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Anyone own an old Kona and better still, ride it still?
Saw one on the Bontrager thread the other day and it got me thinking.
Here is my humble Fire Mountain from 1997. It was given to me by a friend (who buys and sells retro Kona stuff occasionally) when all my bikes were stolen last summer. Came with all the original papers/receipts etc.
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Lovely bikes.
https://flic.kr/p/2jC6mRx
I'm using this for work at the moment, 6 miles each way on an old railway line, it's pretty much perfect for it!
Rescued a 1989 Fire Mountain from the recycling centre years ago in exchange for a five pound note. In pretty ugly condition with a seized seatpost. Used it for station commutes wrapped in black electrical tape.
Currently awaiting shipping off to the powdercoaters while I decide what to do with it. Sky blue or olive green and turn it into some hipster nightmare ersatz cafe racer (I have the bits for this and did a few early lockdown gravel rides with this set up, great fun) or go for something a bit more period (purple, repro Kona decals and period parts). I may be in the minority here and given what I have just declared clearly no judge of taste but I found the original Joe Murray splatter paint job gopping, peeling decals and rust notwithstanding.
I sold my 2000 roast earlier in the week - probably doesn't count as retro as its not skinny tubed, but it had done me well
I'd love to find another 1995 Cinder Cone, just to see if it was as good as I remember. Snapped a chainstay in the end, got a warranty frame replacement, but sold it once I'd built it up. Still have the Project 2 forks hung up in the workshop for some reason.
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Waterford Greenway 2 months ago.
My brother was throwing away this 98 Hahanna (along with a trek Y3).
I mooched around retrobike and bought some xt and stx parts to "upgrade" and put panniers, bigger handlebars and big Apple slicks on. Used for all the jobs where I'd be worried about a more expensive bike being left without 6 tons of locks.
No, but I’d really love to get my hands on a 1990 / 91 lavadome in the Kona people with the black joe murray project forks! My first proper mountain bike, which I loved to and road to death until it got nicked! Would be great to get one for pub & bimbling duties
I've got a 93/94 Lava Dome (Green, silver P2 forks). Was the perfect commuter bike but not been ridden for a few years now and definitely a project to get it riding nice again.
I bought it with cash saved from paper rounds when I was 15 and I obsoletely, completely, loved it. It was my pride and joy. I will never forget the feeling of riding it for the first time. Cracking bikes.
I've always liked those green Lava Domes. Got into mountain biking in a big way in '94, buying my first "proper" bike and the Lava Dome was one of the bikes I lusted after. £600ish if I remember rightly? Only had a £400 budget as I was too impatient to try and save any more.
Yup, my only MTB these days is a 96 Lava Dome (although my 93 Kilauea which I’ve owned since new is still in regular service as a town bike).
Although I’ve thinned our the collection to just one, I’ve owned several more, the highlights probably being the Chute with the glow-in-the-dark decals (awesome play bike, was also bags of fun with a 24” rear wheel… in fact I occasionally browse eBay for a cheap Chute/Stuff/Scrap/ etc frame) and the 95/96 Hot. The Lava Dome is just about perfect, though.
@Jamze I've got that same 95 Cinder Cone which I've had since new, mainly used for commuting and gravel trails with my lad now though
I have a 1997 lava dome, but it needs some welding at the dropout!
2002 Bear that is just the frame, I built it up but its nowhere near as much fun as I remember, done the Megavalanche & been all over the place
2006 Dew Dee-Lux beater bike that lives at Euston & I ride into work
2008 Cowan with some Bomber Z150s, juts because
2013 Kona Dew as my ride to the local station bike,
2014 Unit, set up geared with 100mm forks as my winter/ XC bike
2018 Process 153 29
@mr_p jealous!
This looks amazingly clean, but no mention of a refurb in the description 🤔
Going down a Cinder Cone/eBay rabbit hole now...
I've got the same frame jabbi has with the fluted tube hanging up in the garage, must decide what to do with it
I’m using this for work at the moment, 6 miles each way on an old railway line, it’s pretty much perfect for it!
That wouldn't be the Chester to Connah's Quay Sustrans route 5 would it? I've seen a couple of nice retro Kona's recently, (or maybe the same one with different riders).
Going down a Cinder Cone/eBay rabbit hole now…
Nearly £500 for a singlespeeded 92 Cindy? Bonkers.
Pre-94ish comes with some old skool baggage as well: rear clearance was much tighter and top tubes half an inch shorter than the following few years.
I've had a few. My mate has a 2005 King that I rode last year. My god it was awful. Climbed well but I could barely stay on it downhill. Front wheel practically under my chest.
If anyone's interested I still have a 2007 Heihei supreme frame (Scandium FS) cluttering up my garage. Weighs about 2.2kg
I'm morally obliged to ask size and price in the rational hope that at least one of those counts me out.
I’ve always liked those green Lava Domes. Got into mountain biking in a big way in ’94, buying my first “proper” bike and the Lava Dome was one of the bikes I lusted after. £600ish if I remember rightly? Only had a £400 budget as I was too impatient to try and save any more.
£550 from Cycle Care in High Wycombe. I earned a small fortune on paper rounds and covered other rounds when the paper boys were off, this meant I collected their tips at Christmas. I was minted. When I pulled £550 out of my back pocket my mum asked me if I had been dealing drugs.
I had a '95 Lava Dome in blue - my first proper mtb. Used to take regular trips to Coed Y Brenin when it first opened. And after a few rides up and down Snowdon I invested in some Judys. Loved that bike.
Sold it to a friend who got it nicked from outside his central London office before he'd finished paying me. Sigh.
Also owned a '05 Dawg Primo a Cowan and a Blast.
I still have my 1997 Hahanna - first proper mtb, and really loved it. I used it as a commuter once I’d replaced it with something lighter for off-road. Still very fond of it and wouldn’t part with it. Good times. 😃
I’m lusting after a 92 Explosif. I had one BITD, sold it to buy a Canondale full suspension monstrosity.
My friends still laugh to this day about my stupidity.
Aha Stars n Bars ♥️ totally impractical (allegedly 😁) Curve machined canti's rubbish at doing their one job but look so good! 🙄 A Lifer for sure 😎
97 Kona. Still the bike I ride the most.
That's 98 copa
Ah, you're right kimbers.
97 looks like a darker green.
Ten year ago there was some guy in London who had an old Kona fame converted to fixed gear and 700c wheels pushed in. Was one of the nicest bikes I used to see IMO.
Started "proper" mountain biking on a '93 Lava Dome - the Blue/silver fade, still one of the best paint choices on a bike IMHO. That was sadly stolen after a group ride.
I bought another one a few years later in a fit of nostalgia to run as a winter singlespeed, lovely bike but the realities of rim brakes and chain tensioners through the winter filth mean that it got replaced by one of the Joe Murray Voodoo Wangas when they were cheap ones on eBay as it had similar geometry, sliding dropouts and disc mounts for the price of adding disc mounts to the Lava Dome.
I’m morally obliged to ask size and price in the rational hope that at least one of those counts me out.
Size large, price whatever, tbh.
I still use my Kula,although it's stuck on a trainer at the moment. I do intend to get it back out in the open soon😍
I use to have NuNu ( I think that's how it's spelt) but I had a rear wheel bearing fail on a long decent and the rotor cut a slot in the frame!!
@redmex, get it built and get riding! Mine lacks the Ultrastrong downtube, apparently Tange stopped production before the model year was out so later batches had no fluting.
@tthew, not me I'm afraid, I'm in Northamptonshire, obviously someone with good taste in commuter bikes!
Size large, price whatever
Ah shit, now I have to DM you 😂
Nice to see all the old steel hardtails and rigids still going strong, unlike most of the full sussers that snapped in half.
After a brief encounter with a 23" Falcon MTB (the shop convinced my parents that I'd need a large size as I was still growing - despite my protestations) I moved on to an '87 Cinder Cone from the bike shop behind Bath railway station. I'd seen pictures of it in Mountain Biker magazine and MBUK but nothing prepared me for just how amazing it looked in the flesh or how cool the straight forks looked. I absolutely rode the hell out of that bike - all over the mendips, south Somerset and down to exmoor - most of the time with no clue where I was going, just a burning desire to go further than before.
Sadly the lure of a Raleigh Dynatrax Team Edition saw the Kona gathering dust so I sold it on to my dad who then let it gather more dust and sold it again.
For many years selling that Cinder Cone was my biggest biking regret (pretty much up there with selling one of the early Pace frames and a Klein Attitude).
In 2018 and after a considerable amount of detective work my original Kona (complete with "Revolution" bike shop stickers) was finally tracked down to a shed - burdened by dust and unloved.
It's now hanging up in a loving home (mine) and when time permits will be restored to its former glory.
This was my '98 Fire mountain setup SS a few years ago
I've since disassembled it, flogged off the forks (like a moron) and welded a disc mount to the back, but not yet built it up as anything useful again...
Great bikes...
Got a medium Kula frame in the loft, not sure what year it is though. Was built up as rigid 29er for a while. Was nice. Might be 2007.
I had a Fire Mountain from new in 1994, bought it to commute back and fore work as an apprentice. Still probably my favourite bike of all time, even though I had possibly the quickest warranty claim of all time when the tyre exploded 20 seconds down the road riding it home.
For many years selling that Cinder Cone was my biggest biking regret (pretty much up there with selling one of the early Pace frames and a Klein Attitude).
That is a seriously nice list of regrets. I would have expected you to learn the lesson much sooner. You have basically listed most of my dream bikes form when I was a teenager.
When I got my Kona we used to ride at Coed Y Benin just as they were starting out with trails there. I remember going to the hire place and Sian Davis had her team issue Pace leaning up against the wall. I was totally star struck by the thing.
I have the one that Jamze posted. Bought it off a friend as a bike to use on our camper as a bike no-one will bother stealing. It does attract middle aged men though if thats your thing!
What does it ride like? frame feels light and zingy but the long stem and narrow bars don't do much for my neck! Its amazing how light it is.
still in garage somewhere!
Thanks for the great feedback so for all!
Keep them coming.
In the box of bits I got there were some dirty (muddy) p2 forks. But when I cleaned them up sadly there was a nasty dent behind the brake boss. So I’ve stuck with old school bounce for now.
Oh and original Scratch and Sniff tyres.
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Had a few !!
Oh and this one
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Not pictured:
1993 Hahanna
1996 Cinder Cone
Early 2K Dudu Team
2002 Scab
2002 Chute
2003 Scab
2005 Scrap
2005 Cowan
2006 Cowan
2006 Cowan DS
2007 Cowan DS
2007 Shred
2007 Coiler
2008 Five-O
2008 Cowan
2009 Shonky
2010 Stinky 2-4
2012 Cinder Cone
2013 Operator
2015 Shred
2016 Shred Prime
2016 Shred 2-4
Don't actually have a Kona atm :'(
I’d love to find another 1995 Cinder Cone, just to see if it was as good as I remember. Snapped a chainstay in the end, got a warranty frame replacement, but sold it once I’d built it up. Still have the Project 2 forks hung up in the workshop for some reason.
I'll try and get a picture of mine up tomorrow. It was my lockdown obsession!
That would be great @wrecker. By coincidence, found this the other day looking through some old mags. It was in with the paperwork that came with the bike.
I’d love to find another 1995 Cinder Cone, just to see if it was as good as I remember. Snapped a chainstay in the end, got a warranty frame replacement, but sold it once I’d built it up. Still have the Project 2 forks hung up in the workshop for some reason.
Yes. It is. Had mine since new and it’s gone through multiple builds during that time. Long ago retired as my main bike - but I still love it. Now rebuilt almost to OE spec.
I’ve owned two Kona bikes, a ‘96 Kilauea and a ‘95 Kilauea. I restored the ‘95 as the ‘96 version that I wanted is rare as rocking horse poop. I brought the frame for £50 and built it up buying parts from Retrobike and EBay.
I ended up with this...
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Mavic sunset rims, Onza HO brakes, Judy fork and a smattering of X Lite bits. Needs more anodised purple.
That's lovely Beaker 😛 I'd love another Kilauea but 14"ers are super-rare.
Beaker - that is a thing of beauty
Beauty? With the front QR in the wrong side so the writing is upside-down?
Come on, people. Standards! 🙂
(Nice to see a pair of Sunsets, though… I had some of those and lamented their eventual loss.)
Thanks for the comments... Ref the QR @bez - In my defence ever since I had my first front disc brake I always put the qr on the non disc side. The front QR’s on my rim braked road bikes are always on the right.
Oh wow - I hadn't even noticed the sunsets 😛
rubbish at posting pics but still have a '95 Kilaeua, modified to SS.
Having almost entirely migrated to bigger wheeled bikes, it's quite hard to adjust going back, but is worth persevering with - such a grin-inducing bike. Now front disc but still V brake rear which limits its use a bit. It's still a very quick bike on the right terrain.
I’ve got a 2001 Muni-Mula frame that needs a home. It broke at one of the welds on the NDS dropout - it was repaired but I never rebuilt it. I dare say it’s be ok for a pub bike. 19”, free to a good home. Based near Stourbridge and I have no desire to post it.
Looks like this one (but this is not mine):
'96 (or was it '97 - originally mustard yellow) Kilauea, repainted in 2013 in a rather fetching-to-my-eyes gloss black and seen here with the original P2s. It spends most of its time lately with a set of 100mm Pace forks from 2009 or thereabouts, and the chainset etc came from Spa Cycles when I had ideas about using it for touring or whatever. Mostly road/pub bike nowadays, but it does get the occasional opportunity to open its lungs over the Long Mynd or Wrekin. And very well it still does too, even with that tiller of a stem. I'll happily keep it until I die.
(Yes, yes, I know someone's going to say the grass needs cutting, but there are/were the stumps of some daffodils in that long patch in May, so it had been deliberately left long)
Mines around 92 I think,couldn’t resist buying it just for bumbling around.