Advice needed please

[goldtop]

I've recently bought and refurbed a 1995 Kona Fire Mountain which my eldest son is going to be riding on our outings which are a mixture of lanes and light trails. I currently have a Cannondale Bad Boy but after riding the Kona it's opened my eyes to how good these old steel frames are.

My question: Apart from Konas, what other bikes should be on my radar if I want a similar ride?

 

[hamster]

Rocky Mountain and Voodoo have very similar frame designs. Konas always seem to be very nimble to me - you can really chuck them around and they seem easy to steer accurately.
By comparison, I've always found Marins far less chuckable but very good for long riding days - they always seemed to be popular with Polaris competitors.

 

[dirttorpedo]

If you have deep pockets Brodie and DeKerf's are other brands to look out for as well. If you are in Canada Norco was producing some decent stuff in the mid 90's as well - a Rampage, Nitro or TNT would be nice.

 

[breezerfatty]

I still think of Kona old steel as how to say weather a bike handles ie its almost as good as an old kona. not my breezer that is as good

 

[feetabix]

I agree........my '95 cinder cone is a sublime bike given it's humble position in the range........

 

[goldtop]

I agree........my '95 cinder cone is a sublime bike given it's humble position in the range........

So which models/years should I be setting my sights on and how much can I expect to be paying for good examples?

 

[hamster]

I'd go with a Lava Dome / Cindercone, anything from 1993-2000.
Most years the Lava Dome had the same frame as the Cindercone, just cheaper bits. As there is more brand snobbery about a Cindercone, the Lava is better value, especially as by now the bits may be worn out. Frames are around £75ish heavily depending on condition - say £30 for a really rough one to £100 for a minter. Add £50ish for a fully built bike - splitting for parts always pays!

Kilauaea and Explosif have even lighter steel frames but seem to go for £130-250 for the frame. Not worth it over the humbler ones in my view, especially as they share the same geometry and the weight saving is small.

The biggest steal are the 1999/2000 Cindercones as they switched to Alu. The frames are lighter than the Explosif and they seem a bit lost and ignored - not high-end and not fashionable steel. I have one as my singlespeed, all up it's 20lbs with a P2 fork.
I also have a 1994 Lava Dome, lightened up with Z2 superfly fork, which is about 25lbs all-up with heavy tyres.

Both are great fun to ride.

 

[goldtop]

Thank you Hamster That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for and saves me a lot of time researching. I'll be making my decisions based on this.

 

[sylus]

stick with the early kona's you won't go far wrong

 

[goldtop]

I'm looking at this one......

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kona-Lava-Dom ... 35d29a4d32

Seems to be in decent condition and has a lot of updated parts. The P2 fork looks longer on this than on my '95 Fire Mountain....did they change length?

Also I'm concerned about the 19" frame. I'm 5'11" with a 32" inside leg which appears to fit according to the size chart, but it does look like a long reach from the pics.