My Hotrod

[crusty]

Who can guess what it is?; should be a piece of cake for you guys…

It’s a rider, hence the modern bits n’ pieces, hopefully not too sacrilegious, and obviously the bike still needs a bunch tweaking. I’m totally open to advice and suggestions…

RE: hardtails, I used to be able to go on epic 5+ hour rides without feeling beat-up. Nowadays, 1.5 hours, and it feels like I’ve been in the ring with Mike Tyson. Am I nuts to be contemplating trading in my baby for a 2010 carbon Blur?

 

[one-eyed_jim]

Circa 1998 Kona King Kahuna innit.

http://www.konaretro.com/articles/catal ... Page06.jpg

There's a kind of purposeful brutality about it.

 

[jimihendrix]

Looks superb , cant really see anything i'd change on that, very nice rig as is

 

[xced]

Who can guess what it is?; should be a piece of cake for you guys…

It’s a rider, hence the modern bits n’ pieces, hopefully not too sacrilegious, and obviously the bike still needs a bunch tweaking. I’m totally open to advice and suggestions…

very nice kona king kahuna ?
first off i would cut those brake hoses

 

[Neil G]

That's one nice KK, parts look great on it

 

[crusty]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I agree with you xced, the brake hoses need to lose a few inches.

The only mountain bikes I've ever owned have been Kona's because I've always loved the geometry:

First Kona: Early 90's 19" Explosif, bright lime green. -- SOLD

I'm about 5'7.6" w/ a ~31" inseam and realized that 19" was a little big. A nice Hot came along so I upgraded..

Second Kona: Early/Mid 90's 17" Hot (Tom Teesdale made w/ the ribbed down tube), pale lemon/Ferrari yellow. -- SOLD

Always wanted a Ti bike so I ordered a King Kahuna, thought 17" was smallish so I went with an 18" frame.

Third Kona: 96 18" King Kahuna with the 6-4 rear triangle; I remember the sales pitch went something like this: :twisted: "Dude, the tubing is the exact same stuff they're using to build the Apache Attack Helicopter." -- SOLD

After riding the 6-4 KK for several months I realized that 17" would have been a better choice after-all. So, I ordered a 17" KK.

Fourth Kona: 98 17" King Kahuna pictured in this thread. Based on the serial number I'd have to say it was the first 17" KK frame built in 1998.

I couldn't afford a complete KK so I always went with just the frame and built it up from there. I rode these bikes everywhere; paved trails, dirt trails, in the mountains, to school, to work, 365 days a year (studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta's work great on polished/rutted ice ); my favorite has always been fast, gnarly, roller-coaster like tight single track...

Just picked up a 16" Fire Mountain for my kid....I also just sealed a deal/bargain on a nice little gem; I'll post some pics when I have more time..