Kona Cindercone 1999 - Fix up

Hi Guys,

I've just come across this site when searching for info on tarting up my old unused/unloved Cindercone.
Basically I've got a 1999 cindercone, which i bought second hand probably around 2001 ish, it was used as a downhill bike so has a few non standard parts on it.
I used it for a couple of years on local trails & since then with houses/kids/work etc.. I've not used it for probably 10+ years.
Since then it's been sat in a shed or under a car port.

My eldest lad (7) is now keen on riding his bike, so thought i'd fix it up a bit, although it still rides ok ish! it has a few issues.

I'm going to swap out the rusty brake & gear cables which is fine. the chain looks ok, but i guess it's worth changing?
The 2 things that are bothering me are the rear derailleur arm looks as though it's not straight down (so angled into the wheel) not sure if that's right or if it's bent?
When riding around it does sometimes slip out of gear and sound a bit rough in some gears, bearing in mind that it only has a single cog on the front if that makes a difference.

The other thing is one side of the front shock is leaking a bit of oil, I've had seals replaced many years ago for that issue, but an old mate did them then, Looking online it looks like the seals could be around £30+ thats if you can even get the right size (which i don't know) so not sure if it's worth the money spending out on them or try to get a second hand set of forks on ebay or similar? what things do you need to look for when buying forks to make sure they fit?

Also, is there any markings on it to tell what size frame this is? or where would you measure from & to, to work this out?

Other than that the bike seems ok...

I welcome any advice on things to do/change for a cheap tart up.. i'm very much a newby when it comes to bike maintenance!! i used to ride it and fix the odd puncture but that was about it.

Thanks for reading (if you made it through my rant!!)

Welcome to retro bike and tidy bike there.

To measure the frame size it's from the centre of the bottom bracket to top of the seat post. I would guess a 16"

Generally marzocchi forks are maintenance free but yours sounds like seals are needed again. For a service it's about 60 but you could diy. Sh forks are £40-70. You need a 1 1/8 steerer and the correct travel. 80mm would be best for your frame.

The hanger looks ok to me. I'm no expert on single ring set ups but get the gears adjusted first. That may be cause of skipping. Then look at new chain etc. that may mean new cassette and new front ring.

Diy on gears is fairly easy. Check out some YouTube guides or if you have a local bike charity near you go and get a lesson.

Hope that is some help.

Following this one up.
I changed the Cables & grips & just used it with my kids... until today

Got a call at work from the Mrs, some scum bag has broken into the shed & nicked it, plus my eldests Specialized hotrock 24 (black)
So if anyone gets offered an old battered Kona as pictured in the thread.. it's nicked!

Pee'd off at the moment, I've had that bike for 18 years. Surely not worth much now a days & i'm left with no bike.

Coinsidence… but we had advertised my other halfs road bike on gumtree & had someone very interested in it yesterday, they were going to view it today so we gave them our address...

*** STOLEN***Re: Kona Cindercone 1999 - Fix up

Just updated the subject to reflect it's now a stolen bike

Ah dude, that sucks. Hope it comes back to you somehow.
To get a new bike built on the cheap, you could try posting a thread up here... Everyone's got stuff knocking around their toolboxes that you could probably get for peanuts to build another.

what town r u in

Always loved the late 90s/early2K Konas - I had a '98 Muni Mula which died in an accident with a storm drain :facepalm: Hope you can get it back - lovely looking bike with classic late 90s colours

This was my old bike, sad to hear it’s been stolen! Did you have an update? Hoping you got the bike back.

I had so much fun on this bike, seeing that Trax sticker on the chainstay brings back so many amazing memories for me, I bought it new from Trax in Chippenham in 1999 after my Haro MTB ironically was stolen, then sold the Kona to buy a GT Chucker that was also stolen! Bloody bike thieves!

dyson said:

Welcome to retro bike and tidy bike there.

To measure the frame size it's from the centre of the bottom bracket to top of the seat post. I would guess a 16"

Generally marzocchi forks are maintenance free but yours sounds like seals are needed again. For a service it's about 60 but you could diy. Sh forks are £40-70. You need a 1 1/8 steerer and the correct travel. 80mm would be best for your frame.

The hanger looks ok to me. I'm no expert on single ring set ups but get the gears adjusted first. That may be cause of skipping. Then look at new chain etc. that may mean new cassette and new front ring.

Diy on gears is fairly easy. Check out some YouTube guides or if you have a local bike charity near you go and get a lesson.

Hope that is some help.

Click to expand...

That derailleur hanger definitely does *not* look ok. Replace it, try and index the gears, and if that still doesn't work, buy a new derailleur.

Sorry, just noticed that this is an old thread, so that bent gear hanger is moot.
Sorry to hear about the theft. I hope the bike finds its way back to you, it does happen sometimes