1996 Kona Cinder cone

[Aaldert]

Changed stuff

Hi,

When browsing through this forum and seeing the most beautifull bikes, I thought, I want that too.
So I was lost... The combination of this forum, the for sale thread and eBay is lethal as most of you will know.

A long story short, I was unable to resist some nice parts. They are now showing off on my bike.

The upgrade includes:

- RaceFace Deus headset, new, I know it is not retro, but I love it.
- Rock Shox Judy XC, 1995
- Kore Elite stem, silver, unknown year (2008 perhaps), NOS
- Kore Elite handlebar, blue annodisized, about 1996, NOS
- Kore Elite seatpost, blue annodisized, about 1996, NOS
- Kore hub skewers, blue annodisized
- Sella Italia Flite saddle (thanks 'mayco')
- Paul Motolite front brake, new
- Paul Motolite rear brake, unknown year
- Paul Love Levers Compact, new (thanks 'mousemat')
- Panaracer Smoke Amberwall front tyre, about 1997
- Michelin Wildgripper Amberwall rear tyre, about 1997
- Shimano XTR FD-M950 front derailleur, 1997, NOS, I am thinking of changing it to XT
- Kona Dog Collar, drilled out to use as a cablestop (thanks 'baj')

I hope you like them, I do for sure.

Cheers,

Aaldert

 

[dr.juggles]

wow, really like the new version with the judy´s

 

[kirbdug]

kona

i like the bike before and after the upgrades looks good with the rock shox

 

[6.5x55]

Very nice and I LOVE those brakes :shock: !

 

[mayco]

Nice

Very nice and I LOVE those brakes :shock: !

I'll second that, Aaldert those brakes look great. Are they worth the money?
I like the upgrade, you've done well there. Nice looking bike.

 

[Aaldert]

Thanks for the compliments you guys!

I love those brakes, in fact I love every part Paul makes, they are pure and simple as the classic Kona's are.

As for value for money, I don't know yet if you should buy them. In the next days I will take the bike for a ride to test them while riding. In the short rides that I made so far I found out that they will stop you and they will stop you fast. They stop better than the Curve cantilevers that came on the bike.
However I don't think they will beat some modern XT or XTR brakes in price and performance, especially the levers will not.
But I don't care. I just love the looks and the simplicity and on top of that they work very well.

The Judy came with some damage, it is not possible to mount regular V or cantilever brakes. One of the brake-spring fitting holes has broken of the brace. The only option, as far as I know, is to mount these Paul brakes or the original Curve brakes (I still have them). So there is another excuse to use these Pauls.

I will keep you posted on the performance of the brakes after the next rides.

I have a question though, can the bike do with more blue anno? Some (crank-) bolts perhaps?

Cheers,

Aaldert

 

[Aaldert]

Hi,

I promised to tell you something about the performance of the Paul brakes. I will compare them to the '99 XTR M951 brakes that are mounted on my other Cinder Cone.
Well they brake very good! The levers are pretty ergonomical they feel nice. In comparisson to some XTR levers, they can't hold up in terms of smoothness, but in terms of coolness they are an absolute winner.
The brakes themselves perform at least as good as XTR brakes. The Pauls have less moving parts, so they will not wear out as much as the XTR brakes will. The Pauls are adjustable in a way that you can always have the brakes set up in the perfect way. And it is easy. There is a reason that the design of the brakes haven't changed since ages...

So if you like these brakes, buy them! They will stop you and they are cool, what else doe you want?

Cheers,

Aaldert

 

[superstu]

I love you bike, probably even more afterwards than before.

I just picked up a Lava Dome from the same year from the local skip (needs some work doing but frame looks ok) and you've given me some food for thought :roll:

 

[Brother]

Have the same year in a 16", nippy! 1.5 specialized armadillo, an 9 speed kit, was going to convert back till 96ish xt, but holding out till the deore packs up.

 

[Aaldert]

That is a nice bike.
Are you using it as a commuter bike?

It is worth restoring/enhancing

Cheers,

Aaldert