GeneralOsik
Kona Fan
I bought this bike almost exactly 3 years ago, for only $15, at my regular thrift store.
Here is the bike right before purchase, at the check out counter.
Here it is after I got it home. It was filthy, well used, and had some parts upgraded at some point. I immediately noticed the different wheels, I can only imagine the original front wheel was damaged in a crash. The Mogul Black Diamond was from '93, the M737 rear derailleur was from '94, as was the front wheel I think. The brake pads were hard, and the brake lever boots and ODI grips were so soft, they turned to mush in between my fingers, which is a shame, because I have never seen Attack grips in this color. The Ground Control tires were in OK condition, good for display, but I won't ride on them. The paint had faded, and looks less faded under where the stickers were applied. There was one Taya chain sticker and one Onza sticker on the top tube, and one Onza sticker on the down tube, all covering very small blemishes.
Here it is cleaned up and stripped of parts.
I was going to build the bike up with as many neon orange parts as I could find, since I don't like 3DV or Turq ano, or most flashy ano for that matter. The early 90's neon is more my style.
I found a matching Mogul, and some Maguras, even a Taper Lite, but after I started fitting parts, I realized that I was going in the wrong direction, and needed to find a more simple theme. I already have a '94 Marin Pine Mountain that I have fitted with my favorite fork, and my favorite cantis, and it's the perfect platform if I want to try out Maguras. I needed a simple 1991 high end bike, not an upgraded to 1994 standards bike like the previous owner did.
I stripped the bike back down, put the Moguls back together, and let the bike sit in my stand for a few weeks while I thought things over. In the meantime, I bought a matching Tange Big Super Fork, with a perfect length steer.
Over the next two years, I worked on other projects until I found the theme. I started sourcing Tioga parts, after I found a NOS black T-Bone seatpost in a rare 29.8mm size. The bike was already fitted with a Tioga headset and stem, and I just recently discovered the Tioga catalog from '92, as well as the video catalog that was posted in late 2020. After I realized they made a lot of neon orange accessories, as well as sleek black parts, I settled on an all black with subtle orange accents, courtesy of Tioga! I will be posting more about some of the parts that I have selected for the build in a little bit, after I clean them up and take some photos.
Here is the bike right before purchase, at the check out counter.
Here it is after I got it home. It was filthy, well used, and had some parts upgraded at some point. I immediately noticed the different wheels, I can only imagine the original front wheel was damaged in a crash. The Mogul Black Diamond was from '93, the M737 rear derailleur was from '94, as was the front wheel I think. The brake pads were hard, and the brake lever boots and ODI grips were so soft, they turned to mush in between my fingers, which is a shame, because I have never seen Attack grips in this color. The Ground Control tires were in OK condition, good for display, but I won't ride on them. The paint had faded, and looks less faded under where the stickers were applied. There was one Taya chain sticker and one Onza sticker on the top tube, and one Onza sticker on the down tube, all covering very small blemishes.
Here it is cleaned up and stripped of parts.
I was going to build the bike up with as many neon orange parts as I could find, since I don't like 3DV or Turq ano, or most flashy ano for that matter. The early 90's neon is more my style.
I found a matching Mogul, and some Maguras, even a Taper Lite, but after I started fitting parts, I realized that I was going in the wrong direction, and needed to find a more simple theme. I already have a '94 Marin Pine Mountain that I have fitted with my favorite fork, and my favorite cantis, and it's the perfect platform if I want to try out Maguras. I needed a simple 1991 high end bike, not an upgraded to 1994 standards bike like the previous owner did.
I stripped the bike back down, put the Moguls back together, and let the bike sit in my stand for a few weeks while I thought things over. In the meantime, I bought a matching Tange Big Super Fork, with a perfect length steer.
Over the next two years, I worked on other projects until I found the theme. I started sourcing Tioga parts, after I found a NOS black T-Bone seatpost in a rare 29.8mm size. The bike was already fitted with a Tioga headset and stem, and I just recently discovered the Tioga catalog from '92, as well as the video catalog that was posted in late 2020. After I realized they made a lot of neon orange accessories, as well as sleek black parts, I settled on an all black with subtle orange accents, courtesy of Tioga! I will be posting more about some of the parts that I have selected for the build in a little bit, after I clean them up and take some photos.
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Too late to go back and do another coat. I can barely notice it, and I've already rubbed through one other touch up, so I guess my blemishes on this bike have already begun! Whatever, it adds more character.
I intentionally set my stand next to my desk and in front of my projector, so I can sit and stare at it and think about how it's going to look, or how I might change things. This looks even better than I thought it would, and I'm so happy it's done!
