Kona A'ha -> Board tracker = my first go

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
BOXKARS
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Gururyan

Gururyan

Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
30
Reaction score
0
Location
Tulsa, OK
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is my first venture into building my own bike. I picked up this Kona A'ha a couple of weeks ago after waiting and waiting for just the right bike/frame to come along in my budget. I love the Cook Bros. type frame, dig the SS/Fixed flip-flop hub, hate the paint job (too gaudy), time to move from aggressive riding to fun riding. I'm unemployed at the moment, so the build will be slow going until I can land a new job. Anyway, figured I would go ahead and start a build diary. I've never done this and have no tools beyond your basic hammer/sockets/screwdriver, so go easy on me.

web.jpg

Step 1
Procured bike, had some skidding fun until the rear tire could handle no more...as evident in the photo, hahahaha.


web.jpg

Step 2
Brown Schwalbe Fat Franks, new tubes, popped off reflectors, new 18t freewheel.

Planned Steps
Blast & powder coat, black.
Brooks aged spring seat, bent seat post.
Board track type handbar & grips.
Replace crankset & pedals.
Springer fork.

Comments/Observations
Whoa, was not expecting such an immediate and drastic change (for the good) with just a tire change. The ride has drastically improved in regards to comfort. I can only imagine how it will feel once I upgrade the seat!
 
Hmm! I thought this was a Humu(etc...)

I didnt know the A'ha was that style. At this angle the paint does look a little worse, but still cool. The black should look dandy.

Lemme know what you do with those cranks.
 
go easy on you for your lack of tools? hey, we all were there at one time! :wink:
 
Nice kona , i love them. Over here in the uk a used one like that would cost$$$ .
I have a 90,s diamondback apex frame set i was going to turn into a cruiser but i might do them same , never thought of doing it to mountain bike.
So i will be bookmarking this thread .
 
I really like where you're headed. Great modern frame choice, 'tank' style front, loop tail rear, yep, perfect. Take your time with it, enjoy the journey.

P.S. I'm a big Fat Frank fan too, ride like butter.

Cheers,
Dr. T
 
cman said:
Not very often does a newer bike get this treatment.
Click to expand...
Which is adding some difficulty since 99% of my searching for how to do some of these mods pertains to vintage bikes. For instance, I need a laid back seat post. Problem? I need a 27mm, which is a "modern" size. I want to keep my brakes, springer forks don't accommodate them. The bars I want won't work with my headset/stem. I feel like I am trailblazing here, which is difficult when you add the fact this is my first venture in to modifying a bike. I wish there was a "Modern Rats" category on this site, that would be so helpful. My LBS's just stare at me blankly, no help at all.

I want to attach a Brooks Aged Flyer to my Kona via a laid back post, but preferably utilizing the modern rail type attachment. The only "laid back" modern posts are not nearly extreme enough, they lay back about 1/2"...what's the point of that?! HELP! Somebody help me! :cry:
 
Amazing the difference tires can make! Lookin great man, I love that frame!

For some things you could do to make it look more vintage, how about make some truss rods? Hardware stores usually sell thiner copper tube or other metal tube for plumbing that can be bent fairly easily, make sure its not *too* bendy. Cut some to length, bend it up, mash one end/drill a hole to attach it to the axel and under the nuts for the wheels. Bend the other ends together, and if you're handy and using copper, soilder them to a large ID washer that will fit between the stem and frame on your threadless (it looks like) fork. I've been meaning to do this for my Trek mountain bike, it simply doesn't get ridden anymore because it's not 'cool' enough :lol: :roll: :wink:

I'll be watching this one for sure. I always thought it could be cool to rat out/make over a newer bike like this, I'm interested to see what you do.
 
Gururyan said:
Which is adding some difficulty since 99% of my searching for how to do some of these mods pertains to vintage bikes. For instance, I need a laid back seat post. Problem? I need a 27mm, which is a "modern" size. I want to keep my brakes, springer forks don't accommodate them. The bars I want won't work with my headset/stem. I feel like I am trailblazing here, which is difficult when you add the fact this is my first venture in to modifying a bike. I wish there was a "Modern Rats" category on this site, that would be so helpful. My LBS's just stare at me blankly, no help at all.

I want to attach a Brooks Aged Flyer to my Kona via a laid back post, but preferably utilizing the modern rail type attachment. The only "laid back" modern posts are not nearly extreme enough, they lay back about 1/2"...what's the point of that?! HELP! Somebody help me! :cry:
Click to expand...

Hang in there bro!
For a laid back seatpost try contacting Marty at http://www.1018kustoms.com, he's also a member here. He's got these posts that might work, he also does custom ones.
2817195_orig.jpg


For a springer with canti mounts, I've found some on eBay and some lowrider bike sights. A triple tree fork is always an option too. If that doesn't work, to add some 'old school' flavor, you could always add some truss rods, simply replace any headset washers/spacers with the truss rod bracket. If you buy a set, you will probably need to enlarge the hole in the bracket to fit over you 1 1/8" fork steer tube. I added a set to my old Diamondback MTB.

DSCF2537.jpg



If your handlebar is too small, shims will help. In any event, it'll happen, spend some 'quality time' in the Gallery section, something will inspire you I'm sure.

Cheers,
Dr. T
 
A girder fork would work wiht cant brakes, but I cant be of much help finding you one.

it would be a project making one, maybe start with a schwinn type steerer tube, fab an upper pivot point with a hollow tube, add linkage and fork legs...

I scored a 20's - 30's one from a motorcycle salvage yard a while back

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=20958&hilit=+girder#p211793

This is the place, he's got a shipping container full of forks
http://www.mcsalvage.com/coopers.htm
 
Went back to the powder coater place to decide on a "black" for the bike. Here are the samples I narrowed it down to, I think I'm going with that silvery dark grey on the far left. I had planned on a shiny thick black, but that sparkly one really caught my eye.

web.jpg

It was super bright and overcast today so keep that in mind.

web.jpg


web.jpg

I tried a shot with the flash so you could see the gradient/range of shades it has.
 
TheFlyingDingo said:
The silvery would be awesome. Like it alot.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I wish I would have had my nice camera with me so that I could have done a better job capturing the true color. It really is a cool finish, and as it turns out it was long discontinued but they were able to find 5 lbs. in their storage room, which is plenty to do a bike frame. Now I just need to strip my bike down and get it over to them. Turnaround is a solid week, so that kind of stinks. I bike everyday. I might watch the weather and find a week that looks poor for riding. I'm going to have to take my bike to my LBS to pull the cranks and headset, I don't have the tools...unless you guys know some tricks.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top