My 1992 Kona Kilauea

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 :D
 
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!
 
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...?

IMG_20141005_103256.jpg


A bit closer up it's all rather obvious.
IMG_20141005_183824.jpg



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

IMG_20141005_183943.jpg


IMG_20141005_184529.jpg


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...
 
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
 
mrdryskull":30891t0f said:
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!

BikerB":30891t0f said:
Not good,maybe pick up another frame?

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