2012 Kona Honzo

I had been looking to build another bike however I wanted to build something a little unique and fun. I researched a few All mountain hardtails Hona, Transition, Yelli etc. I was looking for steel but, would settle for aluminum.

I knew I wanted a slacker head tube angle for down hill stability, a short wheelbase or chainstays for sanppy handling and a generous standover for some room. So I put together a comparison chart of selected frame geometry. I used the bike I had already built as a comparison base the gravity p4. So began my search. I looked up retail prices for frame only of the bikes in the comparison list to get an idea of what It would cost. I really wanted the Yelli even though the top tube had an odd shape I thought it gave the bike character. I started searching and found one on Ebay however for some reason I got tight and wouldn't bid over 270.00... well lost that one for 5 bucks. As I continued to research all these frames I learned I was on the right track. These frames would be ideal any one of them for what I was looking for. I found a 2012 Kona Honzo frame on PinkBike. It was used and in really good shape plus it came with the headset and seatpost collar. After haggling back and forth a bit a deal was made.

Gravity point 4 build update

Build update - Made some changes to the build and lost 2 pounds. See specs below

 Kitchen shot

 A little help from my friend!

On the trail!

Gravity 29er build spec's
Type	Brand	Model	Weight	pct. Of weight
Front End
Fork	Rock shox	Recon Silver TK 29er 100mm	4.5	16.52%
Stem	Azonic	Barreta	0.562	2.06%
Handlebar	Spank	Spoon	0.727	2.67%
Grips	ODI	TLD Lock on	0.25	0.92%
Shift Levers	Shimano	Deore	0.2	0.73%
Front end etc. total			6.239	22.90%
Frame
Saddle	Sette	Amp	0.529	1.94%
Frame	Gravity	29er	4.1	15.05%
Headset	Crane Creek	Zero 10	0.145	0.53%
Seatclamp	KCNC	QR	0.05	0.18%
Seatpost	Easton	XA70	0.6	2.20%
Water bottle holder	Black Burn	competition	0.1	0.37%
Frame Total			5.524	20.27%
Drive Train
Pedals	VP Comp	VP001	0.776	2.85%
Chain	Sram	PC 951	0.7	2.57%
Chainrings	RaceFace	Single Speed 34t	0.1	0.37%
Bash Guard	Race Face	Light	0.209	0.77%
Bottom Bracket	FSA	Mega XO	0.9	3.30%
Crankset	FSA	Gravity	2	7.34%
Drive Train etc. total			4.685	17.19%
Front Wheel
Front Tire	Continental	XKING 2.2	1.499	5.50%
Tube frt	Tubeless	stans	0.125	0.46%
Front Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	3.30%
Front Wheel	Easton	EA70XC	1.9	6.97%
Front wheel etc. total			4.424	16.24%
Rear Wheel
Rear Tire	Continental	RKING	1.65	6.06%
Tubes rr	Tubeless	Stans	0.125	0.46%
Cassette	Shimano	SLX CS-HG-61 29er Cassette	0.7	2.57%
Rear Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	3.30%
Rear Wheel	Easton	EA70XC	2.4	8.81%
Rear Derailleur	Shimano	SLX	0.6	2.20%
Rear end etc. total			6.375	23.40%
Total			27.247	100.00%

I was thinking about converting from 9 speed to 10 speed

When I built up my 29er I moved my 11-34 9 speed cassette over from my 26er bike. I noticed that my granny wasn't as granny as I thought with the big hoops. I converted my setup to a 1 x 9 which was perfect for simplification and the trails I ride. I was considering going to a 1 x 10 setup mainly for the granny gear then I discovered the 29er specific 9 speed cassette. It gave me the granny gear I was looking for and saved me hundreds of dollars in switching to a 10 speed drive train. The 10 speed cassette provides a higher gear but, that isn't relevant to me.


Front Ring 34T rear 12-36t Cassette

Shimano HG61 9 Speed Cassette 12-36t

Shimano Deore HG62 10 Speed Cassette 11-36t

Where the weight is on your 29er

29er build spec's
Type	Brand	Model	Weight	pct. Of weight	Notes
Frame	Gravity	Point	4.18	13.69%	Bike Island
Bottom Bracket	FSA	Mega XO		0.00%	incl in crank set
Stem	Truvativ	Hussefelt 60mm stem	0.7	2.29%
Handlebar	Easton	XC70	0.3	0.98%
Seatpost	Easton	XA70	0.6	1.97%
Chainrings	RaceFace	Single Speed 34t	0.1	0.33%
Cassette	Shimano	SLX CS-HG-61 29er Cassette	0.7	2.29%	12/36t
Front Tire	Continental	MKII 2.4	1.8	5.90%
Rear Tire	Continental	MKII 2.4	1.8	5.90%
Crankset	FSA	Gravity	2.9	9.50%	removed poly bash and granny. Using race face bash alum
Tube frt	Slime	29 x 2.2	0.9	2.95%
Tubes rr	Slime	29 x 2.2	0.9	2.95%
Fork	Rock shox	Recon Silver TK 29er 100mm	4.8	15.72%
Rear Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	2.95%
Front Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	2.95%
Rear Wheel	Shimano M525 Disc	Mavic A317 29Er Wheels	5.4	17.69%
Front Wheel	Shimano M525 Disc	Mavic A317 29Er Wheels		0.00%	incl w/rear wheel
Shift Levers	Shimano	Deore	0.2	0.66%
Pedals	Wellgo	LU-A52	1	3.28%
Chain	Sram	PC 951	0.7	2.29%
Rear Derailleur	Shimano	SLX	0.6	1.97%
Saddle	WTB	Speed V	0.9	2.95%
Grips	ODI	TLD Lock on	0.251	0.82%
Total			30.531	100.00%