Need advice with my bike.

GazTheDouche

Hey everyone! first of all i'd like to say thanks for taking the time to read this, and cheers more-so, if you took the time to advise!
So basically, I'm starting to take up mountain biking again, as i did it as a teenager and absolutely loved it, and always have! I've always wanted to get back into the sport but never really had the money! So recently i stumbled upon this little Kona Kikapu with i thought would be suitable for what i wanted, i've purchased this for £300, but it's still in shop to get a few things changed, the sprocket and forks being the main things, the forks are getting changed to a set of DJ2's, not the best i know, but better than the forks on there at present! you'll see in the pictures! Anyway, i thought this was a good buy, and i wanted the bike for basically learning and progressing to a reasonable level in all aspects of mountain biking, i basically wanted it to be a 'do-everything' bike that i can use and upgrade for the next 18 months or so while i save up for what i really want! Now the advice i seek is on weather you think this is a good choice of bike for the price, and what upgrades could i make to make the bike better! I"ve already been semi-advised by a friend to maybe replace the rear Fox Float R shock? but i'm no expert, so your advice once again would be appreciated! THANKYOU FOR YOUR TIME! Cant wait to get out on it and join you all out on the trails!

Gaz!

GazTheDouche

APOLOGIES FOR UPSIDE DOWN PHOTO!

cooldad

If it works leave it.

Dirtydog11

Why the DJ2s, whats wrong with the mx comps?

1mancity2

Leave it alone unless parts are worn out and need replacing, Fox R shock replace? why? I have a giant Reign which is built for doing DH and aggressive riding with a Fox R shock, replacing it with what? a RP23? no need unless the shock is knacked beyond repair.

For £300 looks a good buy but only you will know that for sure.

GazTheDouche

Dirtydog11 wrote:

Why the DJ2s, whats wrong with the mx comps?

The MX comps lockout has completely gone! And the dj2's are fairly new, and there a rigid jump fork so I thought they'd be able to take a bit more punishment!

GazTheDouche

1mancity2 wrote:

Leave it alone unless parts are worn out and need replacing, Fox R shock replace? why? I have a giant Reign which is built for doing DH and aggressive riding with a Fox R shock, replacing it with what? a RP23? no need unless the shock is knacked beyond repair.

For £300 looks a good buy but only you will know that for sure.

To be honest mate, ive never had a full squish before, so I don't know much about rear shocks.. But I thought the fox float R was a XC shock? I just want it to be able to cope with my progression!

cooldad

Maybe progress before you worry about the bike coping with it.

386ka

cooldad wrote:

Maybe progress before you worry about the bike coping with it.

This.

Also, Float R is a great shock, and will take punishment. You can do air sleeve service on your own if you want to...

supersonic

The bike is not a jump bike though! Is a short travel XC bike! DJ2 are completetly the wrong choice, or ths bike is.

Dan_xz

If you're saving up for a new bike anyway then why spend potentially hundreds upgrading parts on this one? Put the money towards the new one. By the time you've saved enough you should have a much better idea of what you want your bike to be like.

Beardface

Even if the lockout has broken, thats nothing major.. over the past 5 years for example, I've probably used the lockout function on various forks 2, maybe 3 times at most. If the forks still work travel wise, I wouldn't bother with replacing them until they're truly buggered. The MX comps will take a lot more abuse than you think..

Also, as SS said, DJ 2's on an XC bike is a strange choice! As many others will say, there's no point upgrading a bike you're planning to keep for a year, especially if you're saving for a new bike!

Looks like a good buy for £300 though.

andy46

I also can count on one hand how many times I use lockout on the forks, although I do use it more on the rear. Looks a good bike for the money, just get out and enjoy it

Dave_P1

Enjoy riding the bike and see how far it takes you.

Personally, I wouldn't spend that much cash on it due to it's age as bikes have moved on a long way. Instead, put the cash towards a new bike if you decide to go that far.

GazTheDouche

Thankyou Very Much everyone for your advice!! Been Very Helpful! I dont know what i was thinking with the DJ2 shock, i suppose i wanted the bike to be a 'do everything' bike! So do you think i should Keep the old fork? And do you think this frame will be robust enough to handle everything thats thrown at it? i know its an XC bike, but unfortunately my perception of XC is hill climbs and single track, nothing majorly technical or exciting! I apologise now if i have the wrong end of the stick about XC or if i've offended any hardcore XC'ers!

1mancity2

Stick the old fork on, ride it enjoy it, replace parts as they wear out, the frame will handle alot, xc can be as hard as you make it so just ride and once you feel you have out grown your current steed then the fun starts.

Beardface

Yep, no need to get caught up with all the terminology, xc, as mentioned, can be what you make it.. so long as you're not flying off 20ft drops etc, the bike will/should hold up to abuse.

I used to ride a battered old scott hardtail with fecked forks, busted BB, dodgy v brakes, 5 working gears and a whole other load of issues around my local trails (Surrey Hills), and it was some of the best fun I've had on a bike! It was broke, but so was I (was saving for a new bike at the time), so couldn't/didn't want to get it fixed. Just rode it into the ground, and it took a lot more than it should have! (I think I enjoyed it as I didn't really care much for the bike, it was a stop gap while I was saving for a new one).

Don't worry about what it can and can't do, the only way you'll properly find out is to get out and give it a good test