My 1992 Kona Kilauea

[jimo746]

Re:

Glad to see you persevered with the retro Kilauea, just goes to show... It may be old but it can still be a lot of fun.
I was out on a retro MTB (zero suspension) last weekend after having only ridden my modern bike since last summer and boy did I feel every bump in the trail! But you're right in that it forces you to be on top of your game and pick your lines carefully. Its just a case of adjusting your riding style to which bike you're on, but I still have as much fun as on my modern bike, just in a slightly different way

 

[Peach]

Re:

Oh I agree - I won't be giving up the FS any time soon; it's just a different kind of fun on the older girl. I was just pleasantly surprised at how differently it rode!

 

[Peach]

Update. Sigh, all good things come to an end it seems.

Long story short, I was out on the Kona yesterday and about 9 miles into the ride about 1/3 of the way up a local hill when something suddenly felt very funny at the front of the bike. I considered waiting till the top before checking but soon realised that something REALLY wasn't right.

Can you see what it is yet...?

A bit closer up it's all rather obvious.

After a nice relaxing 14mile walk home (!) I took some closer shots which appears to show that the tube has rusted from the inside.

I have to say I'm gutted. I've been loving riding this bike again and having owned it for 22 years I'm simply not yet ready to give up on it.

So - does anyone have any recommended frame repairers (ideally near Hertfordshire) and any thoughts on the viability of repairing old frames such as this?

Failing that I would consider a replacement and would like to stick to the '92 Kilauea for sentimental reasons so let me know if you are looking to sell a 1992 Kilauea frame /bike (pretty sure it's 20" but could be 19" I'll check at home).

On the bright side at least I now know what that annoying creak was that had bugged me for the last few rides...

 

[mrdryskull]

Sorry,,that sucks balls....rust doesn't look that bad at all,didn't you say this bike had an encounter with a car earlier in its life ? more likely the origin,,,any decent frame builder could drop in a new downtube,,and then you get a sweet custom paint job out of the deal !
Unfortunately the frame builders I know are very far away in Vancouver..
Good luck

 

[BikerB]

Not good,maybe pick up another frame?

 

[Peach]

Sorry,,that sucks balls....rust doesn't look that bad at all,didn't you say this bike had an encounter with a car earlier in its life ? more likely the origin,,,any decent frame builder could drop in a new downtube,,and then you get a sweet custom paint job out of the deal !
Unfortunately the frame builders I know are very far away in Vancouver..
Good luck

No encounter with a ford car - but rather a river crossing a road [the joys of the English language]. Thanks for the words of encouragement though!

Not good,maybe pick up another frame?

Yeah - definitely an option I'm willing to explore; just finding one!