94 Kona Fire Mountain, first mountain bike since I was 12...

[jcoska]

I'm new to the site, as I've been a BMX rider for as long as I can remember and the last mountain bike I owned was a Specialized Rockhopper that I found when I was 12. Anyway, I bought this bike off my Dad for £60 last month...I'm planning to make it into a singlespeed and maybe give it some slick tires

As far as I can tell, its all original (except from the stem which I put on because it's a bit big for me).

 

[jcoska]

Open to build suggestions as I'm pretty clueless :roll:

 

[ajm]

That looks almost entirely original to me (I have the same bike, it has been my only bike from new up till this year when I got a road bike in addition.) It's even on the original A:\ and B:\ drive tyres as far as I can see!

I'd replace that rather horrid stem and perhaps the chainset which is pretty heavy (mine got replaced with a bargain STX-SE chainset a year after I got the bike)

Singlespeed is a fad that has largely and thankfully passed on IMHO, why not just tidy up what you have and enjoy riding it? They're great bikes for the money (especially as you've only paid 60 quid for it!), handle nicely and are solid without being ridiculously heavy.

 

[chrisv40]

Looks nice as it is but I agree about the stem throw it in the bin quickly please.
Why not stick a wanted ad up for a Velocity stem and as suggested a lighter chainset with replaceable rings.

 

[jcoska]

I've got the original velocity stem sitting in my mates shop, i'm planning to put a BMX stem on it and some riser bars but I need to get some ahead forks or one of them quill to aheadset converter but i've heard they're not worth the effort, any opinions? Got my eyes on some new ish Deore cranks although i'd rather have some older ones in good nick, and it's definitely going singlespeed. Also fitting some v-brakes this week as these cantilevers are doin my head in

 

[ajm]

Personally I think you'd be insane to replace the forks, stem and fit risers... quite a lot of effort to ruin the handling of the bike!

I do agree about the brakes, they're usually "sufficient" but no more, and not always even that. Mine ended up with LX cantis which were possibly a miniscule bit lighter than the originals (which are Tourney!) but they don't look as good and don't work any better...

Modern cranks just don't look right on nice slim steel frames like this - I know because mine currently has a four-arm Deore chainset and although functional it's comparatively ugly and weighs more than the STX SE it replaced.

 

[chrisv40]

Sounds like you may be better off selling it and buying a bmx.

 

[jcoska]

8 months later from starting this thread and i've been hit by a van and off the bike , so now I am restarting the project as I have a bit of money to spend . Here's what the bike looks like atm. A friend had an old velocity stem lying around so I've thrown that on but now the bike is feeling too big. I also made the singlespeed conversion but in dire need of some new cranks! I put an old v brake on the front to see how it felt but it''s not the best (the forks weren't designed for v-brakes is apparently the reason for this?) so need some cheap-ish cantilever recommendations. Also bought some new tires, put some v12 pedals on and a new seat, here's a photo.

 

[Plus one]

Looks much better with the proper stem on !! I find a well set up canti more than adequate for general bombing around and commuting.. Proper off road they are a bit pants though

I would stick an ad up for a swap for 17/18" kona of similar spec..
Yours looks 19" ?

Great bikes if you stick with rigid fork .. Newer/sus forks with longer
A-C really mess up the handling..

Col

 

[ajm]

If you're still using the original Kona brake levers, that will be why the V-brakes aren't working well...