Kona Kapu 1997

[al-onestare]

Cheers chaps, thought it might be a simple answer! I'll show some pics of the BB when I can get to it.

 

[al-onestare]

Are you going to build it up with Campag? If so I have some pointy top Record Ergos I can be persuaded to sell. I've wanted them to go on the right build.

Ta but it's Veloce all the way for this one.

 

[FlimFlamVanHam]

Re:

I can't tell a dif in the color. But i know you have your doubts so i get it.

For road bikes, Kona made hot rods; not race bikes. What i think is so cool about those mid/late 90's Kapus is, sure, they were skinny steel with a quill stem but, more impressive, was the taller head tube and sloped top tube. Nobody was doing that. And other than the skinny tubes the style is actually surprisingly modern.

There is no other non custom frameset from that time, IMO, that would look as good with a semi modern (no four arm crank! not black!) groupset on it if you went that route. Then again, at least silver standard ST campag cranks are easy to come by.

 

[rogerzilla]

Re:

Ideally, you need a Shimano TL-FC15 "mushroom" to use a normal crank puller.

Octalink V1 is a flawed design with no taper to the splines. It tends to loosen and develop play, especially on the left crank (which sees torque and bending at the crank-spindle splined interface). If you won't do big annual miles, it's fine.

 

[al-onestare]

Re:

Something wicked this way comes...

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqUtV8XWSes[/youtube]

:mrgreen: :facepalm:

 

[FlimFlamVanHam]

Oh yessss.

Your dedication to this bike is so intense that you not pursuing it actually had me wondering. Maybe he's grown tired of the Kapu? Maybe his green project has fulfilled his wants/needs? Both were let downs and did not mimic the passion you've shown for years.

When I saw the ebay ad ended I thought, I wonder if the seller decided to keep it or if he sold it locally? Maybe it was the way you closed the thread that the seller had posted in that made me think you were not interested in it?

Nice job.

How bad is the dent in the top tube?

I guess it's in transit...the wicked something is coming your way. Duh.

 

[al-onestare]

Oh yessss.

Your dedication to this bike is so intense that you not pursuing it actually had me wondering. Maybe he's grown tired of the Kapu? Maybe his green project has fulfilled his wants/needs? Both were let downs and did not mimic the passion you've shown for years.

When I saw the ebay ad ended I thought, I wonder if the seller decided to keep it or if he sold it locally? Maybe it was the way you closed the thread that the seller had posted in that made me think you were not interested in it?

Nice job.

How bad is the dent in the top tube?

I guess it's in transit...the wicked something is coming your way. Duh.

Thanks for the kind words. It's an equally tricky and amazing market / scene right now. I might chat about it later on but I'll save it for now. Least to say, the usual avenues and techniques to score what I need have been stretched to new limits.

In the meantime, all fingers and toes crossed that this special delivery makes it's way safely over the pond to HQ. With that I'll be able to make a decision on the Mudshark colour match since I'll have the road version Velocity stem, something I didn't think I'd ever score.

 

[al-onestare]

New bike day! As outed in the series of final posts on the wanted thread, this ex-team (local rider to the North West, to be identified, are the after market decals a clue?) '96 Kapu is as rare as the '97 Kapu. In fact, until last year, many of us weren't aware these even existed. It's the same rusty, burnt orange/gold as the mountain bike team were riding back in '96 (Kula's, Hot's, KK's, etc.) and the big giveaway is the NEMO stamp on the BB with no serial number underneath.

It's a stunning bike, a real "one-off" (there is at least one other in the wild). Shirley that's enough as it is. In any other circumstance for sure.

But this is a '97 Kapu build thread. So you can probably guess where this is headed: the ultimate retrobike sacrilege... :mrgreen:

If you're in the market for this burnt gold beauty, frame and forks then hit me up before it hits the worldwide market.

 

[FlimFlamVanHam]

Frame AND forks? I figured for sure you'd be keeping that mudshark. You sourced a mudshark or similar for the green? I assume somehow you managed the former.

It even has the plastic plug for the wedge bolt hole in the stem. And looks like the original Campy pedals too?

 

[al-onestare]

Frame AND forks? I figured for sure you'd be keeping that mudshark. You sourced a mudshark or similar for the green? I assume somehow you managed the former.

It even has the plastic plug for the wedge bolt hole in the stem. And looks like the original Campy pedals too?

I've sourced a pair from a 92 Haole from MatBH5 :shock: Yep, from a Haole. Now I have the correct stem I can get as close to colour match as possible for the respray. I couldn't believe it still had the plug. Thank goodness it does but you need a ridiculously long allen key to get to the bolt

Everything is original bar the tubes and tyres and perhaps the tape. Even the cables and outers are OG.