Mountain Biking - new person needs help!!!!!

Hi everyone, I've been out of biking for a few years and i'm dying to get back into it,

However not sure if my old bike is up to it, it's a 95(i think) Kona AA
The frame is in mint cond but the rest of it's a mess, should i keep the frame and build round it or just go and get a new bike?

Would i be able to buy a XT groupset ect and be able to fit them bearing in mind the bike has 7sp gearing would a up to date kit fit? :confused:

cheers

Current 9 speed rear axles will not fit because they are wider than your current rear stays. I cannot remember if the AA is steel or alu. If it is alu, safe to say do not try it. You can however replace some of the older 7 speed stuff. You can use 8 speed chainrings, current rear der's. and 7/8 speed front der's. Of course once you start pricing everything else well you can get a new bike for that.

I would lean towards a new bike, if your budget allows.

Not only is your current frame incompatible with the latest 9-speed drivetrains, your fork is probably pretty dated, too. I'd bet your current fork has a 1" steerer, which means that you couldn't upgrade to a newer fork as virtually all forks these days have 1 1/8" steerers.

Keep in mind that MTB technology moved in great leaps in the last 7 years. Forks alone are far superior to what was being offered in the mid-'90s. If you have plans to ride trails, or if you ride aggressively, or if you plan to race, you may find yourself frustrated with your current ride.

These days $700 gets a decent new hardtail with disc brakes, and $1,100 to $1,500 will pick you up a very nice dualie. You'll have to decide whether this is affordable. If a new bike isn't an option, you can probably get your current bike a little more ride-worthy for a couple of hundred bucks of parts from eBay.

Good luck.

The Kona AA is a great bike. One of my best friends has one! I'd turn that thing into a single speeder. Lots of potential for that!

L8R

Thanks for the reply's guys, Yeah like the idea of keeping the bike as a single speeder!!:)

I was out looking today seen a marin pine mountain :D what do you think? My mate had one years ago but are they still as good.

Think a new bike is called for, Going to be spending around £1000 any ideas guys

Cheers

ooops forgot to say that it's going to be a hardtail with shocks at the front. :beer:

The Pine Mt is a good bike, do a search here, someone a couple of months back had a lot of ?'s regarding that bike. I'd also suggest looking at Giant and Specialized for great bikes in that price range!

L8R