Nefarious

Okay, here's the deal: I purchased an '06 Rockhopper Comp Disc back in mid Sept to get back into riding after a 8 hiatus and have since put just over 200 miles on it. I went with a hardtail because I thought I was going to use it to commute as well. Tried the commute and the 12mile constant climb home kills my knees so there goes that. I am now to the level where I would truely benefit from a FS bike.

My question is:

How compatible are the components from my RH comp disc with a Kona Dawg Dee-Lux frame? I can't really justify or financially support the purchase of a complete FS bike after just purchasing my current bike only a couple months ago.

Attached is a pic of the frame in question.

Thanks in Advance

edit: I was a little unclear on my intentions. I am no longer planning to commute via bike as the climb was to hard on my knees. Since I will be doing strictly trail riding I would like to upgrade to a FS bike.

Namenda

What kind of commute do you have? If it is pavement, with hills, your best bet may be a road bike, not a FS MTB. And which components are you planning on swapping? Everything (crankset/BB, derailleurs, brakes, bars, levers, seatpost, etc)?

Nefarious

Sorry, I was a little unclear on my intentions. I am no longer planning to commute via bike as the climb was to hard on my knees. Since I will be doing strictly trail riding I would like to upgrade to a FS bike. If at all possible I would like to carry everything over possible but at the minimium I'd like to carry the main components over (crankset/BB, derailleurs, brakes, levers) over from my current bike to the new FS frame. Bars, head set, seat post I can replace if needed.

Namenda

Alright, gotcha now. Most components should fit both, I believe. Have to check that the ride wouldn't be out of whack with your present fork. Seatpost diameters could be different, may need a new (or new to you) one. Derailleurs, shifters, brakes, levers, stem, and bars should be no problem. Wheelset also should be fine. Fitting a headset would probably be the most difficult part, if you don't have the proper tools, and/or you haven't done it before.

Nefarious

How would I verify my current fork isn't going to throw the geometery out of whack?

Namenda

The Comp comes with a RockShox with 100mm travel. And the current model Dawg Deluxe comes with a 120mm travel fork. Doesn't seem like a great deal of difference, only 2cm. But it will change the head angle from what the manufacturer had in mind when designing the frame.

LowCel 

I don't know if I would go for that particular Kona if you want to keep your current parts. The reason is that your fork is 4" and the Kona is 5". Having less travel in the front would probably cause the balance of the bike to be thrown off. If you don't mind picking up a new fork then the Kona would be an awesome bike.

Anyway, if you want to do the Kona with your current fork anyway make sure you measure your current head tube and the head tube on the Kona. Make sure the steerer tube is long enough. Next I would probably go ahead and pick up a new headset for the new bike. It's not necessary but I wouldn't mess with transfering the one that is on the specialized over.

After that, the only things you might "need" to change over would be the front derailleur, cables, seatpost. Other than that you might "want" to replace the stem, not sure how close the top tube lengths are to each other.

Nefarious

I had a feeling it wouldn't be worth it. OH well, guess I'll just suck it up and deal with the hardtail until I can save a couple thousand and get the bike I really want rather than piecing something together. Thanks for all your input.

Drunken Chicken

One thing I must mention: Are you upgrading to FS partly because your knees get killed on climbs? 'Cause as far as I know, that won't help your knee problem. (Assuming of course that I understood your post correctly).

Nefarious

My knees were getting killed by the 12 mile climb home while commuting. The commute is why I purchase a hardtail. Now that I have no intentions of commuting, my abilities on the trails warrant a FS bike.