2009 Kona Fire Mountain for 1994 Breezer Jet Stream

[Maxipedia]

I finally managed to get this one and what better place to expose it than here! You see, sometimes you need to chase old ladies around in order to get a special bike...

As I may have said here before on various topics, I find bike hunting cool and I keep seeing retro bikes at people who obviously don't have a clue and don't give a damn about them. At some point I figured that this has to be the winning formula: offer the people another bike; they don't care what's written on the frame and probably would be better suited with something newer and more functional than what they have but can't cherish. Right?

So I met this lady in her fifties for the first time about 3-4 years ago, riding this mid nineties Breezer. I talked to her, told her I like her bike, but bever quite had the nerve to ask her whether she'd be selling it; I guess I didn't wanna look intrusive. Time flew by and I saw the bike at some supermarket late last summer. It was locked outside, so I borrowed pen and paper and wrote a message that sounded like "If you want to save this nice old bike, give me a call" plus the number. I went back to the city center and I stopped at a crossroad to talk on the phone. I was a bit surprised when the lady with the Breezer caught up with me and asked if I was at this supermarket and left her a note. I said yes and we talked a bit about bikes and she said she was willing to give me the Breezer for another bike that would be right for her (size, weight etc.). We both agreed there is no need to hurry, so in the time since then I thought how to get a bike for her that would be both cheap but still good enough. First I thought to buy the least expensive aluminium bike from Decathlon, but it would've still been too expensive and not too good. So I began scrapping parts together.

Last week I put the bike together. I managed to get a 2009 Kona Fire Mountain frame pretty cheap, I cleaned it, used a little touch up paint on it, got an older Suntour fork with a bit of play and pretty boinky (but I knew it would still be better than her blown off Marzocchi XC 700), build some wheels and got everything else together. In the end it cost me around 130 EUR without the parts that I already had, so it wasn't quite cheap, but a pretty good bike came out. The only parts I am not pleased with are the shitty Promax brakes, but I just had them and I didn't want to spend more money on the bike. I made sure they work as fine as possible by their standards.

The partlist:

frame: 18"Kona Fire Mountain 2009
fork: early 2000's Suntour SR MG
headset: Cane Creek loose ball
stem: Bike Positive (Hungarian brand much alike Acor or Point)
handlebar: Bike Postive 620 mm riser - new
seatpost: Zoom/Kalin
collar: Bike Positive
seat: Bike Positive by Velo
grips: SRAM - new
bottom bracket: Chin Haur loose ball - almost new
cranks: Suntour XCT V2 - new
pedals: no name plastic - new
chain: KMC - new
cogs: SRAM 8-speed casette - new
rear derailleur: Shimano Alivio
front derailleur: Shimano Altus - new
shifters: SRAM MRX Comp - new
brake levers: Promax - new
brakes: Promax mechanical disc calipers
hubs: Joytech disc 32H
rims: Sun Ringle CR18 - new
tubes: Maxxis - new
tires: CST Traveller - new
(add fresh cables, housings and spokes to all that)

So I gave her a ring yesterday and I went over to give her the bike. She was pretty pleased with it, but she wanted to keep her saddle and the newish Schwalbe Landcruiser tires. I switched tires on location and went away with the Breezer. I also told her that I would help out if she needed work done on the bike.

I bet the Breezer looks like it's in a sorry state compared to a lot of garage queens over here, but it's functional! I guess it's a 1995, although the part spec isn't identical to the one listed on Bikepedia for this model. Fork is the aforementioned Marzocchi XC700, handlebar and seatpost are Ritchey Comp Lite, stem is a curious Trek System 2 and it also has Onza barends, thrashed grips, Grip Shift SRT-500 shifters, Suntour XC Pro levers, XT front and rear derailleurs, LX brakes with XT pads, XT M737 hubs with Ritchey QR's, Ritchey 415 rims and a Deore LX crankset. Headset is a mixture of (Dia Compe) Aheadset with a threaded headset nut as a spacer and a plastic Tioga top cap.

Pictures of the two bikes:

The Kona:

The Breezer:

So, what do you think? Was it worth the effort and the story?

Thanks for your patience!
Mx

 

[Maxipedia]

Oh, by the way, my plans are to clean the bike properly and to deck it in an XTR M900 group that I have on another bike...

Mx

 

[Whatleymeister]

I liked the story! Though to begin with, your comments of chasing old ladies around did make me wonder where you were going with it!! :shock:

That Breezer is lovely, should make a beautiful bike when finally restored. Mind you, although it has a relatively basic parts list, the Kona isnt without its charm.

I will be interested to see how this one plays out

 

[Maxipedia]

Thank you! I am planning to do one more swap this week and I hope it plays out well and on the longer term I intend to stock 2-3 basic bikes in perfect condition just to have them handy for an eventual trade of this kind. I have my eyes on a two GT Timberlines, one in what I guess is the Team Scream replica color combo, and I hope to see that neon orange Klein Pulse (I Guess) again...

Keep the comments coming!
Mx

 

[swos]

Two great bikes

 

[totti]

Yes, you made the right choice mate.
The Breezer is a great bike, clean, classic and understated.
Or at least it will be once you change the forks and stem (well, that's what i would do...). Then remove that sticker on the top tube.

Make sure you keep us posted with the build, watching this one with interest!

 

[petitpal]

Cool Wish I had the nerve to pull stuff off like that. Breezer is tops - lovely looking bike, although will be better, obviously, once it has some forks with some life in them.

 

[Anthony]

Excellent swap, both parties happy, both parties gained from the exchange.

Had she ever tried pumping up the Marzocchi, or were the seals just dead?

 

[Maxipedia]

Thanks again, guys!

Of course the bike will be cleaned and with the silly sticker removed! As for the Marzocchi, I don't know, but the fork doesn't look dead yet, so I'll take it off the bike and I'll give it to my friend who's a suspension expert to see if he can do anything with it. I am more than optimistic about all this, really!

Still, I don't intend to keep the fork on the bike. In my mind it's a little mismatch to put a Marzocchi on a Breezer, so more than sure the bike will have a '95 Judy XC upfront. I also have a Manitou 3, a '96 Manitou Pro XC, a yellow Quadra 21R and a '98 Indy XC (white), but I think the Judy would just look proper. I have no intentions what-so-ever to keep the stem. As I said, I an almost full XTR M900 set (except the front derailleur) from another bike and the other parts should be something that is brand-wise as close to the original as possible. For instance, I have NOS amberwall Michelins, but I'd rather put a Dart/Smoke combo on the bike. I also have to see how to get two matching rims, because the M900 hubs are laced to 36H mismatched Mavics and I suspect the XT M737 and Ritchey combo from the Breezer to be 32H.

Petitpal, it's not quite easy to bring yourself to do it (people become very suspicious and might think their stuff is more valuable than it actually is), but, as you see, it's rewarding sometimes. In the end, you only pop a question...

And one for you guys: is this really a 1995 Jet Stream, as I think it is? And if so, what do you know about it? My guess is it's a Taiwan built frame. Am I right?

Thanks,
Mx

 

[Anthony]

And one for you guys: is this really a 1995 Jet Stream, as I think it is? And if so, what do you know about it? My guess is it's a Taiwan built frame. Am I right?

What is its serial number?