Scrubs up well

Thought I’d send in a picture of my bike and tell you all about it. The frame is getting on a bit now, I think it’s either a 1994 or a 1995 Kona Hei Hei. To see it you’d think it was much newer than that – it’s had several new sticker sets over the years and it always scrubs up well. Over the course of its life it’s had about five complete groupsets, four forks, and six sets of wheels…

I used to work in a bike shop and it was decked out with trick bits and XTR, but times have changed since then and I now have kids and a proper job so I’ve had to go for more cost conscious choices with the latest incarnation! The forks are 2000 SIDs and although they let in water badly they are light and do the trick for me as I’m an XC Jeyboy. For the winter months they come off and some rigids go on.

Wheels are X517s on Hope Ti-Glide hubs with skinny 1.7 Specialized tyres for the winter. The groupset is XT except for the cranks which are LX, they spin on a Hope Ti bottom bracket. I’ve gone for Maguras for braking. Not your obvious choice for XC use, but the guys I ride with are as interested in racing down every hill as they are with racing up them, so good stopping power is essential!

There’s a USE Alien post, and a cheap but light Nitrox saddle. In case you haven’t gathered, yes I’m a bit of a weight weenie. All of the bolts on the derailleurs and shifters (and anywhere else where it’s safe) have been replaced with aluminium ones, and I don’t have valve caps to save weight… Although weight watchers are often criticised for being too light or unreliable this bike has survived multiple trips to Wales and the Lakes, it’s been up and down Snowdon many times and punished in XC races its entire life – it always comes back for more.