'97 Kona HOT build thread

riskllama

Kona Fan
ok, here's what I'm starting out with :

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3467371/
bars & stem have been the first casualty. swapped 'em out for some period correct race face air alloy bars & a system, both in a pewter finish. not exactly the colour I was hoping for, but they came as a package deal that was just too good to pass up. stem may be a bit long, so may grab a shorter one In red, if necessary. not the biggest fan of the one piece XT brakes/shifters, but they'll do for now although one of them is missing the plastic cover over the indicator/needle thingy - had pretty much all XT on my '99 Explosif I had & was completely fine w/that stuff. always loved XT for that - you can basically just set it up & forget about it. am kinda sorta kicking around the idea of going w/XTR because I can almost afford it now, lol - a 20 y/o groupset, anyways, but we'll see - maybe I'll let you guys decide that one for me. headset is a dia compe aheadset, I believe & will get swapped out for either a Chris king or a race face, most likely a Chris king tho. bomber is still in ok shape - wondering if it has anything to do w/it being a newer model? never noticed the disc mount until it showed up, however. still weighing the idea of grabbing a project 2 for this. perhaps I'll put up a poll? seat post & seat are def. going to be going in favour of likely an old vintage race face XY and a Kona branded wtb saddle if I can find one or a selle italia flite we'll have to wait & see what becomes available. rims and tires are ok for now : came w/a pair of X517's and WTB velociraptors, I think? - sidewalls are pretty faded...I DID order myself a brand spanking new Smoke/Dart combo, tho...:).

and now, for the part that may benefit one or two of you out there : this bike came w/a set of Kona branded DH bars on it which I have no need of, so if anyone out there is looking for a set lmk - that hideous axiom stem can also be had too, lol. it also came w/a a vintage Kona race light seat pos(early to mid 90's, judging by the style of logo on it), which isstillin surprisingly good condition and is also up for grabs if anyone is looking for one of those. would be willing to sell or trade both items. I am currently looking for a period correct Kona seat clamp, WTB Kona saddle, some Mavic X517's in either anodized red or grey - seems like the only ones for sale are the yellowish/green ones...:(. a Chris king headset in red or rasta(good luck, right?) and some red Chris king(classic?) hubs. anybody who's either got or knows where to get any of the aforementioned goodies, do not hesitate to either message me or post any links right here.

will post pics whenever significant changes occur, so as to let you guys admire the hopefully not TOO terribly long progression of this project. take care now, llama
 
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yeah, turned out the guy is 64 and rapidly losing his eyesight so he can't really use his computer or bikes much anymore, apparently. I ended up just calling him & that did the trick - lucky me...✊. gonna send him a jar of my much ballyhooed doukhobor borscht next time I make a batch as a thank you.
 
Oh cool, sorry to hear that for him but glad it went to a good home. That’s a Hot and a Ku I’ve missed out on in the last few months now. Perhaps it’s just not meant to be for me……😓
 
yeah, I'm beginning to find out that getting old kind of sucks myself. sounds like he's doing alright, tho - I called him one night for this or that and interrupted him out on a date w/some ladyfriend...:cool:
 
ikr? out of everything on my want/wish list, this is literally the last thing I thought I would find. the anodizing is going on the cups, but otherwise she’s mint jelly - $140USDish all in. so very pleased atm…:)
 
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