Kona Caldera 1998 (Needs love) Now fixed

[watanabe43]

Re:

I went with the Bombers as I was able to source a mint set of 2003 Marathon S which are still a very good fork and the gunmetal finish goes with the M570 bits lovely. The OEM spec was Judy T2s which had godawful rebound damping, were flexy as hell and had dubious longevity so finding a good set would be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Suspension technology moved on a lot between '98 and '03.

I've restored it to ride, not as a museum piece - it was originally built with a mixmatch of bits I got cheap with the intention of putting things right later on - it's just it ended up taking me 15 years

The spec now is pretty much in keeping with if I'd used and upgraded it over the years instead of forgetting about it in a lockup - the Thomson bits are not 'period correct' but I think they fit the bike and it suits me fine

The brakes were a sample from the far east and technically unique - unfortunately they are still crap and a pain to adjust so the have to go, Avid SD 7 incoming. The Spoon saddle is actually very comfy and fits my sitbones perfectly, plus found one in stealth black

 

[Muddy paw]

I just thought you were going to be more in keeping with the original spec and tbh i didn't know the original spec Judie's were that bad but like you say the bike has now basically got the component spec level that you would of wanted any way so that's all that truly matters and even though you've got the Thomson seat post and stem
i don't think their to far away from the originals when it comes down to looks and their well made product to as for the V-brakes being crap well that's a shame because the colour really suited the overall looks of the Kona and i'm going to get a red Spoon eventually as i promised myself one months ago and you might of wanted to upgrade your Kona for 15 years but it's taken longer than that for me to realise that i shouldn't of got rid of my Schwinn Moab :cry: :cry: but hopefully i'll feel better when i win my Rockrider 5'2 off ebay but i do plan on getting a Retro ride of my own one day but that will have to wait a while as i still need a shed to put my bikes in as it's been like 10 months since we moved house and still not sorted one :facepalm: and by the way i've always been a fan on the looks of the old Bomber forks ..

 

[watanabe43]

Re:

Finished, she is. And rides like a dream