1995 Kona Kilauea

[GeneralOsik]

I finally found one of my dream bikes!

I recently bought a 1991 Scott Boulder from my friend Matt for $150, and I hadn't picked it up yet. On Friday evening, Matt showed me this bike listed on Facebook Marketpalce, and basically bought back the Scott so I could go buy this bike. The listing was from the original owner Paul, who had the frame resprayed in silver and black back in the day, and the bike was built up with the help of his local bike shop Mesa Cycles in St. Louis. He took this bike to Moab in Utah, and thrashed the bike on lots of trails. I am awaiting some photos from back when the bike was new. Paul mentioned that his friend Chris has a photo of him riding it on Snake Bite when it was still white, if I recall correctly.

Here's a photo from the original listing, more attached:


Here's a photo right after purchase, before disassembly for transport in my tiny Miata:


I have a P2 TB from 1995, but the steer is too short, so I need to trade it for one that will fit this 18" frame. Is there anyone here who would like to trade?


My goal for this bike is to respray it to the original white, fit new decals, and build it out with parts from the 1995 catalog. I have a lot of good Kona parts that will fit this bike, though I need an O-Beam seatpost in 27.2. This one is last in my list of projects, as this will require a lot of work to finish, so expect a rideable bike in a couple of years. In the meantime, I should be doing a bit of work on my Humu next to swap in a new bar, the old bar going on my Cinder Cone, and then I have to finish touching up the paint and building out my SM800.

 

[GeneralOsik]

Here is a photo from the original catalog, to show what it looked like. It looks like the only original parts are the handlebar, the rear brakes, the derailleurs, and the rear wheel. Luckily, it still has the seat post collar and cable guide, and I have a fork brake perch for this bike already. The Mighty 900 cranks were from higher end bikes from that year, and the ControlTech stem matches what came on some factory Konas in 1996. I also noticed that when fitted with a TB P2, the only bike lighter than this one in the 1995 catalog was the Hei Hei and the Explosif with a P2. Not bad! I adored Tange Prestige Concept when I had my too big 1991 Explosif, so I am so excited to have another bike with this tubeset!

 

[GeneralOsik]

Here's what this exact bike looked like back in the mid 1990s!

 

[GeneralOsik]

Here is my projected build list:

Frame: 1995 Kona Kilauea in Pearl White
SN: F5110305
Fork: *Project Two Tripple Butted (need to trade my 16" for your 18")
Optional Fork: Modified Judy DH in red with *Steed Springs and a *polished silver arch

Headset: Kona Impact in silver
Optional Headset: *Kona Control Center in red
Stem: Kona Velocity HT
Optional Stem: ControlTech in red
Handlebar: Bontrager Titanium
Grips: *ATI in red or similar

Brakes: *Ritchey Logic (I need one pair)
Brake Pads: *Ritchey Logic in red
Optional Brake Pads: Kool Stop Quik Claw II in red
Brake Cables: Dia Compe
Cantilever cable hangers: Dia Compe
Brake Levers: Kona Race Light High Command in polished silver

Shifters: *Grip Shift X-Ray with ATI grips in red or similar
Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT M737
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT M737
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: *something titanium 8sp 11-28
Chain: KMC Super Shuttle SS91S
Cranks: Sugino Mighty 900 polished
Optional Cranks: Race Face Turbine LP in silver
Crank Bolts: *titanium or annodized red
Chainrings: *Sugino CSSII CSP 42/32/22
Optional Chainrins: *Race Face 42/32/22
Chainring bolts: *titanium or annodized red
Bottom Bracket: *something titanium
Pedals: *XT M737 SPD

Hub Skewers: *ControlTech titanium in red
Rims: Mavic 217 SUP/237S
Hubs: Shimano Deore XT M737/738
Optional Hub: Kona Sus 999 front hub
Nipples: *anodized red
Tyres: *Panaracer Fire XC Pro 1.8" in red

Saddle: *Selle Italia Flite Titanium with red logo, Selle Italia Flite Kevlar in red, Kona Race Light/Equilibrium cromo or ti
Seatpost: *Kona O-Beam in 27.2mm silver or titanium
Seatpost Binder: Kona in silver

Weight: Should be ~23lbs, unless I go with the Judy

*Asterisks designates parts that I need for this build. Please reply if you can help!

 

[enc]

Good stuff. Looking forward to the transformation.

 

[oldave]

That is very nice!
"This one is last in my list of projects, as this will require a lot of work to finish, so expect a rideable bike in a couple of years..."
I much admire such a patient and methodical approach, something I could never have matched. With probably only 12-18 months of non-electric riding remaining for health reasons I always expect a rideable bike within a week or two. Yours should be well worth the wait!

 

[al-onestare]

Interested to see how you handle the white colour. As you state, it's a pearl tone and finish which is very different to the usual solid white often seen in resprays.

 

[albash82]

Interested to see how you handle the white colour.

Haha. This is a thinly veiled challenge.
"Get the paint right, I dare ya"

I loved this Kilauea. One of my bros riding buddies from bitd had one. He raced it, and himself, almost to destruction.
'95 was a banger of a year for Kona.

 

[Oldtat]

Probably of no use whatsoever but old On One Inbreds from early 2000s had pearlescent white paint. Nice bike by the way!

 

[GeneralOsik]

Interested to see how you handle the white colour. As you state, it's a pearl tone and finish which is very different to the usual solid white often seen in resprays.

I thought long and hard about how to best replicate the rare paint from '95, and I finally decided I would just need to buy another Kona from '95 that was painted with the same shade of pearl white, and take it to get color matched.

Here's what I ended up finding:



I'll be posting a build thread for this custom Kona later today