I am building my dream bike! Check description

About 10 months ago, I picked up this retro MTB— a Kona Koa— from Facebook Marketplace. It was in pretty good condition and came at a decent price(check the last picture). My goal was to upgrade it and build my dream bike, but I had two main rules:

1.  Use only second-hand parts.
2.  Do all the work myself.

I didn’t quite stick to the first rule (more on that later), but I fully succeeded in the second!

The Build (list of components at the bottom)

I replaced the entire cockpit:

• The bars and stem came from a guy on Facebook Marketplace, who told me they were from Specialized.

• From the same seller, I also picked up this purple Univega fork(he took it from an old frame), which happened to be a perfect fit for the frame.

• The grips are ODI, and I bought them from Amazon along with a new cassette.
Next, I wanted to convert it to a 1x drivetrain to follow the trend.

I started searching for a square-taper crankset that would work with one of the chainrings sold by Stridsland. I found a Deore LX crankset on DBA (Danish eBay), since my previous crankset was riveted and couldn’t be downgraded to a 1x setup (shoutout to r/xbiking people for helping me figure that out!).

Finally, I purchased the chainring, bolts, and stem cup along with the iconic RSDW sticker from the legendary Matias Stridsland.

The Final Touch

Two days ago, I finished building the bike myself at a community bike workshop in my city. While I was there, I found an amazing pair of Superstar Components pedals. In return, I gave them my old crankset and pedals.

The Experience

This project was such a rewarding experience. I learned a lot—not just from YouTube, but also from the community and the people I bought parts from. It’s amazing to see how much knowledge people are willing to share.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped along the way! If you love biking, I highly recommend taking on a project like this.

Ps: I still have a child dream to have MTB with disc brakes but this will be the next step for this bike.

And now for the list:

Frame & Fork:

• Frame: Kona Koa (retro MTB)
• Fork: Purple Univega (from Facebook Marketplace)

Cockpit:

• Handlebars: Specialized (from Facebook Marketplace)

• Stem: Specialized (from Facebook Marketplace)

• Grips: ODI (from Amazon)

• Stem cup: Stridsland

Drivetrain:

• Crankset: Shimano Deore LX (from DBA – Danish eBay)

• Chainring: Stridsland

• Chainring Bolts: Stridsland

• Cassette: 9 speed shimano (from Amazon)

others

• Saddle: Selle italia(took it from my previous road bike)

• Pedals: Superstar Components pedals (found at a community bike workshop)

• Kick stand: pletcher twin( got a Xmas present from my girlfriend)

• Stickers: RSDW from Stridsland and Comnadante(coffee grinder)