‘96 Kona Kilauea (was ‘95 “Kilueua”)

[arnomatic]

I recently picked this up off eBay listed under an incorrect spelling of Kilauea. I already have a retro MTB (a Giant Boulder 500) and don't really have the space to pick up another, but I've always loved the shapes of these classic Konas and couldn't turn down this deal!



The plan with this bike is unknown, but I am definitely going to ride it a lot once it's set up to my liking, have no fear. The paint job isn’t original and is missing a few decals. It’s shoddy in some spots so I'd like to redo this at some point. The frame/decal colours aren’t stock for any Kilauea but I really like the combo so would repaint it the same, but to a higher standard with all the decals in place (drive side doesn't even say 'Kilauea'!).



I managed to find some Project 2 forks for a good price on Gumtree and they’ve arrived today (it’s like Christmas in my flat). It turns out they’re threadless though, so having to decide what to do with them. They’d drop the head tube back down 50-60mm which is more true to the original spec, they also look fantastic so keen to make it work. I love the skinny velocity stem look, but going threadless opens up a lot of cockpit combinations for me. A lot of Konas on the site are still threaded, and I can't imagine how the bike will look using a different cockpit. If you have converted yours to threaded I'd like to hear your thoughts!



One issue I've discovered so far after a brief ride around the block is that the DS crank arm is either bent or installed wonky. It's hard to tell, but it causes the pedal to rotate inwards and outwards as you ride. I'll get my hands on a crank puller over the weekend to check this out.

Let me know if you have any information, advice, knowledge. This is my first time using Retrobike, so thanks for reading! Enjoy the bike

 

[Canuckbiker]

Very nice find! I've got a 93' and love it. Nice work sourcing a P2 so you can dial the stock geometry back in. I just checking and looks like Kona started using threadless on the Kilauea in 97', pretty basic looking stem used:


Plenty of fancier options, Syncros Cattlehead comes to mind.

Be nice if you could source the proper rear brake cable guide but only if you plan to go cantys. At the very least possibly look for a single cable stop clamp if you stick with V's rather than the current triple with only one stop used.

I look forward to seeing get you crankset sorted and where you go with this

 

[M_Chavez]

Send them project twos to me. I'll dispose of them safely for you

 

[arnomatic]

Cranks removed today, BB buttery smooth and straight as far as I can tell. Held the rings against a straight line and could see that the crank wasn't parallel. New cranks on the list then!

Rode the bike around town for an hour or so last night and found the stem much too long, it puts you very far over the front wheel. So while I love the way it looks. A more modern shorter solution is the way I'll be going with this.

Mock up of P2s in the frame, just need to source headset, stem and bars to make this work. I do like the look with the suspension, but this is probably more suited to my style of riding.



Regarding the cable guide, I misread your comment @Canuckbiker and got excited about the spare dog collar from a Fire Mountain I recently picked up from a jumble. Went to install and realised V-brakes don't play well with this style of guide. Trawled the forum for some potential solutions and came up with this temporarily. It barely works, if anyone has a better idea let me know! Or if anyone has the right guide I'd be very interested.

 

[Canuckbiker]

Looking much better to my eyes with the P2, regarding the cable stop, you could use one with a single stop rather than three, it’ll look cleaner, something like this

 

[arnomatic]

Looking much better to my eyes with the P2, regarding the cable stop, you could use one with a single stop rather than three, it’ll look cleaner, something like this
View attachment 653634

In a moment of genius (an MTBR forum post from 2004) I used a barrel adjuster from a derailleur as the bolt to tighten the collar, giving me a cable stop for the rear brake! A couple of mm off the housing and the brake works great. Without fully tightening the collar, pulling on the brake actually self oriented the collar to it's correct working angle. Very chuffed.

 

[Canuckbiker]

Wow, what a great idea, looks very clean

 

[albash82]

Haha, I made this mod to my '94 lava dome back in '96/'97, when I fitted a set of original xt v's.

Great find by the way. Looks like a 19" frame?
How long is the steerer on that P2? I've a couple of 19"s and always look for 200mm to be safe

 

[arnomatic]

Haha, I made this mod to my '94 lava dome back in '96/'97, when I fitted a set of original xt v's.

Great find by the way. Looks like a 19" frame?
How long is the steerer on that P2? I've a couple of 19"s and always look for 200mm to be safe

Brilliant! The brake guide mod is good, although looks a bit sketchy up close. I might have a look at 3D printing an alternative, unless there's something cleaner on the market.

The P2 has 220mm of steerer. With a 19" frame I have a good amount of stack to play with while I get the position just right! Which leads me on to my next post...

 

[arnomatic]

The fake 'King' headset I picked up for this bike was passed through my window by my friendly post man Jason yesterday. It's arrival meant I could fit the project two forks and begin to think about a new bar and stem setup.

I went down to Wickes looking for threaded rod and a section of pipe to DIY my headset removal/installation tools but found neither and came home with a pair of carriage bolts and part of a clothes rail I found in a skip on the way home. Clothes rail headset tool crumpled after 5 minutes of relentless bashing so I broke out the big guns and cut up the original seatpost from my Giant which was probably 3 times the thickness.

The headset cups (painted over) came out and revealed bits of white and black paint underneath. I've been in touch with the original owner today to ask if he'd painted the silver over the original white without stripping the paint, and he told me that the silver is on top of a black paint job, which is over the original white! Three paint jobs on this frame. The temptation to sand the whole thing back just to reveal what's going on under there is more tempting that ever now.

Carriage bolts worked like a dream and the headset went in perfectly. Forks in, carbon spacers on and stem fitted brings this bike into the 21st century. Needless to say that this whole cockpit setup is temporary and I am looking to change it ASAP once I've got a feel for position and feel. I'm currently looking at silver risers (spank spoon or similar) and a short, slim stem. The original Velocity stem looks sooo good with the frame, and the idea of getting something custom made with similar aesthetics in mind is tickling me.

I think the bike looks great with the slimmer fork, and the frame has dropped back down to it's original position. Still to get more that 20 minutes of dawdling around the block on it, but so far it's feeling smooth and lovely. Next steps are cockpit, or paint.