Kona Fire Mountain (1994)

[johnboy78]

Hi

I am thinking of dusting down my old Kona Fire Mountain and turning it into a bike for my wife to use.

Generally speaking it is still in pretty good condition (all original parts) but i would like to update a couple of things such as the brakes to V brakes and the thumb shifters to either trigger shifters or grip shift.

Are there any compatability issues on the v-brake side that I need to be aware of? Clearly on gettting new shifters, the key factor is making sure that they are 7 speed!

Grateful for any advice that you can offer.

Thanks,

John

 

[dirttorpedo]

I've switched canti's for v's a couple of times and not had any significant compatability issues. I've got XT vbrakes on what I am told is an early 90's Cove Stiffee frame and I think I converted my old 92 Stumpjumper to v-brakes back in the mists of time.

 

[Andy R]

You need levers with more cable pull for V brakes than for canti's as otherwise you'll have to run the pads very close to the rims. plus the brakes will feel overly spongy.

8 speed Rapidfire shifters will work pretty well with a seven speed system (with a redundant position). Strictly speaking the spacing is slightly different but I've used this in the past with no problems.

 

[Charlieboy28]

the 94 will have a dog collar and routing for cantis, i thought you could not run vs without adding or welding a canti cable stop to the top tube. I would be happy to know if this is not the case and you can run Vs with the dog collar though

 

[s1monf]

I've just built up a '96 Cinder Cone with disc front and V rear.
I have run the rear cable through the dog collar and directly into a v brake noodle. All I needed to do was turn the collar 35 degrees or so and locate the v brake springs in the top hole in the frame for extra spring away from the rim. They work perfectly.
All the other newer parts I fitted were directly compatible.