1992 Fire Mountain commuter - it's in bits

[Ghosty]

So - my first retro build is well under way, and it's about time I put up a thread about it. Going to be using retro parts where possible, but newer/higher-end parts than a Fire Mountain would have, likely an LX/XT blend.

I bought the bike as a frame, fork, seatpost and stem from videojetman/Jeff on here a couple of weeks ago, along with the XT mechs.
Took it home and the first thing I did was stick on a Charge Spoon as it was the ideal colour, swiped off my Raleigh road bike I'm not really using at the moment, that now has its original seat again. The seat set me on a green/black theme for the whole bike.

That left me with this:



Fast forward to now, and after a lot of browsing eBay and the for sale forum I have this:

Came along more quickly than I'd have expected!

What you see:
'92 Fire Mountain frame
P2 fork
Velocity stem
Easton EA50 flatbar
ODI Cross Trainer lock-on grips
black STX brake levers
Deore thumbies
custom colour/limited Charge Spoon saddle
XT M737 front mech
XT M739 rear mech
black Mavic 719 rims on black Deore hubs with black spokes
XT front skewer
unknown Shimano rear skewer - light, whatever it is
Michelin City tyres in 26x1.4 (came with the wheels).

Frame: 1992 Kona Fire Mountain 18"

Fork: P2

Headset: ???
Stem: Velocity
Handlebar: Easton EA50 alu flatbar
Grips: ODI X-Trainer
Barends: n/a

Brakes: LX M560
Brake Pads: ???
Brake Cables: SRAM Jagwire
Cantilever cable hangers: generic
Brake Levers: XT M733 SLRs

Shifters: Deore MT62 thumbies
Front Derailleur: XT M737
Rear Derailleur: XT M739
Derailleur Cables: SRAM Jagwire
Cassette: Shimano HG41
Chain: Shimano something
Cranks: LX M560
Crank Bolts: ???
Chainrings: LX M560
Chainring bolts: LX M560
Bottom Bracket: UN55
Pedals: black VPs
Hub Skewers: 1x XT, 1x Deore
Rims: front Mavic XM719, rear Mavic XM317
Hubs: Deore M510
Nipples: ???
Spokes: front black DT, rear ???
Tyres: Michelin City 1.4
Tubes: ???

Saddle: Charge Spoon in fluro green and black
Seatpost: ???
Seatpost Binder: some sort of QR

Weight: ???

 

[jonthefish]

Re: '92 Fire Mountain restomod

I like it. The Spoon looks good on there and the yellow and white decals on the Velocity stem sit very comfortably.

Have said it before, but I like to see these 'not looking for concours prize or bike of month' builds.

What frame size? Stem looks long given saddle height but maybe its angles of pics. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses. Enjoy : )

 

[Ghosty]

Re: '92 Fire Mountain restomod

Thanks! I agree, things are made to be used: what's the point of making a concours build, you'd just be too worried about scratches and such.

It's an 18", but it's not the original stem - I remember Jeff mentioning having to buy it from America? Don't know too much about the Velocity so I can't tell if it's a Sport or not. It feels okay to me, but I suspect the photo angle isn't helping matters.

 

[JohnAcrossPond]

Re:

Looking good so far.

I happen to have a 1992 Fire Mountain that I bought....new. The bike never got much in the way of upgrades. I did replace the original (steel) handlebars with a scott AT-4; it was a bit odd that while at college there were about 5000 bikes, only three green Fire Mountains including mine and all three ended up using AT-4 bars.

The stem that's supposed to be on the Fire Mountain is the velocity sport. I think the difference is it's a bit shorter and has a higher rise, whereas the regular velocity was more of a 90 degree bend.

This is the stem on my bike.


The original seat has a bit of yellow that balances with the yellow part of the stem/forks/tires.


I think I would get some yellow anodized chainring bolts if using an all black crankset.

BTW, the seatpost clamp is on backwards, or did you mean to do that?

The Exage 300 LX groupset was not exactly the best, durable sure, but heavy, I think the bike weighs in at over 31 pounds. The plastic cantilever brakes were effective but not....sought after, I never had problems with them but some people snapped them. The all steel chainrings in 30/40/50 were enough to be pretty quick on pavement, but it took effort with the Max/Reaction knobby tires whirring away. I think your idea to upgrade is the right way to go, you probably don't really want the original stuff.

 

[Ghosty]

Re: '92 Fire Mountain restomod

Thanks!

The paint on your bike has survived a lot better than mine - it's faded to an almost olive colour.

It's hard to tell, but it looks like I have a Velocity and not a Sport - mine is certainly right angled:



I used to have a Turbo saddle that would have suited the build perfectly, black smooth leather with yellow decals and red/yellow Selle stitching. It ended up being put on, and being sold on a Peugeot road bike last year. Still, the Spoon suits in its own way.

As for the cranks - I've got some black LXs on the way from The History Man (if my PayPal isn't playing up), but the rings are silver. I didn't want all black as I think it'd look a bit too much like it was standard 300LX or something else cheap. They should look okay and match the XT mechs, and the black/silver LX cantis I've just added:



Not far left to go!



The flatbar on the Charge fixie in this picture is a Renthal RC130 in blue that I was given amongst few other bits with the Kona's fuselage as it had a cracked end from an overtorqued barend. Seemed a shame to throw it out so I hacksawed and filed the ends of it, and it's now sitting on the Charge with an (upside down) BMX lever and a bell waiting for some white grips (and a rear innertube, after 4 punctures in one go).

 

[The History Man]

Re: '92 Fire Mountain restomod

Nice. So this is it.

Can't beat a steel kona.

 

[Ollie]

Re: '92 Fire Mountain restomod

Very fine example .

 

[JohnAcrossPond]

Re:

Nice, with Black LX arms and silver rings it'll be the opposite of what it came with.



I like those brakes, much better than the originals. Having a velocity stem rather than a sport is only a plus.

What are you going to do with the grease fitting on the bottom bracket?

 

[Ghosty]

Re: 1992 Fire Mountain restomod

I don't really like the look of silver arms!

Ah, the Greasealer... I'd noticed the grease nipple, it seems to hold a cable guide in for the mechs too. I put a low-end Shimano bb that was lying around in to test fit (plastic cup? No thanks), and it fit in without any problems as the greaser wasn't protruding in that far, so it seems I could be okay - who knows. I don't know if any previous owners have done anything to it but it's possible seeing as Jeff mentioned that he'd taken his bb out to put in an Orange - clearly not a Greasealer then. If it comes to it (hopefully not), I'll just stick a file in there or something.
I need to work out what length bb I need to get, as well...

 

[hamster]

Re: 1992 Fire Mountain restomod

Those cranks need a 122.5mm BB. I have a cup and cone one if you are interested- it will work with your Greasealer...