Ok ok Im a retro junkie…I have been collecting the old steel konas for far too long now. And this year Ive culled my collection from a silly amount to only 3.

My 1996 Kona killy which has been ridden almost everyday since new has taken me over the himalayas, JOGLE, Malin to Mizen, andmost of the UK trails has been welded twice and will probably remain strong for many years to come

BUT have been looking at replacing it as I am starting to worry about a catastrophic failure whilst riding.

Do I transfer all the kit of this bike onto my immaculate 96 lava dome or take the plunge and go for a newer comparison.

Cotic soul or a Dialled Prince Albert?

For the sake of an inexpensive transfer of kit would I really notice the difference with a newer bike, and is it worth the £2000 price tag?

Grow up.
ian

I don’t feel like being negative to that reply so can only laugh at myself and say yes you are right!

😆

Neither a Cotic Soul nor Dialled Prince Albert sound like bikes you’d cherish in the same way as your crop of ’90s bikes. Why are you expecting a catastrophic failure?

I’ve got a 1997 Orange P7 and I don’t get the feeling it’s going to explode or disintegrate when I ride it – quite the opposite.

Second hand Soul frame, give it a go. If you’re not impressed, you’ll get your money back pretty much straight away on the classifieds. No risk aside from cost of new cabling and faffage. Soul if you want closer to the old Kona, PA or Ragley? for deliberately different style of frame.

Keep your old bike as is.
…and buy a new bike with new bits

A lot of people are pointing me towards the soul.

As someone who recognised early on that he liked the feel of steel and managed stubbornly to avoid the fads and has subsequently seen the market come back round full circle… is the new steel used in the Soul of a higher grade than the steel used in the 90’s?

the soul is 853, which will either make…

a lighter more compliant frame
or a stronger frame for the same stiffness/weight

…compared to bog standard cro-mo

Is bog standard cro-mo that bad?

I’d be surprised if you didn’t love the soul. Complete used bikes come up on here regularly. Why not buy one, see what you think and sell it on if you don’t like it. It’ll only cost you the price of postage to find out.

Sounds like you need to have a go on a Soul or similar; must be someone near you who can let you have a go??

As someone who recognised early on that he liked the feel of steel and managed stubbornly to avoid the fads and has subsequently seen the market come back round full circle… is the new steel used in the Soul of a higher grade than the steel used in the 90’s?

Oh dear. If you’re buying into that then logic and fact will clearly play no part in your decision so just get whatever allows you to convince yourself that it’s still in your niche. FWIW other than the snapped dropout which they were famous for, my 95 Kilauea is still going strong and I tend to kill kit earlier rather than later…

that he liked the feel of steel

Oh dear, other frame materials are available. I’d be more worried about geometry changes and longer travel forks if I were you

oh dear, i’ve got 5 bikes, 4 of them are steel, and i want rid of the token ally one – so i can replace it with a nice steel one, and i agree with you nick.

modern geometry, big light tyres, disc brakes, and forks that work* are all well worth experiencing.

(*let’s be honest, 90’s forks were a bit poo by modern standards)

Short story time:

Earlier this year I chanced upon a ’92 Cindercone frameset and bought it in a flush of nostalgia as I had an identical bike back in the day. I built it up a SS with free/old/cheap parts for the princely sum of £156. Now, I’m a great fan of suspension and disc brakes and to be honest I thought I was going to hate going so far back in time. I thought I’d find it harsh, flexy and dull handling, and would probably ride it once and forget about it

The truth was that it was a fantastic bike! Light, quick, agile and a joy to ride. It simply flies up hills and when you arrive at a corner too fast because of the vee brakes, it just adds to the fun. I was smitten all over again. I’ll probably only ever ride it on dusty summer evenings (have a Genesis SS for winter) but to be honest its a better bike than I ever remembered and a better SS than the modern Genesis. It just rides nicer!

Old Konas never die, they just loose their gears! 🙂

I’ve read your original post, but not all the responses I’d like to add.

I would, not spend 2k on a modern package, or the frames you have listed – seen them fail. Why not design your own frame based around the geometry of your beloved retro Kona’s, but factor in disc brakes, and 100mm suspension correction, some top end tubing, fillet brazing, stainless cable stops and get as close to that ‘bike for life’ as you can. You’d still have almost a grand left to play with. That’s what I’ve done anyway 🙂

+1 for Woodsman.
5 years ago I had Dean Cycles make me a Ti frame based on the geometry of my beloved 93 Clockwork but with disc mounts and 100mm suspension correction. Best (cycling) thing I ever did.

I reckon a Soul or PA would suit you.

I reckon a Soul will be too much of a step forward. You need something a little different.

Something designed around a smaller fork, around 100mm, and with sharper angles would probably suit you better. The Sanderson Life/Breath are both based around 100mm forks, have tighter angles (70 degrees with a Fox Float 100 fork) more akin to what you’ll be used to and are wonderful bikes to ride. They’re fast, really encouraging you to go quicker both up and down.

They do 2 models- the Breath and the Life. One’s cromo, the other is 853, I think you can tell the difference between the two materials, but the Breath is £250 while the Life is over £400.

You should speak to these boys about them. They’re nice and will do nice things for you.

http://www.thebikechain.co.uk/store/

Having had a Sanderson Breath (nice bike) I’d say an 18 year old Kona is still nicer to ride…..

Love PP first post. There is something nice about riding a rigid old steel bike. However on big all dayers there is definitely something nice about having at least a suspension fork and for some riding like the black mountains a full susser.

Besides I’m egtting old and my back hurts.