[GFKaitai]

Hello all,
Im new here, I recently re-discovered my love for mountain biking and I'm looking forward to a long spring, summer, and fall, of riding the trails here in NY. I have a late 90's kaitai prob a 97 I cant remember although I bought it new. I freaking love this bike. Its the copper color pretty much all stock. I did put a rock shox judy xc on it years ago. Im happy with the shock but I want to start upgrading it. Drivetrain, disc brakes, rims/tires, I like the gripshift. I love the geometry of this bike, the fat welds. Its a great all around bike, it climbs and accelerates nice. Thanks for any advice!!

 

[gabe23]

How much are you looking to spend and what's your goal? Does the bike have problems now or is it not capable of doing what you need it to do? Disc brakes are going to be a headache since neither the frame or fork will support them right now. You can have a rear disc adapter welded on or some universal bolt-on adapters are available. But you'd still need to get a new fork with disc mounts as well as new wheels. V-brakes work fine and just freshening up yours would save you quite a bit of dough. Lots of options for drivetrain depending on your budget and needs. Same with tires. Just be aware that you can probably buy a new entry level bike for about what you will end up spending to retrofit this one. One option would be to buy a newer donor bike off Craigslist and cannibalize some parts to put on your Katai.

FYI, Bikepedia lists the 1998 model as 'Ice Orange', so that's probably your year.