Konfused Kona - 1999 Kona Caldera

letmetalktomark

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Hi All,

This isn't the first posting of this bike on the site but is now the only current one!

Way back in 1998 my beloved Specialized Stumpjumper was stolen from a friends garden whilst I was indoors (she was worth being in doors for ;) ).

I was absolutely gutted. :(

Luckily and thankfully my parents home insurance took care of things.

➡️ So in December 1998 my then LBS ordered in a 1999 Kona Caldera.

cal.jpg


I was totally stoked by this. Forks that worked, brakes that were not condition specific and a mind bogling 27 gears! The frame inc stays are all double butted making it a really springy ride.

Sadly after 9 months or so of being bikeless and with the lure of alcohol, women and cigarettes being as strong as it was the bike was rarely ridden.

A few years later, during uni, my enthusiasm returned for bikes and I found myself ridding more and more.

➡️ In 2006 I decided that the bike needed upgrading a bit ....

New forks, ti bits, riser bars etc.

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At the time I was living in Taunton and rode a lot on top of the Quantocks.

➡️ In 2007 I decided that rather than buy a new bike I would continue modding the one I had. By this point I had added a front disc brake and could really see the advantages of having a rear .... but no tab!

This was the same year I found this site!

So I made the decision to have Argos do some fettling.

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New tab, new cable routing, removal of canti bosses and finally new paint.

With the overhaul I decided to again upgrade. New forks, shifters etc.

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It was shortly after the pic above was taken that the Caldera was put to the back of the pile as I dabbled with a few older bikes.

Occasionally the Caldera was bought out of partial retirement for obscure duties like the London to Brighton:

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700c wheels and tyres made it a real hoot:

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And with cross tyres:

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By this point though the bike had had a few bits robbed from it and spent most of its time in a box :-(

➡️ In early 2010 I had a clear out of bikes nearly selling the Caldera :shock: :shock: :(

I realised that there was little point in having a bike and not using it.

After the clearout I decided that the Caldera would be reborn as my dedicated SS ride.

I shortened the 100mm travel Reba forks to 90mm added a tensioner and away I went:

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➡️ Role forward to know ........

I had dabbled in 29ers and could see the advantage but couldn't settle on a build/weight etc.

Soooooo ...... the rigid Salsa Cromoto forks I had used on the Caldera had huuuuge clearance so the thought came to me ...... 69er! :oops: :LOL:

Whilst I was at it I thought about trying the half fat build.

The result ......

69er

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Half Fat

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A big thanks to Dan aka Cannondaleking for building me the monster wheel. Not as fat as a fattie but just over 75mm tip to tip.

In 69er guise its loads of fun :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

The return of gears is weird but very welcome!

So looking forward to where this goes next!

Thank you for reading this far,

MArk
 
really enjoyable read, thank you :D

loving the 700 wheels on it, as a similar thought had crossed my mind for my AA (plus the added excuse of needing another bike to fill the whole that would create :twisted: ) did you need to do anything special to it to get them working? (other than the discs)

Also love the 69er..what was the handling like?

Max
ps - just how loud are those air horns??
 
BobCatMax":2vxnff9g said:
did you need to do anything special to it to get them working? (other than the discs)

Nothing special at all. As you say the disc brakes help loads. Other than that its just down to the clearance.


BobCatMax":2vxnff9g said:
Also love the 69er..what was the handling like?

I gave it its maiden voyage at the weekend and it was great. I have always felt that this generation of Kona's have benefited from a "longer" front end.

Some may say/feel/experience it being chopper like but in practice I cannot say its been anything to worry about!

BobCatMax":2vxnff9g said:
just how loud are those air horns??

Loud! :LOL:
 
Really enjoyable thread. That's one helluva versatile frame. Skinny tyres, fat tyres, single speed or geared you're obviously enjoying it and isn't that what it's all about?

What have you got planned for it next?
 
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