moonlite
Kona Fan
I'm not really one to leap on the latest trends -- hence the whole retro obsession -- but I've recently become intrigued by aspects of the gravel bike boom. Coincidentally, my 2005 Airborne Carpe Diem serves well in this regard, with fatter gravel tyres and cantis. Here in rural New South Wales, singletrack isn't easy to find but there's lots and lots of unpaved road and fire trails in the national forests, so gravel makes sense.
Anyway, I picked up this frame by accident when picking up a '98 Explosif a year or so ago. For a while it lay unloved under a bed (aluminium innit?), but the urge to tinker meant I finally got it into rideable condition this year. And when ridden, it proved to be really good! Nice and responsive, pretty agile, and not as 'harsh' as detractors of alu might think.
Those qualities, plus the Michelin Country Rock tyres -- skinny for an MTB but fat enough for gravel -- seemed to lend themselves to an alternative to the Airborne. Something a bit quicker up the hills, perhaps. And much as I'm no Strava slave, there are one or two segments hereabouts I'd love to improve my performance on (you really do need inspiration sometimes when you always ride solo).
The only rule for this build will be that I can't spend too much on it and will be relying almost entirely on the spares box. Only things like cables and brake blocks can be new.
So here's the starting point -- a 2000 Cindercone in rideable condition, but only just.
- Fork -- Kona P2 of unknown provenance
- Headset -- FSA Orbit
- Wheels -- Shimano LX
- Brakes -- Avid Cantis
- Crankset -- Race Face XC
- Front ring -- Shimano Zee 36t
- Stem -- Easton EA70
- Bars -- Easton Monkeylite carbon
- Shifter -- Shimano Acera
- Cassette -- Unknown Shimano 9-speed
- Seatpost -- Kona Thumb
- Seat -- WTB
Anyway, I picked up this frame by accident when picking up a '98 Explosif a year or so ago. For a while it lay unloved under a bed (aluminium innit?), but the urge to tinker meant I finally got it into rideable condition this year. And when ridden, it proved to be really good! Nice and responsive, pretty agile, and not as 'harsh' as detractors of alu might think.
Those qualities, plus the Michelin Country Rock tyres -- skinny for an MTB but fat enough for gravel -- seemed to lend themselves to an alternative to the Airborne. Something a bit quicker up the hills, perhaps. And much as I'm no Strava slave, there are one or two segments hereabouts I'd love to improve my performance on (you really do need inspiration sometimes when you always ride solo).
The only rule for this build will be that I can't spend too much on it and will be relying almost entirely on the spares box. Only things like cables and brake blocks can be new.
So here's the starting point -- a 2000 Cindercone in rideable condition, but only just.
- Fork -- Kona P2 of unknown provenance
- Headset -- FSA Orbit
- Wheels -- Shimano LX
- Brakes -- Avid Cantis
- Crankset -- Race Face XC
- Front ring -- Shimano Zee 36t
- Stem -- Easton EA70
- Bars -- Easton Monkeylite carbon
- Shifter -- Shimano Acera
- Cassette -- Unknown Shimano 9-speed
- Seatpost -- Kona Thumb
- Seat -- WTB
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