flyingfinn
Kona Fan
Hi there,
I may be a newbie on this site but I have been an older bike enthusiast since I started cycling; I liked looking at the latest things but kept referring back to what had gone before. Thus throughout my time I have then picked particular iconic periods for different types of bike; thus for my road bikes it is the early 90s when Shimano were just coming to the fore with their 600 and Dura Ace groupsets.
I used to all sorts of riding as a lad, touring, time trial and some cyclocross. With that mix I did not initially see the need for ATBs/MTBs; however, I slowly caught on and had a sequence of mid 1990s MTBs as my workhorse and do anything bike. Of these I have retained and kept in good running order a 97 Schwinn Moab that came to me in a bizarre part exchange - I returned a 93 Specialized Rock Hopper and some cash to a friend, because he was in urgent need of money, and got the Schwinn. I have had great fun with the latter but also hankered for the direct feel of a non suspension bike and knew only too well of the strong reputation of Joe Murray designed Kona chro-moly framed bikes. Eventually I found one!
I always say that a true work of art is never finished to the complete satisfaction of the artist; I feel the same is true for bicycle building. There is always one detail to change or a better NOS item to obtain.
That said, aside from a few tweaks, I have just about completed my refurbishment of this 96 Lava Dome. I am in the process of upgrading some of the components but am already enjoying the feel of this excellent frame layout.
Specification is as follows:
Frame: Original Kona Butted Cromoly (19" - Satin Orange)
Fork: Original Kona Project Two
Headset: Original Kona 1 1/8" Impact
Cranks: Original Shimano STX 22 32 42 (tbrb NOS Deore XT)
Bottom Bracket: New Shimano UN71
Pedals: Shimano DX PD-M636 Freeride (tbrb Time ATAC)
Chain: Shimano IG71 (in place of original IG31)
Cassette: Shimano STX 11-30 8 speed (in place of IG50 7 speed)
Front Dérailleur: Shinamo Deore LX (in place of original STX)
Rear Dérailleur: NOS Shimano Deore LX (as per original)
Shifters: NOS Grip Shift SRT600 (in place of original SRT400)
Bar: Original Kona Slim 165
Grips: Kona Race light (in place of original Hot Dogs)
Stem: Original Kona Racelight Velocity
Brakes: Original Curve OM (I Like them!)
Front Hub: Rebuilt STX RC (in place of original Kona 999)
Rear Hub: Rebuilt STX RC 8 speed (in place of STX 7 speed)
Rims: New Mavic XM 719 (in place of original Mavic 23
Spokes: DT Swiss double butted stainless (as used originally)
Front Tyre: Specialized Crossroads Armadillo (in place of Sniff)
Rear Tyre: Specialized Crossroads Armadillo (in place of Scratch)
Saddle: I will fit a new Selle Italia C2 (Selle Italia Expedia orig.)
Seatpost: Kona Racelight (was fitted with a K-alloy as found)
I still have all the parts I have taken off. Of the wheels the front was in good condition (including a Sniff with some wear left), but the rear had a had a strange deep anodised rim fitted and it had a big bash in it.
The frame was in pretty good condition so for the moment I have rubbed back and touched in a few chips and minor scratches. I found that Chevrolet/Daewoo paint burnt orange metallic (As seen on many Matiz cars - code 98U) is a fairly close match; I have yet to fully tidy the Project Two forks but I believe that Honda Pewter Grey Metallic is a close match for those.
I am slightly limited by a 2MB album size but have posted images of all 4 of my current built and in use bikes.
So there it is and I look forward to seeing any comments and/or questions.
flyingfinn
I may be a newbie on this site but I have been an older bike enthusiast since I started cycling; I liked looking at the latest things but kept referring back to what had gone before. Thus throughout my time I have then picked particular iconic periods for different types of bike; thus for my road bikes it is the early 90s when Shimano were just coming to the fore with their 600 and Dura Ace groupsets.
I used to all sorts of riding as a lad, touring, time trial and some cyclocross. With that mix I did not initially see the need for ATBs/MTBs; however, I slowly caught on and had a sequence of mid 1990s MTBs as my workhorse and do anything bike. Of these I have retained and kept in good running order a 97 Schwinn Moab that came to me in a bizarre part exchange - I returned a 93 Specialized Rock Hopper and some cash to a friend, because he was in urgent need of money, and got the Schwinn. I have had great fun with the latter but also hankered for the direct feel of a non suspension bike and knew only too well of the strong reputation of Joe Murray designed Kona chro-moly framed bikes. Eventually I found one!
I always say that a true work of art is never finished to the complete satisfaction of the artist; I feel the same is true for bicycle building. There is always one detail to change or a better NOS item to obtain.
That said, aside from a few tweaks, I have just about completed my refurbishment of this 96 Lava Dome. I am in the process of upgrading some of the components but am already enjoying the feel of this excellent frame layout.
Specification is as follows:
Frame: Original Kona Butted Cromoly (19" - Satin Orange)
Fork: Original Kona Project Two
Headset: Original Kona 1 1/8" Impact
Cranks: Original Shimano STX 22 32 42 (tbrb NOS Deore XT)
Bottom Bracket: New Shimano UN71
Pedals: Shimano DX PD-M636 Freeride (tbrb Time ATAC)
Chain: Shimano IG71 (in place of original IG31)
Cassette: Shimano STX 11-30 8 speed (in place of IG50 7 speed)
Front Dérailleur: Shinamo Deore LX (in place of original STX)
Rear Dérailleur: NOS Shimano Deore LX (as per original)
Shifters: NOS Grip Shift SRT600 (in place of original SRT400)
Bar: Original Kona Slim 165
Grips: Kona Race light (in place of original Hot Dogs)
Stem: Original Kona Racelight Velocity
Brakes: Original Curve OM (I Like them!)
Front Hub: Rebuilt STX RC (in place of original Kona 999)
Rear Hub: Rebuilt STX RC 8 speed (in place of STX 7 speed)
Rims: New Mavic XM 719 (in place of original Mavic 23
Spokes: DT Swiss double butted stainless (as used originally)
Front Tyre: Specialized Crossroads Armadillo (in place of Sniff)
Rear Tyre: Specialized Crossroads Armadillo (in place of Scratch)
Saddle: I will fit a new Selle Italia C2 (Selle Italia Expedia orig.)
Seatpost: Kona Racelight (was fitted with a K-alloy as found)
I still have all the parts I have taken off. Of the wheels the front was in good condition (including a Sniff with some wear left), but the rear had a had a strange deep anodised rim fitted and it had a big bash in it.
The frame was in pretty good condition so for the moment I have rubbed back and touched in a few chips and minor scratches. I found that Chevrolet/Daewoo paint burnt orange metallic (As seen on many Matiz cars - code 98U) is a fairly close match; I have yet to fully tidy the Project Two forks but I believe that Honda Pewter Grey Metallic is a close match for those.
I am slightly limited by a 2MB album size but have posted images of all 4 of my current built and in use bikes.
So there it is and I look forward to seeing any comments and/or questions.
flyingfinn
