# Kona A'ha with Nexus 4 Speed



## KickAss (May 30, 2009)

Hi,
I just had the rear triangle stretched for the nexus hub, and when I got on it, the higher gears are killing me!
the front sprocket is stock 40T, the Nexus Hub sprocket is 16 or 18, I can't remember what the mechanic told me. If you know what the stock Nexus 4 Speed sprocket is I would appreciate the info,,,,,He said I should swap out the rear sprocket for a 21T so it performs properly. Does that sound right? I found them at sheldonbrown, so I just want to make sure I get the right sprocket, I live in Florida, flat, 99% street cruising, no hills., unless a bridge, haha. anyway, I want to make sure I get the best size rear sprocket to get the best performance from that hub.

I am also looking for some old school bmx/cruiser bars, ie, redline/s&m/hutch/powerlite etc,,will my stem work on those bars, it's the stock stem, fork mounted, no grooves, 1 1/8 inch

Thanks


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## Welsh Dave (Jul 26, 2005)

We need pictures of the A'ha.
NOW. :thumbsup:

I have one and loooove it (though it's a bit of a porker).

Nexus4 gear ratios:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/seven_speed.html#nexus4

Internal gearing calculator:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/internal.html

For bars:
No, the standard stem (the grey Kona one) won't fit BMX bars, as the bar diameter is too narrow in the center. MTB bars bulge in the center at the stem clamp area. You might find a shim though, to snug up the BMX bars in a MTB stem. See if Sheldon has one listed?

I have the chrome S&M BMX cruiser bars on my A'ha with a threadless 1&1/8 inch BMX stem clamped onto the fork. Fantastic bars.

http://www.bmxultra.com/reviews/sandm_575_cruiser_handlebars.htm


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## KickAss (May 30, 2009)

Thanks Dave!
I will post some pics soon,,,,. 
I have cruiser bars with the stock kona stem, and I have been looking for bars like the VDC cruiser bars, but forget that, you can't find them anymore and if you did they'd cost 1,000,,,ridiculous. I have also been considering the skull skates bars, they are similiar to the VDC old school crusier bars and are 65.00,,,,
I was looking at some se powerwing bars, that are 27.5" wide with an 8" rise, assuming I'll have to change the stem, do you think those bars are too high?
I don't like leaning down and forward, but i don't want "ape hangers" either.
which stem did you go with?
kona makes a "bmxish" stem with no rise, here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OEM-Kona-OB-60mm-x-31-8-x-1-1-8-stem_W0QQitemZ140330298616QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item20ac566cf8&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|293%3A1|294%3A50

I don't know the conversion for the clamp/bar spacing

Thanks man!
Charles


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## KickAss (May 30, 2009)

ok, I just scooped up an S&M ******* Limited Edition Patriot stem, to go with the stars and bars, nice,,,,,
just need some bars now, and I'd like some new tires, I have the original Kona scratch and sniff tires on her now,,,,I was looking at the hutchinson pythons


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## forwardcomponents (Dec 2, 2008)

KickAss said:


> ok, I just scooped up an S&M ******* Limited Edition Patriot stem, to go with the stars and bars, nice,,,,,
> just need some bars now, and I'd like some new tires, I have the original Kona scratch and sniff tires on her now,,,,I was looking at the hutchinson pythons


Hutchinson Pythons are sweet tires. At low pressure they mold themselves to every contour, and roll very fast due to their minimal blocks, thin sidewalls and kevlar beads. The only downside is that the sidewalls are easily cut. Watch out for sharp rocks. Even with a serious cut, I have patched one of them from the inside and ridden it untill the treads are worn. I have only used the 2.0 size, not the 2.3 size.


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## Welsh Dave (Jul 26, 2005)

*Aha Inspiration*

The Skull Skates bars seem great - Nice old school shape.
But the S&Ms are a little narrower at the bottom, so I went with those.
I prefer the look slightly and the narrower bottom part is a bit more "knee-friendly".

Re. stem: Mine's a generic 4-bolt BMX type. 1/18th clamp-on. And, of course, the bar clamp fits the S&M BMX bars, so no shims etc. needed.

Re. 8 inch bars: Yeah, I'd say they might be a bit too tall. I *think* my S&M bars are the 6-inch ones. With a zero-rise stem they're a bit too tall. Might rotate them forwards and down a touch. Even small changes make a big difference to ride position.

There's a slightly flatter 5.75 S&M version, which might be better - But most of us don't have the luxury of trying before buying.

If you want inspiration for pimping the Aha, try the Cook Bros section at BMX Museum.

There are probably 20+ obvious differences between the 2 frames, but there's no denying the Aha is basically a CBR clone, so this page will give you some rough ideas of how the Aha might look with different set-ups.

https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/cooks_brothers/

A crappy picture of my Aha:









Cheers.


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## KickAss (May 30, 2009)

Nice Welsh Dave!
I took your advice and did some eyeball comparing, and you're right about the Cook Bros similarities, cool although I wish my A'ha was worth 6k, heheh, it is to me though.

I am still fishing around for bars, I missed out on two Kos Kruiser bars, because I won't pay 105.00 for bars, not yet, damnit! I might just go with the Skull Skates bars, I don't know,,,I don't have the luxury of trying before buying either,,,

I do know that I need space on the bars for the nexus shifter AND a hand brake, so my search still continues.

I *will* have my wife take some pics of the "Love Bike" for me, I can't figure out her super duper rebel digital blah blah fancy camera.

Thanks,
Charles


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