# The best way to upgrade an old Kona Stinky



## aevanlloyd (Oct 3, 2008)

I recently acquired a 05 Kona Stinky. It appears to be all stock parts and components. I have only $300 invested and I would like to spend another $700 or less to get it into a more up to date condition. Do you have any ideas for upgrades? I've noticed the new DH bikes have a better chain guard. I also want to upgrade the brakes, discs, seat and possibly the drive system. If you have any ideas on how to revitalize an old Stinky, let me hear them. 

I will only ride this bike on occasion, so a total investment of around a grand would be ideal. There is no way I want to spend $2-4K on a newer DH bike. Not unless I really fall in love with DH riding. 

Thanks for your help.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

don't upgrade just to upgrade....there are tons of things you can do....if it is a part time bike then keep it that way...let things break and then replace them...why bother with a new chain guide when you already have one...yeah the new ones are lighter but are they worth the 100 to 175 bucks to replace...probably not....take a pic of bike if you are set in stone about replacing stuff

first thing I would do is spend about 150 on each the shock and fork and have them overhauled with oil changes....that to me is the most important

and If you have old hayes brakes...they work fine...again don't blow money just to upgrade


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

I'm still using the old Hayes brakes off my 02 m1. I think they are also 2002 brakes. They stop me when I need to be stopped, I like how they work. I can't see spending $300 for newer brakes that also stop me. 

What fork and shock are on there? Easiest way to make a bike feel better is upgrade (if needed) the suspension and have it tuned for your riding.

Posting pics will help.


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## SV11 (Jan 2, 2011)

$700 won't get you far at all. Stock Stinky's are usually specced with low end components. Is your fork a drop off triple? There is no point in spending the money on the suspension you have, you won't notice much if you get them serviced. You can send your shok to push to get overhauled, you will notice a difference there. I would just replace components as they break. 
If you are set on upgrading your stinky, I would start with the wheels/tyres.


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## Evan Lloyd (Oct 15, 2011)

My two biggest complaints are 1 the chain falls off a lot. 2. The breaks are embarrassingly loud. If I could fix those two I'd be pretty happy. The suspension seems fine for now. I'm not pushing it too hard just yet.


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## SV11 (Jan 2, 2011)

Evan Lloyd said:


> My two biggest complaints are 1 the chain falls off a lot. 2. The breaks are embarrassingly loud. If I could fix those two I'd be pretty happy. The suspension seems fine for now. I'm not pushing it too hard just yet.


Both are easy fixes, but you are going to have to give us a bit more so we can help you. What brakes are you using? Probably just needs a bleed and/or pad change.
When does you're chain fall off, while on a dh run, changing gears, or just coasting along? You probably need to mess around with your limit screws on the rear/front der. You're chain should not fall off if you have a chain guide installed properly.


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## aevanlloyd (Oct 3, 2008)

SV11 said:


> Both are easy fixes, but you are going to have to give us a bit more so we can help you. What brakes are you using? Probably just needs a bleed and/or pad change.
> When does you're chain fall off, while on a dh run, changing gears, or just coasting along? You probably need to mess around with your limit screws on the rear/front der. You're chain should not fall off if you have a chain guide installed properly.


The breaks make an awful noise when you ride at any speed. I think the disc may be bent. The chain falls off at random times. Sometimes while pedaling, other times while coasting. I expect any chain can fall off on real bumpy terrain, but mine falls off a lot. I'm sure it may be an easy fix as well. I've had the bike into two different shops and neither one could fix the breaks or the chain.


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## drastic. (Nov 22, 2010)

get organic pads. they are quieter than semi-mets or sintered.

check if your rotor is bent. if it is. gently pry on the area that is bent. it may not be bent, and just has dust and pad material on the rotor that needs to be scuffed off. use some sandpaper and carb cleaner and clean your rotors.

if the bike shop cant adjust a derailleur, then they need to close up. you most likely need a derailleur adjustment.

if i had 700-1000$, i would get a used rc4 ($200) shock, and a used domain CR fork (150-200, entry level, but a good fork for beginners getting into fr/dh), and itll make riding a lot more fun. suspension is such a big role in how a bike performs.

w/ the left over $, you can buy used Avid elixer brakes for like $200, they are strong enough where you may never need another brake again. if you want cheaper, juicy's are ok, and im sure stronger than what you got. can get a used set CHEAP.


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## SV11 (Jan 2, 2011)

aevanlloyd said:


> I've had the bike into two different shops and neither one could fix the breaks or the chain.


Any bike shop worth it's salt, should of been able to remedy them situations without much difficulty. The der hanger probably need aligning, bike shops have tools to help take care of this, or the der hanger needs replacing, again bike shops can help you out with this. If a bike shop can not adjust a derailleur, I would seriously avoid them bike shops. 
As for the brakes, pick the front of the bike up, spin the front wheel, if the rotor catches the pads on one part, then the rotor is warped. If the pads drag on the rotor, then it needs a bleed.

You would be surprised on how much of the bike you can work on yourself. There are many helpful tutorials on youtube that make it easier.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

If your local bike shop can't figure it out ....they are not the place to take your bike too

things that make chains fall of

bent cogs
bent chain rings
old bent or stretched chain
improperly mounted chain guides (not adjusted right)

process of elimination

start with.....adjust chainguide tight on both sides to chain rings

1) check to see if derailer hanger is strait

2)measure chain for growth (stretching)

3)spin chain slowly with bike upside down.....is any links bent? or jumping because the link doesn't move)

4)take chain off and look for bent or missing teeth in chain rings and then rear cog (is there excessive wear...

if yes to 2, 3 or 4 ...then* replace chain, cassett and chainrings*)


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## eurospek (Sep 15, 2007)

How much did you pay for your Stinky?

To get my younger brother (high school sophomore) into biking last year, I picked up a 2005 Stinky down state in IL at a pawn shop. Thing looked mint, barely used, ended up paying $650. My brother was stoked as he wanted a FS bike, one that could stand some abuse, and more importantly the price was good for a first bike too.

He likes the Stinky a lot, survived many crashes and still keeps going. And he didn't break anything on it yet, thing is built like a tank.

BUT it was plagued with both of your problems, his brakes were quite embarrassing whenever he used them, they howled and screeched, like a turkey gobble amplified times 100. He didn't mind it and I couldn't stand it. Although the brakes are quite powerful and I would have to say they stop much harder than my Shimano SLX 209/180 brakes, I too looked for a cheap fix.

It came in the form of running 203mm Avid rotors that came on a wheelset that he bought for it, he wanted white rims and I found him a set of Atomlab Pimplites on Pinkbike, along with a new 11-34 cassette and 2 sets of rotors, 203 and 180 Avids. The stock Hayes rotors did have a miniscule wobble to them when turning so they were most likely culprit for the noise. I also readjusted the calipers and he's still on the stock pads. Zero noise now! :thumbsup:

He also had dropped chains constantly whenever he shifted wrong, the terrain got bumpy, or even at random times. The LBS said the drivetrain didn't look too bad, nothing was bent, proper chainline and length as well. I had them install the BB mounted Blackspire Stinger chainguide (couldn't hurt to try for $20 vs a dedicated chain guide for $100+) and since then, zero chain drops and the chain doesn't bounce around as much as well.

I also sold the stock stem and handlebar for something lighter and wider, Truvativ Holzfeller 50mm stem and Gravity Lite Wide bars cut down to 745mm. Ditched the stock pedals for some white Kona Wah Wahs too. Stock saddle is also gone in favor of a WTB Pure V. Didn't lose a lot of weight there, but everything that was replaced was lighter.

Although not shown in the pic below, the stock tires were kinda heavy too and replaced with Maxxis Ardents 2.4. And the stock Maxxis heavy duty tubes weighed a ton, replaced with regular bigger volumes tubes and zero problems there.

And the last component that I hope to replace on his bike is the horrible POS Marzocchi Triple Drop-Off fork. No matter what PSI you run in each leg, the fork still feels like crap, dives way too easily, and if you set it to a lower PSI, it rattles like a mofo. Also clunks on top out as well. And it weighs like a boat anchor, close to 7 lbs I've read online. And since I'm building myself a 29er over winter, I'll be replacing his fork with my 2011 Fox Float 36 R off my Transition TransAM. He'll drop close to 3 lbs off the bike with it, and more importantly gain a functioning fork.

Here it is:


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

OP, post a pic of your bike...


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## aevanlloyd (Oct 3, 2008)

Moosey said:


> OP, post a pic of your bike...


Here are some photos I took of the bike


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## eurospek (Sep 15, 2007)

Yeah, that's a 2004 Stinky. Not 2005.

https://www.klassickona.com/oldgold/2004/stinky.jpg

I posted a 2005.


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## mtbnozpikr (Sep 1, 2008)

I agree with SMT with regard to the suspension rebuild. I have worked on Marzocchi suspension myself and feel that it is extremely easy to do. Seals are readily available and their website is helpful and has oil levels broken down by year and fork. Also they are very good if indeed you need to call them. If you take it into a shop to get it rebuilt, they will charge you a lot. I'm not sure how savvy you are with a wrench but if it was me, I would be doing it myself. It should only take a couple of hours and make your fork feel like new again.


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## SV11 (Jan 2, 2011)

mtbnozpikr said:


> I agree with SMT with regard to the suspension rebuild. I have worked on Marzocchi suspension myself and feel that it is extremely easy to do. Seals are readily available and their website is helpful and has oil levels broken down by year and fork. Also they are very good if indeed you need to call them. If you take it into a shop to get it rebuilt, they will charge you a lot. I'm not sure how savvy you are with a wrench but if it was me, I would be doing it myself. It should only take a couple of hours and make your fork feel like new again.


Are you guys serious? Them forks are worth around 150 if not less. You don't service forks like that, here's the reason. It doesn't make a single difference whether you service them or not. I have been through it. I had my LBS service some very low range forks, not a single difference. I even confronted the workers and asked what they did to it because it was the same as when I bought it in to the shop. Next time I did the servicing myself, again, it did not make a single difference. The reason SMT said that is because the OP did not mention what forks he had. And my forks were 888's!!


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## HungarianBarbarian (Jul 24, 2008)

It looks like your issue is running a single front ring with a guide that is designed to be used with 2 rings and a front derailleur. Putting a front derailleur or upper chain guide on should solve that problem. You might even get away with using one of these:








N-Gear Jump Stop Chain Guide at JensonUSA.comN-Gear Jump Stop Chain Guide at JensonUSA.com

If your brakes work well except for the noise I would look at replacing the pads and possibly the discs.
Your cassette looks pretty good so for the drivetrain probably just check the chain, chainring, bearings, and cables.

I would recommend you spend $100 now to fix the brakes and chainguide, ride it for a while, then if you still want to spend more sell it for $400 and get a $1000 used bike.


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## Moosey (May 18, 2010)

I'd look into a new stem, new shock, and a new fork... for the fork and shock look used...


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

SV11 said:


> The reason SMT said that is because the OP did not mention what forks he had. And my forks were 888's!!


yes I said it without knowing fork, but for his budget a new fork ain't going to make budget...but an oil change is cheap. ...if he rode it all the time then buy a * USED* fork...but he won't ride this all the time, so just change oil...even with a not top of the line fork and oil change does wonders


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## schlockinz (Feb 6, 2009)

Clean the brakes and rotors, may get rid of some howl.

You could probably pick up a good set of 2006 66RC or 888 for cheap. The forks are stupid simple, but I'm not sure that there is any gain over thee triple (or you could get a new 66rc3 ti evo from hucknroll).

Other than that, ride the snot out of it.


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