars? i used to have a 640mm bar and my hands were always over the end, i changed it to a 700mm and that helped a great deal (i have wide shoulders)
as far as the bigger rotors, better to check if the forks will accept a bigger rotor, as some forks are not reccomended tor bigger rotors, im stuck on 160mm till i change the forks

Frools

well the brakes are Shimano M575 with i think just a standard 6 bolt rotor (doesnt look like the pics of centre lock rotors anyway), i did some googling and seems the hope floating rotor does have compatibility issues with a bunch of things
Would it be better to just go for a 'normal' larger rotor, are they all pretty much interchangable?

Forks are Marzocchi DJ2's manual says they'll take up to an 8" rotor so i was thinking 203mm on the front and 180 on the back

so could just get the shimano ones
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Shima ... 360028889/
(and the 180mm version for the rear)

The fork is post mount and the frame is IS so i would need 2 of these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Shima ... 360027299/
Front Post To Post 203mm
and
Rear IS 180mm
yes?

I think I know what I need im just looking for confirmation really as these are my first set of discs :oops:

googling revealed the stock kona grips at 110mm wide and most other grips seem to be 130mm, which would make all the difference so i gave in and bought a set of lizard skin peaty lock on grips from CRC earlier (£8!) :P

edit: actually do the hope Mono Mini rotors work with shimano calipers? they come in shiny colours :oops:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=16448

.blitz

Frools wrote:

The stem is a little long at 105mm would prefer something about 70mm i think, again recommendations for a decent not too pricy stem at around that length?

I went from 100 to 40 to 65 with the stem on my Rize. A shorter stem will feel a little nervous at first but you will soon get used to it and the gains in terms of carveability and direct steering are huge. Unless you are doing a lot of out-of-the-saddle sprints, climbing is uncompromised.

I got a Sunline V1 stem. Although the 80mm version looks a little odd, the 65 is a thing of beauty and weighs next to nothing. Fit and forget.

bomberesque

Just riding along sell hope floating rotors and claim that they "should fit most brakes although you may need to trim the pad prongs on certain models (eg Avid, Hayes) to avoid fouling the connectors between the alloy and steel parts."

Is this incorrect?