As posted a few days ago in the "Show us your mountain bike" thread I managed to get hold of a Kona Caldera frame from eBay earlier in the week. In this thread I plan to show you lucky people how the build is going. It's not going to be quick as I'm planning on getting a good spec for as little as possible through eBay for a bit of a challenge 
This will mean taking my time and shopping around a bit but I'm in no hurry 
This is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me as I had an identical Caldera frame when I was about 16 as a replacement for a Hahanna I'd cracked
The frame was going to be replaced like for like but I decided to upgrade and put some cash in to get the Caldera. Anyway, here's the photo from the eBay advert:
Condition looks great in the photo's, hopefully it'll live up to expectations when it arrives in a week or so!
With the frame ordered I sat down and started having a browse of eBay auctions for other bits and pieces to try and work out what spec I wanted and how much it was likely to cost. I started with forks; I'd had P2's on my Hahanna but upgraded to Marzocchi Bomber Z1 BAM's when I moved to the Caldera frame. I already have a full sus enduro style bike in the garage so I figured I'd go down the short travel hardtail route. Z1's were going to have a little too much travel for what I had in mind but I quickly found some early Z2's going at a good price so snapped them up! They look slightly more abused than the frame but the stanchions are supposedly perfect which is a good sign for the internals. As luck would have it the colour looks like it will go quite nicely with the frame decals too
I've ordered a new headset and a used raceface stem too so I can assemble it when it all arrives for easier storage (or thats what I told myself...)!
Since I'd managed to get these items at relatively low cost I decided to roll the dice once more. By this time I'd decided that I'd be going with XTR bits (because why not?) and came across this little lot, hopefully arriving in a week or so.
I haven't actually checked the parts I've ordered to date actually go together... I could put any of it back on eBay and at least get my money back so I'm not overly concerned at this stage. If nothing else I'll learn something Bottom brackets seem to have gotten complicated since I last played with one ~15 years ago 
Used to be cup and cone or cartridge if you were posh
I'm watching some XTR V-brakes now - I'll grab them if the price stays low, otherwise I'll keep my eyes peeled for bargains at a later date. A mate suggested Magura's but they seem expensive for what they are - having had no experience of them I don't know if they're worth the extra money. Any thoughts?
I've not decided on wheels yet - my old bike had a mavic rim / hope titanium hub combo which would be lovely to recreate but my early browsing suggests these are now quite sought after and command a premium. I don't want to be paying over the odds for 'retro' parts so will bide my time and hope I can grab a bargain at some point
That's all for now - I'll post updates as bits start to arrive and assembly commences
This will mean taking my time and shopping around a bit but I'm in no hurry This is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me as I had an identical Caldera frame when I was about 16 as a replacement for a Hahanna I'd cracked
The frame was going to be replaced like for like but I decided to upgrade and put some cash in to get the Caldera. Anyway, here's the photo from the eBay advert:
Condition looks great in the photo's, hopefully it'll live up to expectations when it arrives in a week or so!
With the frame ordered I sat down and started having a browse of eBay auctions for other bits and pieces to try and work out what spec I wanted and how much it was likely to cost. I started with forks; I'd had P2's on my Hahanna but upgraded to Marzocchi Bomber Z1 BAM's when I moved to the Caldera frame. I already have a full sus enduro style bike in the garage so I figured I'd go down the short travel hardtail route. Z1's were going to have a little too much travel for what I had in mind but I quickly found some early Z2's going at a good price so snapped them up! They look slightly more abused than the frame but the stanchions are supposedly perfect which is a good sign for the internals. As luck would have it the colour looks like it will go quite nicely with the frame decals too
I've ordered a new headset and a used raceface stem too so I can assemble it when it all arrives for easier storage (or thats what I told myself...)!
Since I'd managed to get these items at relatively low cost I decided to roll the dice once more. By this time I'd decided that I'd be going with XTR bits (because why not?) and came across this little lot, hopefully arriving in a week or so.
I haven't actually checked the parts I've ordered to date actually go together... I could put any of it back on eBay and at least get my money back so I'm not overly concerned at this stage. If nothing else I'll learn something
Bottom brackets seem to have gotten complicated since I last played with one ~15 years ago Used to be cup and cone or cartridge if you were posh I'm watching some XTR V-brakes now - I'll grab them if the price stays low, otherwise I'll keep my eyes peeled for bargains at a later date. A mate suggested Magura's but they seem expensive for what they are - having had no experience of them I don't know if they're worth the extra money. Any thoughts?
I've not decided on wheels yet - my old bike had a mavic rim / hope titanium hub combo which would be lovely to recreate but my early browsing suggests these are now quite sought after and command a premium. I don't want to be paying over the odds for 'retro' parts so will bide my time and hope I can grab a bargain at some point
That's all for now - I'll post updates as bits start to arrive and assembly commences
They were advertised as good working order so hopefully the seller is reasonable about it - I have requested a partial refund to cover the cost of a new hub and will rebuild the wheel myself if they accept the proposition 
How much has it set you back so far?
It's certainly come together faster than I originally envisaged but I kept finding bargains 
