I Need Some Info Fast!!!
 

This dude that my grandfather knows is selling kona mtb. can you guys tell if this seems a little bogus or is actually a good deal. it has:
judy tt fork
"top of the line" components, shimano
some kind of gel seat I can't remember what kind
v brakes
the shifters make it easy to change 3 gears fast
he said the frame weighs about 9-10 lbs. (I think he meant whole bike [if thats possible])
its a custom frame, its made out of the stuff that they make space ships with
6061 aluminum
and its only 4 months old.

Maybe frame and fork is 9-10 lbs.. whole bike I don't think is possible.. my Road bike is only 15.5 lbs and that is light even for a road bike

Top of line shimano.. does not say a whole lot..

This sounds like an entry-level bike. The RockShox JudyTT was certainly an entry-level fork. That combined with the gel seat leads me to believe the bike probably sold originally in the $300-$500 range (assuming it's a hardtail). Are you certain it's a custom frame? BTW, the frame and fork probably weighs 9-10 lbs. The fork alone weights a bit over 4lbs. What model Kona is it? Is it a hardtail or dual-suspension? It might be a good deal depending on how much the guy is asking. Of course you also have to consider what kind of riding you want to do with the bike.

How much and what bike? And 9 to 10 pnds for fork and frame is very possible :)...it probably isn't a weenie xc bike ;):D Sheesh my xc bike weighs 36 pnds...and that is increasing in 2 weeks.

its a hardtail and I stupidly enough didn't ask what model it was. Right now I do xcountry and reckless freeriding with a touch of trials. My current ride now is a Norco java I think its a '98, Marzocchi shocks up front, hardtail, pretty much all xt/lx groupo... would my current bike right now still be better than this one?

i'm willing to bet ur current bike now is probably better than this bike.

Sounds like a real piece to me, but those descriptions are a little vague. XC racing bikes don't come with gel seats :o

I have no idea what you just said.

yeah, its that bad huh?

Judy TT's tend to be crappy forks..No adjustments at all, and the rebound dampening is so poor it's almost like having a pogo stick on the front of your bike. Your Norco sounds pretty good, unless you are a bike freak with the money to spare, I wouldn't get it. But if you do havethe dollars, get it and switch it to mono-cog...Singlespeed...

Ask a few more questions before I can give an opinion. It may well be a sweet ride. Kona has some tough bikes with good geometry for freeriding and trials. So it may work out. But without the name of the bike I can't help :)

Hey mountaindew find out the name of the bike and have a look at the MTB Review website. It will give you an idea about the price and the pros and cons of it.
Gordon P
:beer:

I'm with Mael., on this one. Comment witheld pending more information. I've known people buying sweet handmade frames and throw on some crap components on em.

You may have a jewel there, just don't know with the info. you've provided.

L8R

sorry for the info or lack thereof this guy is going through a wicked divorce so I kinda felt like I was grilling him about a bike he didn't know very much about. I just found out that its actually a titanium frame with a aluminum seat post. I asked him what the components were and he didn't know, he didn't even know where to look. I totally spaced about asking him the model (duh).
His friend who apparently works in a bike shop put his bike together and put on "the best stuff", not sure what that means but I will soon find out as I am going today to look at it.

Ti huh? sounds like the guy is tryin to hose you into buying the bike

You just muddied the waters. Kona hasn't made a Ti xc bike since 2001 I don't think. At least last year and this years had non. Platinum yes but no Ti. You need more info still before you can think about it. As for components. They are meaningless if the frame blows. I would rather a good frame with deore over crap with Xt :)

You guys forget that one of the attributes of Titanium is it's high Modulus of Elasticity and it's durability. Ti frames (if cared for) will outlast any steel or definately any Aluminum frame. Ti frames can be twice as expensive as similar frames of steel or alum. An old addage is, "when you buy ti, you buy no more" Ti frames are sweet, and strong. If you can get a deal on the bike, get it! Upgrade the components later.

BTW, what is he asking?

L8R

I was about to ask the same. If he is only asking a few hundred for it I would say go for it and use it as a training bike/fixer upper.

okay I brought my new bike home I looked at the Kona site and it looks like its actually a 2002 blast ALUMINUM frame. Oh, well I only paid 475 and the geometry seems way different than my Norco so its still pretty cool, I can do wheelies and bunny hop easier, so maybe I can get the form down on that bike. I'm kinda curious about the bike though becuase it has Henry Weinhards and their logo on their, its paint not a decal and it looks like Kona did it. Unless this guy totally BSed me and he is a really good artist and painted that on their then I think this bike is unique. Besides I can tell everyone that I'm sponsered by Henry Weinhards.:beer: :D

oh yeah, whoever said that judy tt's were crap thanks for the info its incredibly stiff and I can bottom it out also just by bouncing on it, I'm used to my plush marzocchi. It has some kind of preload twisty thing on their but I can't turn it, I know its a preload knob because it says it on the knob.

P.S. next time you guys have one of those forum oscar/grammy things I think there should be a section for bikeforum.net's stupidest bike buyer (me).

I recall that you can get an air/oil upgrade kit for the Judy/Jett forks that'll give you better damping. That said, I'm not sure it's worth the expense. I'd upgrade to a new fork.

I think Price Point or Cambria have some good deals on forks right now..