Kona Cinder Cone 1993

[jonthefish]

Never done a build thread but will be asking daft questions along the way, so why not?
1993 Cinder Cone frame. It's got patina but I like that and it won't be getting new paint or decals.

First daft Q: I have a 410 A to C triple butted P2 that I may put on. Too long. But I also have a 110 mm stem (shorter than original for 19" frame). Thinking that might sharpen up the steering, counter-acting longer fork. My hope is that this set-up might be easier on my ancient carcass without bug___ing up the handing too badly. Any thoughts?

 

[JRGSXR]

My daughter runs a 92 Kilauea 19” with 410 p2 forks on it. No issues to mention. It’s fitted with a 100mm stem. I’ve been collecting parts for some time now though and next spring I’ll be returning it to standard 390 tb forks with a short velocity stem and impact headset. I’m not expecting a huge difference but it will be more original.

 

[jonthefish]

Thanks for that. Useful.
Hoping to build it into something comfortable to ride, mainly using bits I already have.

 

[moonlite]

Looking forward to seeing this come together -- that colour scheme is a particular fave.

 

[jonthefish]

Bottom bracket in and torqued down. All good. Old garage psych on the stereo.
Dug out the P2. Yay! Steerer is right length. Probably should have checked before. O well. All's good etc.
Pondering brakes. Black LX cantis will go with the black LX hubs. But slightly tempted by the Arch Rivals....but that means messing about with problem solvers etc. Cantis neater I think and a bit lighter. But, but, but...
Time for a wee Ardbeg for for inspiration.

 

[jonthefish]

Some progress.

Headset cups in using the usual precision technique of whacking with a lump of wood. Well, it's always worked in the past....

Couldn't get the top nut on the headset to catch. Investigation showed totally knackered threads at the top of the steerer. And a start nut in it! The joys of ebay. Some monkey must have mashed the threads fitting an ahead stem. Bollocks. Filed of the top 3mm and fork in. Snugged it down. Smooth and lovely. No tight spots. Yay.

Cranks. XC Pro with miscellaneous rings. They feel very light. Nice. On and torqued down v carefully.

Forks are suspension corrected so too long for the frame really, but the aim is to run them with a short stem. Unfortunately I don’t have a short ’93 stem (silver grey) so faked it up with an older 100 mm stem. Unfortunately it’s black. Doesn't look great. But the hubs are black too. Beer. Dug out some black Ritchey bars. And I’ve got those black cantis and some nice black Onza bar ends. Stealth black theme maybe? Let the frame shine?

 

[mk one]

Dug out some black Ritchey bars. And I’ve got those black cantis and some nice black Onza bar ends. Stealth black theme maybe? Let the frame shine?

View attachment 802882

Black is always a safe option. Here is mine wearing black

 

[jonthefish]

Nice. Looks purposeful and very much for riding.
I seem to remember when you got that frame you were wondering how it would ride compared with your Kilauea. Is that right? Any thoughts? I was really after a Kilauea but hard to find. I think I'd had taken fewer liberties with the build if I had found one!

 

[jonthefish]

Mocked up the bike with a grey Race Light stem (1996 I think) and silver Race Light bars but it looked terrible combined with the black stem. So, it's black theme for bars and controls. And brakes. Black LX cantis.

A dig through boxes found various front mechs including a Mountain LX. Very light. Silver band. More digging found LX M563 with black band. Better if a few g heavier. Matching LX rear mech is a heavy thing so going with a scruffy XT M737.

Pedals. Tried some silver Sakae Low Fats but settled on Tioga Surefoot V with black cage. I had a set on my Explosif and swapped them for XTs for vanity. To be honest I liked the Tiogas better - lighter and more grip - but gave them to a friend. O well. These ones feel a bit tight, but smooth. Going to take a look inside, see if I can get them spinning better.

The FIR rims are a very dark green. Hard to get on photos. May try in daylight.

.

 

[mk one]

Nice. Looks purposeful and very much for riding.
I seem to remember when you got that frame you were wondering how it would ride compared with your Kilauea. Is that right? Any thoughts? I was really after a Kilauea but hard to find. I think I'd had taken fewer liberties with the build if I had found one!

That's right, though only ridden a short distance on it as the shifter was playing up, did get another but that had same issue so sadly it has sat since.