Pimp My Kona

Donie75

Hi folks,
I'm a long time roadie but I bought a secondhand 2009 Kona Hei Hei recently to do some trails and singletrack. The frame, fork & rear shock are in very good nick and the frame was recently fitted with new bushings and the fork and rear shock were serviced. A few people have said its a very good frame and the reviews online seem good.
The first job I did was replace the Fox Vanilla 125R spring to a stiffer one because I'm a big guy.

The rest of the kit on the bike seems a little bit tired so I'm thinking of upgrading a few bits.

The shifters are Deore and they seem a bit worn. Are SLX good as replacements?

The brakes are BR-M575 and they are not great and make a lot of noise. Again, I'm thinking about Shimano M615's as they seem good value. Or are SLX better?

The old pedals are pants and I keep slipping off them so i'm going to buy a set of Shimano Saints.

My brother and a friend both have Rockshox Reverb Dropper seatposts and they seem like a great idea. Does anyone make a decent dropper for a 27.2mm seattube? and not too expensive...

I also need a new chain. Is it true that SRAM chains are better than Shimano?

Sorry for all the Questions.. Thanks.

welshkev

yes SLX are good. the new deore stuff is also superb if you were on a budget.

I use sram chains.

have you looked at superstar pedals? maybe cheaper?

I don't know about dropper posts? a KS maybe?

cooldad

Yes. XT are better.
Yes and a little bit.
OK. But heavy. Wellgo MG1 are a better deal.
AFAIK no.
KMC are better than both.

Donie75

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the new Deore stuff too.

fielonator

KS do a dropper that will fit, though they're quite hard to find. I think X-Fusion do one too.

The Rookie

RSP do a good 27.2 dropper, can be found on ebay under a different name, inline only though, not setback.