Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Our Reader’s Rig of the week comes from Isaiah Bridgemohan in Ontario, who shares his restored and repainted Kona Hahanna 26er. Find Isaiah’s story of falling in love with riding and his Hahanna backstory here…
Words and photos by Isaiah Bridgemohan
Hello there, my name is Isaiah, and I live in my hometown of Kitchener Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. I’m currently an undergraduate student studying environmental business at the University of Waterloo. However, most of my free time is dedicated to working on or riding bikes.
I’m lucky enough to say that my part-time job is as a bike mechanic. When I’m not at school or working, I ride bikes. I started mountain biking shortly before the pandemic, and since then, it’s taken over my life. When schools shut down, I spent my days building and riding jumps rather than doing schoolwork. I began trail riding but realized that I enjoy the jumping and trick aspect of riding the most. I now mainly ride dirt jumps, and since I live near a skatepark, I also ride a lot of skatepark. During my fall reading week last year, my friend Jody and I went on our first bikepacking trip. We strapped gear to our single-speed commuters and explored southern Ontario. Right away, I knew I wanted to continue doing this and needed a dedicated rig.
This rig used to be Jody’s winter beater that he was looking to get rid of. Seeing the potential, I decided this would be my next bikepacking rig. I had a few things in mind when planning this build. First, I wanted to build a bike that honored past mountain biking while showcasing how far the sport has progressed. Second, I wanted to incorporate my love of dirt jumping. What I love so much about dirt jumpers is how clean the bikes look, and for that reason, I knew I didn’t want a rack or panniers on my rig. Third, the rig was not being built for super long distances but rather for exploring and enjoying the ride. With that being said, here’s what I settled on.
This rig is a 1998 Kona Hahanna that I had powder coated to match Yeti Turquoise (in case you were wondering, RAL 5018 is the color match). I deliberated and collected parts for more than six months. Ultimately, I decided on Deity Components to bring my love of dirt jumping into the build. I love running high-rise bars on my dirt jumpers, so the logical choice for bars was the bikepacking equivalent: Surly Sunrise Bars. I’ve never been very picky about my groupset, so Shimano Deore was the obvious choice for value and performance. Finally, the Panaracer Smokes were an impulse purchase because they matched the vibe perfectly.
- Frame/Fork: Kona Hahanna w/ drilled original fork
- Rims: Alexrims DM-18
- Hubs: Shimano Deore
- Tires: Panaracer Smokes
- Handlebars: Surly Sunrise with Deity Supracush
- Headset: Original w/ Problem Solvers adaptor
- Crankset: Shimano Deore M5100
- Pedals: Shimano PD-EH500
- Cassette: Shimano Deore M4100 10-speed
- Derailleur(s): Shimano Deore M6000
- Brakes: Shimano Deore BR-T610
- Shifter(s): Shimano Deore M6000
- Saddle: Deity Speedtrap
- Seatpost: Unbranded
- Stem: Deity Copperhead 50mm
- Front bags: Aeroe Spider Handlebar Cradle, Widefoot Cage Mounts
- Frame bags: Blackburn Outpost
- Rear bags: Topeak Backloader 15L
- Accessory bags: Surly Moloko bag
- Other accessories: Bontrager Transmitr
Planning how I would carry my gear took the most time. The saddlebag carries my clothing and hammock tent. The fork bags carry my stove, food, and other camping essentials. The handlebar dry bag carries my sleeping bag (and underquilt for colder nights). Finally, the Moloko Bag carries my electronics, and the frame bag stores my tools and plenty of snacks!
This bike required a few “modifications.” Most notably, drilling and installing rivnuts to mount fork bag cages and realigning the brake posts by heating and bending them up. I also discovered that the Surly Moloko bag works very well when paired with Sunrise bars. I owe a massive shoutout to my friends Jack and Jody for all the help on this build and for being dumb enough to go on trips with me! Looking forward to many more adventures on this rig!
You can find more from Isaiah on Instagram.
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Further Reading
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