I wanted to try a full bouncer and had been eyeing up the Calibre Bossnut Evo after the great reviews and a firend riding the earlier Beastnut but another bike and 1k purchase price were off putting especially as I'd want to add a dropper and replaced the forks. So i started thinking that how different is 26 or 650b? Probably not as much as to make much difference to me. With this in mind I looked at 26 inch wheel bikes and wow! The bottom has just dropped out of the market. So I got a 2008 Kona Dawg from eBay in what I would describe as 'shop soiled' condition barely any use and 2 small blemishes on the frame. Cheap it was too, very cheap. It was bone stock as well. I added my SPD's and a borrowed a Charge Spoon from my Raleigh Team 531 and rode it a bit.
I rode well downhill and was confidence inspiring. It became apparent though that 3 x 9 was old hat, that the bars were too narrow for my taste now, 180mm discs on trail bikes are pretty normal and that the tyres were utterly hopeless. I didn't want another XC racer but something that at least rolled well. So I hatched a plan to create an updated version.
Firstly the saddle was replaced with a new Spoon in brown (so my Raleigh could have it's saddle back).
A set of Easton EA70 720mm flat bars were purchased from eBay and I fitted some Ritchey WCS Trugrips.
Brand new SLX M7000 rear mech and shifter replaced the XT rear, Deore front and 3 x 9 shifters, which were then sold on eBay.
A 11-40T 11s cassette that my brother gave me was fitted straight to the 9 speed Deore rear hub.
A Snail narrow-wide 34T ring replaced the triple rings on the FAS Supermoto cranks.
An SRAM PC1130 chains was purchased.
A 180mm disk and the spacer for the caliper was purchased.
Finally Scwalbe Racing Ralph Evo 2.25 and Nobby Nic 2.35 Addix Tyres have replaced the Maxxis ignitors.
The final spec is:
Frame: Kona Race Light Scandium Butted (one of the reasons it appealed), Fox RP2 Air Shock with lockout, 5 inch travel
Fork: Marzocchi Bomber XC600 TST2 (4 stage lockout), 140mm Travel.
Headset: FSA
Stem: kona 85mm
Handlebar: Easton EA70 720mm Flat
Grips: Ritchey WCS
Brakes: Hayes Stroker Trail
Rotors: 160mm/180mm
Shifters:
Rear Derailleur: SLX M7000
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: XT 11 speed 11-40
Chain: SRAM PC1130
Cranks: FAS Supermoto
Chainrings: Snail Narrow-Wide 34T Alloy
Chainring bolts: Snail Alloy
Bottom Bracket: FSA Mega-Exo
Pedals: Shimano SPD520
Hub Skewers:
Rims: SunRingle Equaliser
Hubs: Deore Rear/Formula Disc Front
Tyres: Racing Ralph Evo/Nobby Nic Addix
Tubes: CST
Saddle: Charge Spoon
Seatpost: Kona
Seatpost Binder: Kona
Weight: 29.5lbs
Pleased with the way it's turned out.
So the plan is to ride it over the winter, probably adding a Tranz-X dropper around Christmas and next spring replace the Cassette with probably an 11-42T, although I may go up to 11-46T depending on how I find climbing ready for next summer. Hopefully we'll plan in some bike park visits where this can really get some use. So far this has cost me a little over £400 to get to this stage.
Carl.
I rode well downhill and was confidence inspiring. It became apparent though that 3 x 9 was old hat, that the bars were too narrow for my taste now, 180mm discs on trail bikes are pretty normal and that the tyres were utterly hopeless. I didn't want another XC racer but something that at least rolled well. So I hatched a plan to create an updated version.
Firstly the saddle was replaced with a new Spoon in brown (so my Raleigh could have it's saddle back).
A set of Easton EA70 720mm flat bars were purchased from eBay and I fitted some Ritchey WCS Trugrips.
Brand new SLX M7000 rear mech and shifter replaced the XT rear, Deore front and 3 x 9 shifters, which were then sold on eBay.
A 11-40T 11s cassette that my brother gave me was fitted straight to the 9 speed Deore rear hub.
A Snail narrow-wide 34T ring replaced the triple rings on the FAS Supermoto cranks.
An SRAM PC1130 chains was purchased.
A 180mm disk and the spacer for the caliper was purchased.
Finally Scwalbe Racing Ralph Evo 2.25 and Nobby Nic 2.35 Addix Tyres have replaced the Maxxis ignitors.
The final spec is:
Frame: Kona Race Light Scandium Butted (one of the reasons it appealed), Fox RP2 Air Shock with lockout, 5 inch travel
Fork: Marzocchi Bomber XC600 TST2 (4 stage lockout), 140mm Travel.
Headset: FSA
Stem: kona 85mm
Handlebar: Easton EA70 720mm Flat
Grips: Ritchey WCS
Brakes: Hayes Stroker Trail
Rotors: 160mm/180mm
Shifters:
Rear Derailleur: SLX M7000
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: XT 11 speed 11-40
Chain: SRAM PC1130
Cranks: FAS Supermoto
Chainrings: Snail Narrow-Wide 34T Alloy
Chainring bolts: Snail Alloy
Bottom Bracket: FSA Mega-Exo
Pedals: Shimano SPD520
Hub Skewers:
Rims: SunRingle Equaliser
Hubs: Deore Rear/Formula Disc Front
Tyres: Racing Ralph Evo/Nobby Nic Addix
Tubes: CST
Saddle: Charge Spoon
Seatpost: Kona
Seatpost Binder: Kona
Weight: 29.5lbs
Pleased with the way it's turned out.
So the plan is to ride it over the winter, probably adding a Tranz-X dropper around Christmas and next spring replace the Cassette with probably an 11-42T, although I may go up to 11-46T depending on how I find climbing ready for next summer. Hopefully we'll plan in some bike park visits where this can really get some use. So far this has cost me a little over £400 to get to this stage.
Carl.
