Perfect. Thank you!
97 Kona - replacing suspension fork with rigid
- Thread starter kvwall
- Start date
And from me!
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/tb-p2-£50.474853/
Threaded and might be too short but.....
Threaded and might be too short but.....
Great score. Apologies if you already know this but those forks are colour matched for the frame, in that special edition glorious metallic sky blue. First generation Bombers were, rightly, wiping the floor clean with their performance compared with Rock Shox which Kona had fitted to the majority of their line that season. Hence, along with other factors, this special edition was created. It's a rare model, with only a handful known out there. The frames are fantastic, and with a fully functioning Bomber up front, a brilliant ride.
In other words, if you decide to go rigid, whatever you do, hold onto the forks. Put them in storage or even better, send them to someone like Mark and have them refurbed. I promise you won't regret it.
She looks in good survivor condition. Hopefully the seat-post tape isn't a sign of an issue. A good strip down and rebuild, some proper tyres, ditch the bar-ends, and she'll fly.
I may have a slight fondness to them. Kona's and Bombers go together like cheese and pickle
And for those too lazy to search on this site, from one of the OGs, Anthony:
Ren Rawbor
Fat Chance Fan
Definitely, Bombers are pretty much the mutt's nuts for any '90s mtb & were always the "holy grail" for an impoverished younger me! Now here's the dilemma for you Al, '99 Stinky Dee green frame orange highlights. Do I refurb the leaking Z1 BAM that came on it or leave the freshly serviced Drop Off (crown courtesy of the worn out BAM, thank you sir) I've replaced them with to get it riding?Great score. Apologies if you already know this but those forks are colour matched for the frame, in that special edition glorious metallic sky blue. First generation Bombers were, rightly, wiping the floor clean with their performance compared with Rock Shox which Kona had fitted to the majority of their line that season. Hence, along with other factors, this special edition was created. It's a rare model, with only a handful known out there. The frames are fantastic, and with a fully functioning Bomber up front, a brilliant ride.
In other words, if you decide to go rigid, whatever you do, hold onto the forks. Put them in storage or even better, send them to someone like Mark and have them refurbed. I promise you won't regret it.
She looks in good survivor condition. Hopefully the seat-post tape isn't a sign of an issue. A good strip down and rebuild, some proper tyres, ditch the bar-ends, and she'll fly.
I may have a slight fondness to them. Kona's and Bombers go together like cheese and pickle
Personally I like the contrasting BAM orange but the green also looks well & I think the extra travel and simplicity suit the novice rider better for the moment. This is almost the dream dilemma to have had back in the day, although I think if I was going all out wet-dream I'd be choosing between Monster T and Shiver...
@al-onestare do you know if the frame geometry was tweaked for the special edition?
The frame is great condition, just a few cosmetic scratches. The seller noted that the seatpost was frozen and a bike shop added the tape to protect the post while briefly trying to remove it. I was able to grab the bike for $75 and was able to remove the frozen seatpost after a few days of adding penetrating oil and slowly working it out of the frame with the post in a vice. It was a tedious but satisfying process.Great score. Apologies if you already know this but those forks are colour matched for the frame, in that special edition glorious metallic sky blue. First generation Bombers were, rightly, wiping the floor clean with their performance compared with Rock Shox which Kona had fitted to the majority of their line that season. Hence, along with other factors, this special edition was created. It's a rare model, with only a handful known out there. The frames are fantastic, and with a fully functioning Bomber up front, a brilliant ride.
In other words, if you decide to go rigid, whatever you do, hold onto the forks. Put them in storage or even better, send them to someone like Mark and have them refurbed. I promise you won't regret it.
She looks in good survivor condition. Hopefully the seat-post tape isn't a sign of an issue. A good strip down and rebuild, some proper tyres, ditch the bar-ends, and she'll fly.
I may have a slight fondness to them. Kona's and Bombers go together like cheese and pickle
I plan to service and keep most of the original components, but I'm going rigid because I'll only be taking it out on hard pack and singletrack occasionally and will mostly use this for commuting. I'm a roadie at heart and that heavy squishy fork isn't the ride I'm going for when riding primarily on pavement. I will hold on to the fork at least until I complete the build and if I really like the completed project, I'll consider selling the fork to someone with an affinity for these bomber forks. Otherwise I'll hold onto it in case I decide to sell the bike or frameset some day. Here's a list of upgrades and additions I'm planning on:
- New rigid fork (Carver 410 a to c)
- Riser bars and grips
- New tubes and tires
- New pedals
- New chain
I have the same question. I can't find much info and assume the frame geo is the same.
No changes to geometry.
