90's Steely Kona's- Retro Content

Here’s my newly aquired Cinder Cone- this is what my dream bike would have looked like 20 years ago. And now it’s possible!
(Remember disc brakes weren’t available then 😉 )

Ignore the cheap tatty C90 front mech, it’s a bodge until i can get an XT the correct size. And those Bonty cranks may well be replaced with my Isis Truvativ Stylo cranks and BB. Good or bad choice?

I just need a seatpost and collar and V brake dogcollar (anyone know where i can get one?) to finish it.
Anybody happen to know what size post and collar i need? My calipers broke 🙁

Well that’s mine- now show me yours 💡

Nice work!

Phwooooooar! Beautiful!

Ive got a really tidy 1997 lava dome frame and forks sat in my garage begging to be rebuilt.
I am considering using my 29er as a donor bike and i would only need wheels and v brakes to finish it off.
I will post a pic later.

Nice. A ’92 if I’m not mistaken – mate of mine had one.

Seatpost collar is 30mm, seatpost is best measured – I would put good money on 27.0 but there’s a slim chance it could be 26.8 or 27.2.

I do without the rear cable stop for V-brakes, I just run a full length outer and use electrical tape at the front, rear and middle of the top tube. Works perfectly and on a black frame you don’t really notice it (assuming you use black tape, of course).

Ohh that’s nice! That frame looks brand new, have you had it sprayed?

A ’92 if I’m not mistaken

[Kona geek]
’91 frames had a welded on lug for the seat clamp bolt, ’92 frames had a seperate collar
[/Kona geek]

I found a Kona catalogue from the early ’90s amongst a pile of old MTB mags from around that time. Still look good!

A ’92 if I’m not mistaken

was going to say isn’t that a very early 90s frame with late 90s fork? How’s it handle being a none sus corrected frame?

Nice tho I always liked the look of konas had a 95 lava dome wanted and explosif for a long time.

Oh and for tidyness sake you should be able to get a top tube clamp for the rear brake cable so you don’t have to zip tie a full length outer on (I’m assuming the one on the seat tube is an inner wire guide for canti brakes, that’s what mine had)

A ’92 if I’m not mistaken

Correct! 😉 Seperate collar on mine, i was going to do the full length cable and leccy tape/ zip tie option, but being a tart i was hoping someone somewhere did a dedicated collar.
Ah well- tape seems good enough 😆

(I’m assuming the one on the seat tube is an inner wire guide for canti brakes, that’s what mine had)

Nope- i bodged a DMR chainguide clamp to fit with a zip tie poked through the hole. cant beat a bodge 😆
Dont know how it rides yet as i need a seatpost before i can head out, but a friend of mine has a 94 Fire Mountain with Rockshox Revelations fitted. It rides pretty well even with the forks at full travel, but is best set at about 100mm. Think i’ll drop mine a bit….

Nope- i bodged a DMR chainguide clamp to fit with a zip tie poked through the hole

so you’re still using full length outers? With a proper one you can do this actually I did get one of those for my LD will try to remember to have a look for it when I get home.

BTW I tried some 63mm (ooooh nice eh?) travel forks on my LD no idea what that AC was but they slackened it noticably, not awful handling but slower.

Keep meaning to build up a stretched out, skinny barred (with bar ends) steel framed, nostalgia bike, not got round to it yet tho. Good luck with yours.

Here’s mine – a ’95 Kilauea – two repaints, two rewelds (broken DS dropout), countless different builds. Still going strong 🙂

Mind it’s tight on tyres – anything over than a 2.1 (and not even a wide 2.1) is out.

Lovely. I have an old steel Hahanna which I’m about to build (again) with parts that are being upgraded and coming of my new Inbred. Almost prefer the ride of the Kona though……

moocow, that’s funny, the frame I had in mind for mine was an inbred, they seem quite similar to old konas.

They are – just take longer forks, bigger tyres and discs. Mine are near identical setups.

With a proper one you can do this actually I did get one of those for my LD will try to remember to have a look for it when I get home.

Let me know if you find it- it be interested in that! 😉

Nice Kilauea clubber- agreed on tyres, iv’e got 2.1 Fire XC’s and there’s not much left 😕

They are – just take longer forks

And bigger tyres 😆 More mud clearance….

ahem 😉

I just need a seatpost and collar and V brake dogcollar (anyone know where i can get one?) to finish it.
Anybody happen to know what size post and collar i need? My calipers broke

If you put a post on retrobike for a dog collar you might get one, but it’ll cost you £15/20 ish.

Check out http://www.konaretro.com/ for old catalogues.

I have a kona seatpost and and collar taken from my exposif (98)if you are interested.

The seatpost in this Hahanna was 26.8, the catalogues for Konas 1990 to present are all on line if you do a bit of searching.

BTW the comparison to on ones is a good one, I went from the Hahanna to a Scandal they are very similar, On One slightly slacker.

As for seatpost, think it might be a 27.2.

Again I’d ask the experts on retrobike, they are a endless font of nformation.

We should organise a retro Kona ride.

Where’s everyone based?

Got an Explosif frame from ’92, looks identical to the op’s Cinder Cone except it says Explosif!, and is made of Tange prestige. Lovely frame, rode it for years as a commuter.Been thinking of getting it resprayed for a while now. Rossi46, did you get yours sprayed?
Def 27.0 seatpost btw.

My Kona above is 27.0 as were most steel Konas of that era. that said, lots were over-reamed and mine will actually take a 27.2 better (27.0s tend to slip). 29.8 (or 30.0) seat clamp for mine.

(Bristol BTW – tons of old Konas used here in SS form)

I’m slowly gathering the bits and pieces for mine. It’s soon to go to Argos for a disc mount addition. THe top guides are going to be taken off with cable guides added to under the top tube, then powder coated with new stickers. Forks will be shortened to 100mm. This started as a hack bike for my sister but it’s developing into a proper project!

Btw, I ride in Bristol a lot of the time too. Kona retro ride’s a great idea!

Gawd, we did a Kona Retro ride at Thetford back in about 2003 or something. We must be on Retro Squared now.

You ready for the Konas that have passed through my hands (legs) over the years? Let’s go… (I still have the first two, but not the rest.)

Original old-school awesomeness: 1993 Kilauea. Shortly after I bought it I stoved in the top tube and had to have a new one brazed in. I had a custom paint job done at the same time: metallic flake black to silver with smoke stripes. It looked the dog’s nuts. I hand-polished all the gold anodized bits (which matched the original Mag21 finish) to silver as well. Fun.

Note the winning riding position with 150mm stem and long bar ends. Must get a bigger copy of the pic, though.

In about 1998 I had it resprayed; it was supposed to be like the blue/purple Klein finish but they didn’t bother putting purple on the fork and didn’t lacquer it, and the decals were cack. Disappointing.

Then in 2004 it was sprayed again, plain metallic black. (It’s got a silver seatpost and a tasty silver Syncros Cattleprod these days but otherwise this is how it is.)

Next up, the only other Kona I still have – the ’96 Lava Dome. Bought second hand in about 2002.

These days it’s geared with some antiquated Sachs 7000 derailleurs and Deore thumbies. Still rocks super hard.

It was my winter bike for a few years:

Unit, from sometime early 2000s. Didn’t have this one long – the head angle was slack even with 700c forks and I just couldn’t get on with it.

The jizzworthy Hot. 1994/5 model sprayed in 1996 colours, I picked this up for a song with a matching A-Ha cruiser. I spent more time sitting staring at the welds than I did riding it – I didn’t have the heart to abuse it properly when I had two or three very similar and less bijou bikes to hand, so I sold it. If you love something, set it free.

2001 (IIRC) Chute, I f***ing loved this thing – had it in various geared and single-ring guises and with mixes of 26″ and 24″ wheels – but ended up selling it because getting older and wiser I was doing less of the sort of riding that it wanted me to do.

I played with mixes of 26″ and 24″ wheels on it too:

1993 Hahanna – bought it cheap, resprayed and rebuilt it, sold it on.

Can’t seem to find any pictures of the A-Ha… and can’t think of any more I’ve owned 🙂

Correct! Seperate collar on mine, i was going to do the full length cable and leccy tape/ zip tie option, but being a tart i was hoping someone somewhere did a dedicated collar.

I might have a spare OE Kona cable guide, if you’re using canti brakes (Not vees) Drop me an email and I’ll have a look at the weekend 🙂

Here is my 97 cindercone with conversion to SS…

steel 🙂

That ain’t a ’97 Cindy 🙂

I think I have a kona seat collar too. I’ll try remember to have a look tonight / tomorrow

Thanks everyone! Seat collar deffo has to be for V’s- no way im going back to canti’s 😉 and disc’s just wont suit a Joe Murray.

My frame here is as bought off of Ringo on Retrobike- it’s the original paint as far as i know, really good for a 20 year old frame!

For a Retro Kona ride, im based in SE London/NW Kent 😀

The jizzworthy Hot.

8) loving that!

Excuse this if its already been mentioned – I have just looked at the pics 😳 😆

A v brake cable can be used with the ST mounted brake collar in the same way it would for a canti brake. All you need is an appropriate sized ferral to take the cable from the collar to the noodle.

See here running a v brake (an old one of mine):

TT mounted cable stops are about but do look unsightly

Great looking bike BTW 8)

Here’s my mate Phil on his Fire Mountain in about 1996:

And the same bike about 1998 (first pay check 😆 )

He still has it and still rides it, and it’s only had one recent respray. Quite a few bits changed and im not sure about his choice of forks 😆

Here’s me on my old Kona Sex One (ok it’s alloy and boingy!!) in about 1998…

Wish i could find a pic of my 96 Cinder Cone, it was a sight to behold! As you can see, i used to like my coloured components 😆

If i find a pic i’ll post it up- you might need sunglasses!

This is my one getting fat air in 1995 (I don’t think phat air had been invented yet)

(note the buffalo jacket(!) and Hope mechanical discs…)

/\ Nice phat air 😆

Excuse this if its already been mentioned – I have just looked at the pics

Thanks for the advice- im going to try/ bodge (delete as appropriate 😆 ) that!!
Pics will be posted if succesful….

Nice bike! My Kona isn’t quite that retro (2002 lava dome)but still keeps that classic shape/profile. Funnily enough, it still rides great even when compared to my ‘other’ bike