Kona Fire Mountain Advice

[Jaybur82]

Hi,

New to this so bare with me.

I've been riding downhill and trails for a while now on modern stuff, a friend of mine who I ride regularly with is very much into his retro stuff and I guess a bit must of rubbed of on me.

So I decided to get myself a winter ride to start with, I picked up my first 'retro ride' last night a Kona Fire Mountain that I bought on eBay a couple of days ago.

Just got back from my first ride round the woods. First impressions are good, the bike tracks and peddles well. The one down side is the forks are truly horrid, they are Top Gun's, that rings no bells with me, but I guess there are low end fork, there is no adjustment at all on them??

What would be the your suggestions for a fork to fit that does not feel like a pogo stick?

Also would someone be able to what year the bike is please.

Thanks for all you help, pics below.

J

 

[cce]

fork is indeed cack.

get a project 2 rigid fork on there. should be able to snag one for 35-40 quid in the for sale section here

 

[markwashington]

If you want to keep suspension, then keep your eyes out for an 80mm travel fork as that's the most the frame should take. You should find a decent one from Marzocchi, Rock Shox or Fox on here for good money.

 

[Jaybur82]

Any idea on the year?

J

 

[rojo]

This is a 1999 model

 

[Anthony]

The frame looks in nice condition. It's a decent frame, double-butted top, down and seat tubes, a little heavier/stronger/stiffer than a Lava Dome but not a lot. I've never heard of a Top Gun fork, but it must be a cheap one, probably heavy and probably crude.

I have to disagree with Mark - the shape and geometry of the 1999 frames was the same as all Kona hardtails from 1994 to the mid zeroes, and Kona themselves have fitted up to 100mm forks to those frames. The key though is that as the forks got longer, they made the stems shorter to keep the steering/handling sharp. [Swept bars are equivalent to shorter stem.] You already have a fairly short stem and swept bars, so assuming you're going to keep those, I would recommend a 100mm fork. That is to say an 80mm fork wouldn't be disastrous but it may make the steering over-lively with that stem/bars set up.

I have to say that is the ugliest saddle I have ever seen in my life.

 

[markwashington]

Thanks for the heads up, I've always assumed that an 80mm fork was the longest the frame could take. I owned a 1998 Lavadome from new and I'm pretty sure it came with a 80mm fork (until it got stolen), as did my 1998
Explosif and 1999 Lavadome. I guess I just didn't think. That opens up more possibilities for my next build, thanks!

 

[Anthony]

Thanks for the heads up, I've always assumed that an 80mm fork was the longest the frame could take. I owned a 1998 Lavadome from new and I'm pretty sure it came with a 80mm fork (until it got stolen), as did my 1998
Explosif and 1999 Lavadome. I guess I just didn't think. That opens up more possibilities for my next build, thanks!

I've shown this photo before, but it may help to illustrate the point. It shows a 96 frame with a 100mm fork and 80mm stem. It gives pretty much the same sharpness of steering/handling as a 60mm fork with a 120mm stem. Note that the total is 180mm in each case. I think your 98 Lava Dome came with a 63mm Indy, but the frame was the same shape as this Explosif.

Note my companions still labouring up the hill on their modern bikes. This was taken on the SDW above Eastbourne.

 

[Jaybur82]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I am planing on changing the forks asap, also a longer stem as it feels a little short in the cockpit for me.

The frame is in fantastic condition for its age.

I plan on running this as a winter bike and look at getting something a little older for a Sunday best.

So if anyone has a nice Rockshox Judy or a longer period stem knocking around then let me know.

J

 

[markwashington]

First, off, I've got a period 1999 Kona stem you can have for postage, I think it's 100mm but it could be longer, just pm me your address and we can sort something out.

I bought my Lavadome at the very end of 1998 and I got a Manitou Spyder fork fitted, I'm pretty sure it was 80mm of travel, I just really liked the orange and green combo.