Kona’s - best year for frame?

[Jimbothejetsetter]

Hi, I’ve been searching for a cool retro bike for a while and have decided a Kona maybe a great starting point to restore something and ride.
I would like a light steel frame, is there much difference in weight between a 1992-3 frame and and 1994-1995 frame? I would be looking for a lava dome or cinder cone bike.
Any advice would be fantastic, thanks.

 

[Monkeeee01]

If your looking for a decent steel frame then you probably want to aim for a Kilauea or an Explosif as they were made out of the premium steels such as Tange ultimate or Columbus but the Lava Dome and Cinder Cone were Kona double butted cromoly. Personally I prefer the 94-96 frames but mostly for the paint jobs.

 

[Skeeter1]

1993 Kona range is where my love lies....The colour fades are in my eyes!..
I guess it's where you want to go with the build? Lightweight, factory spec? Or new components on a old frame?
Id suggest looking at the catalogues (on here somewhere,just Google it) and pick one you really are drawn to. As I'm speaking from experience,you will end up ploughing money into something that has no reflection on you and no soul whatsoever.
Go with your heart.
I recently finished my 1993 Cindercone build and even though I could have spec'd up and got the Kilauea or Explosif ,this was the only one for me.
I loved that silver to green fade back when the bike first went on sale and love it just enough now.
I've now bought a 94 lava dome (drawn to green I think) as my next project...a more rideable one. As I ended up making my Cindercone more of a show bike and I don't want to scratch a thing on it ha ha.

My advice is stick to 93/94 range and don't go for any lower than the lava dome.

 

[Jimbothejetsetter]

1993 Kona range is where my love lies....The colour fades are in my eyes!..
I guess it's where you want to go with the build? Lightweight, factory spec? Or new components on a old frame?
Id suggest looking at the catalogues (on here somewhere,just Google it) and pick one you really are drawn to. As I'm speaking from experience,you will end up ploughing money into something that has no reflection on you and no soul whatsoever.
Go with your heart.
I recently finished my 1993 Cindercone build and even though I could have spec'd up and got the Kilauea or Explosif ,this was the only one for me.
I loved that silver to green fade back when the bike first went on sale and love it just enough now.
I've now bought a 94 lava dome (drawn to green I think) as my next project...a more rideable one. As I ended up making my Cindercone more of a show bike and I don't want to scratch a thing on it ha ha.

My advice is stick to 93/94 range and don't go for any lower than the lava dome.

Thanks for the advice….it makes a lot of sense. I’ll wait for the right bike to come along. I expect a long wait as not seen many come up for sale in a 19 inch frame.

 

[Skeeter1]

Thanks for the advice….it makes a lot of sense. I’ll wait for the right bike to come along. I expect a long wait as not seen many come up for sale in a 19 inch frame.

Definitely worth putting a wanted ad up on here...you never know!
But just don't rush into it...I've done this lots in the past,only to regret it.

Best of luck and feel free to ask anyone on here for any more help..This certainly is the most kindest forum/group I've ever come across since my love for anything retro /Vintage MTB started.

 

[hamster]

Also worth remembering that for many years the Lava Dome and Cinder Cone shared frames, yet the Cinder Cone often still sells for more. Lava Dome for the win!
Certainly the 94 Lava Dome in green is my favourite.

 

[minor_LEGEND]

To simply answer the topic with my opinion. 1993 probably my fave year in terms of under the paint, The Explosif & Kilauea being the ones to have. 91 for paint schemes & the 'Joe Murray' era. I adore the green/gold Cinder Cone from 91 & fond memories of how popular the purple Lava Domes were at the time.

 

[JCS]

Another thing to consider is - do you want to build the bike with suspension or not?

Anything pre-1994(?) has geometry for rigid forks. I could be wrong on the specific year Kona started selling bikes with suspension forks, but I think it was 94 or thereabouts

 

[JCS]

You could do a lot worse than buy @Spanky22b ‘s Kilauea. It’s a lovely bike and a classic Kona year/model

 

[Spanky22b]

You could do a lot worse than buy @Spanky22b ‘s Kilauea. It’s a lovely bike and a classic Kona year/model

Thank you and the 92 Kilaueas (it came out late in 92) frame and forks became the 93 Lavadome and Cindercones frame and forks. So your getting a 93 bike but with in some eyes a nicer colour scheme and it's called a Kilauea
All yours for £195 posted if i don't get cold feet and withdraw it