Kona Kapu 1997

Ah, great minds. Yes, I looked at those long and hard. I went with red on the 94 Kapu and they looked great initially but after a few rides, they do fade and get a little grubby and soon lose their impact.

Also, the green is very different and will clash. As, I hope these latest shots show, the green is incredible. Have I mentioned that before? :LOL: ;) My camera limitations don't capture the fact that there's a very light green, and sometimes yellow sparkle in strong sunlight. It's not Klein Gator-Fade by any means, but there's a very subtle nod to that.

All the final bits and pieces have been received so we're very close to completion. In the meantime...

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I love the sparkle of the forks. The shadow of the blades makes them look much darker than they are; see how the downtube colour is more turquoise in shade than the top tube or rear triangle.

No question she's going to be a handful to ride on these roads!
 
What do you want from a shakedown ride? Quite roads - check. Not much wind - check. Familiar route to benchmark - check. Dry conditions - check...er hang on.

What was forecast did not occur so half way around a solid 30 miler, the heavens opened and I quickly adjusted the route to avoid as many downhill sections as possible. Getting my gripe out of the way, the brakes are awful in the dry and downright useless in the wet. Truly scary.

Everything else is brilliant, as long as you ride it with the right frame of mind. That is, it's a 90s road bike, using the geometry of the era. That means stretched out, head down, bum up, knees in your chest, ridden on the drops not the hoods. It's twitchy, it's often hair raising, but it's a lot of fun. Climbs are meant to be taken in the saddle, so it's a test of your core engine and leg strength. Cadence is really critical, because as soon as you get out of the saddle with such a forward, narrow lean, you cannot let the bike swing between your legs otherwise you'll be on your arse. In the saddle, the power to tarmac ratio feels 1:1, not a single watt lost.

Pictures weren't my goal, staying upright and giving it some beans when I could were, so a solitary, very damp shot close to HQ.

After a 3 hour ride the day before, my legs were jelly the rest of Sunday. Sign of a good time!

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I'll just leave this here, from last Friday evening. Check out that colour!

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Sadly I need to replace the bar-tape, it's trash. Far too flimsy. Only 2 rides in and it's already disintegrating. Everything else is pretty good. The wheels will need a slight true, and the brakes will always be naff, but it shifts when it's safe to do so.
 
I'll just leave this here, from last Friday evening. Check out that colour!

C6ME79.jpg


Sadly I need to replace the bar-tape, it's trash. Far too flimsy. Only 2 rides in and it's already disintegrating. Everything else is pretty good. The wheels will need a slight true, and the brakes will always be naff, but it shifts when it's safe to do so.
Great build, love it! Only niggle is, the brake levers are in the “open” position, meaning that you have more room to take the wheel out. They should be with the pin pushed it, closed and that way you’ll have the proper braking performance and shorter lever travel, especially when on the drops.
 

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