1995 Kona Lava Dome Build

[Mattv805]

Greetings from California! I have finally dialed in this Kona frame (with the help of an enthusiastic local bike shop) as a light mountain/around town bike. It's super fun to ride and is an awesome complement to my 700C Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross that I have set up with drop bars.
Build list for anyone that cares:
1995 Kona Lava Dome frame/fork
Nitto 1 1/8" threaded to threadless stem adapter
Paul Component 90mm Boxcar stem
Velo Orange Seine bars
Blue Lug brass headset spacers
Nitto S65 seatpost
Vintage WTB Rocket titanium rail saddle
Shimano Deore XT M8000 11s derailleur
Shimano SLX 11-46T cassette
Microshift 11s friction shifter
Mavic 221 rims/Parallax hubs (borrowed from a '98 GT Avalanche LE)
Ultradynamico Mars Race tires
Shimano Deore XT BR-M739 v-brakes (I found these NOS locally on Craigslist)
Avid Speed Dial 7 brake levers
Blue Lug brass bell

 

[andym999]

Looks lovely, great work. How did you find the drivetrain / gearing to set up? Any issues to solve?
I ask as I'm nearing the fiddly bit of my own Kona 1x converstion - click the AA link in my sig to see...

 

[moonlite]

Those bars look very cool -- wide & comfy!

 

[Mattv805]

Looks lovely, great work. How did you find the drivetrain / gearing to set up? Any issues to solve?
I ask as I'm nearing the fiddly bit of my own Kona 1x converstion - click the AA link in my sig to see...

Thank you! And this is the second drivetrain I've had on this frame; the first was Advent 9 speed and it struggled to keep in the biggest climbing ring under load. This XT setup is super quiet and smooth though. I have the same derailleur on my gravel bike and like it so much that I put the same setup on this bike. Not sure what you're running for a bottom bracket, but this one is the stubbiest the local bike store had and has the chainring basically as close as possible which made a big improvement on the chain line.

 

[Mattv805]

Those bars look very cool -- wide & comfy!

They're great! I am now a believer in swept back bars.

 

[andym999]

has the chainring basically as close as possible which made a big improvement on the chain line.

Yep - chainline will be a focus... Thanks for help!

 

[Nimrod]

Awesome build

 

[Proto2000]

Bike looks great. I have an Explosif with what looks to be the same fork as yours but in black and with a disc mount and canti mounts, so a newer fork than the frame. What is the AC dimension on that fork? Mine is about 440mm.

 

[Mattv805]

Bike looks great. I have an Explosif with what looks to be the same fork as yours but in black and with a disc mount and canti mounts, so a newer fork than the frame. What is the AC dimension on that fork? Mine is about 440mm.

Thank you! It isn't the fastest on road/gravel but it looks cool and it's fun! AC on this Project Two is about 14 1/2 inches.