love or hate it, Kona Kila-Honzo update 07/03/25 shiny stuff added!

[Stressed]

Wireless electric. It's a whole new world. Waiting for prices to drop, but I will be there at some point. Love the idea of a totally clean ride.

Wireless breaks?!

 

[coomber]

Such a nice looking bike.

What's your opinion on rev grips?

 

[jonnyboy666]

@al-onestare the SQ labs inner bar ends, yes, weird, i get on with the rep, he suggested a set a while ago, here's the logic, we used to run bar ends, usually only on narrow flat bars, we used them because the helped with climbing but also sometimes a slightly aero position, bear in mind these bars are 780mm wide it means this inner bar end is pretty much in the same position as a traditional bar end on a narrower bar, they are shaped as well and sort of feel like the hood position on a road/gravel bike. i wouldn't have them on all my bikes but this being built a little more XC i think thye work.

@coomber i have them on the Kila-Honzo, P7, Alpine6, Stage Evo and my Phase, i think they are good, the best way can describe my opinion on them is that when i ride a bike without them i notice it,

 

[clubby]

out of choice i wouldn't run any Sram componentry ever, i think it's a terrible product, promises a lot, and never delivers, terrible material, prone to failing, and wears out very quickly, but i don't want to get in to a sram V shimano boring converstaion, i hate the stuff it's that simple.

Ah, how things change in 2 years.

i originally built the bike with shimano 12 speed but i just wasn't happy with the shifting, i'd set up a customer on AXS, something i wasn't fussed about at all, i generally have a low opinion of Sram but i thought i'd give it a try, to be fair the shift is really good and i like the lack of cable, i'm probably gonna fit a wireless post to tidy it up more

Lovely bike, how is the finish on the cranks holding up?
AXS Reverb is a thing of loveliness. Soooooo expensive but less than e-wings.

 

[Kieran-b]

Nice. I like it

 

[jonnyboy666]

@clubby yes, i was as disapointed with myself as my sram loving friends were laughing! i think the shimano Di2 would have been fine but i think that shimano should be wireless soon, i'd use that over Sram but while it still has wores i'll avoid it.

also i have an AXS dropper on my Stage Evo and it's great, but i'll fit a Magura post on this one as it'll match the Magura brakes, i have an old one on my P7 and that's been great.

 

[jonnyboy666]

so the last 2 weekends i have ridden the KilaHonzo, i'd made some changes, i fitted the magura dropper post, obvs it's wireless so nice and neat, decided also to try an ergon saddle, the main rides i do on this bike are in the New Forest, not particularly techy trails so i find myself sat alot, there aren't many sections where you get out of the saddle so i find myself getting a bit numb after a while, years ago i could ride 4 hours on those carbon flight saddles, more recently i have found SDG saddles to be generally good but on the rides where you sit 95% of the time i find i need more padding, i tried 2 different SQ-Lab saddles, they definitely helped but still getting a numb bum so i have fitted the Ergon saddle and i have to say there was an instant noticeable benefit so we'll see how that goes. the other thing i changed was the bar and stem, the burgtec stem was too short and i wanted the bike to be a bit higher at the front so i fitted a 50mm USE ultimate stem and matching USE ultimate carbon bar, have to say it feels nice.

there is a wheel change coming soon, only because i'm getting a promotional set of wheels for me to show off at the shop, but i think they'll be pretty cool when fitted, also i wanted a change from Hope, no negative reason againset Hope it's just literally all my bikes have Hope wheels so i fancied a change.

the new stem set up, and yes that's a Granite tool down the steerer.


next is the bar set up, very neat with only brake hoses



the Magura dropper lever, feels more traditional than theit original one that i have on my P7 but works great


the dropper post and Ergon saddle


complete pic, not the best angle

 

[coomber]

I never used to be fussy on seats but got a sdg bel air mk3 and it's noticeably more comfy than the maddison flux/fabric scoops I usually have.

Bike looks neat as always fella

 

[jonnyboy666]

wasn't expecting new wheels today but they came in so i couldn't resist putting them, straight in!

i have liked Industry Nine wheels for a while, i usually run Hope wheels, but i fancied a change! they appeal to the magpie in me that likes all things bling! these are a custom set, silver hydra hubs, mix of black/silver and orange spokes on the alloy rim, not fussed about the carbon version. have fitted Pirelli tyres to these as i wanted a more aggressive tyre than the Maxxis Forecaster/Ardent pair that i had on the Hope wheels.

any behold the bling!!

 

[jonnyboy666]

another little update, was at a trade show a couple of weeks ago, a rep was showing me a set of FSA carbon wheels, offered me a good price, i decided to go for them because when i fitted the industry 9 wheels the weight of the bike went up, largely because of the tyres, so he twisted my arm (utter lie!) so got them a few days ago and decided to fit them today.

so i never built the bike to specifically be light, i'm not light so i'm never fussed with the bike being light, but this is a carbon frame, so i think having lighter wheels on a bike i use mainly for XC style riding as opposed to harder trail riding i think weight can be important. so i weighed it before and it was 27.59lbs

once the new wheels and more XC tyres were fitted it weighed in at 25.82lbs, quite a difference! not quite as bling looking though but don't worry the I9 wheels are now in my Stage Evo!