My first Retrobike build, 1995 Kona Kilauea

Before I start a little about why I’ve gone with the Kona.... I started mountain biking in the halcyon days of the mid 90’s. My first proper bike was a ‘94 GT Talera which soon was upgraded with some purple anodised bars and a pair of Tioga Surefoot 6 pedals.

I joined the RAF in ‘96 and before long I’d gone for the cheque spread option with Leisure Lake and purchased a gorgeous ‘96 Kona Kilauea which was a superb bike. Three years later I sold it.... I still regret it now.

Seeing the Retrobikes and talking with their owners at Mayhem last year gave me the push I needed to buy another Kilauea. The plan was to have it ready and race it at this year’s Mayhem, shame I can’t now! Sadly it appears ‘96 Kilaueas are rare but a ‘95 came up for sale relatively close and I snapped it up.

As you can see the paint is in good condition, not perfect but very good for 25 years old! The decals will be need replacing before I do too much more with it. It came with the Race Face headset (period or not I’m keeping it) and a seatpost which is slightly bent. I’ll have to see if I use it or not.

Re:

About time dude

nice looking forward to this

A small update on the Kona. Today I spent a bit of time on the paint, it’s been clayed (I had some clay bar left from when I did my car) and waxed. The paint is smoother and has a bit more lustre. I’ve gone with a silver Thompson stem, not totally period correct but I really like them and the bars are Kona Race lite. I couldn’t resist putting the wheels on, they’re LX hubs on Mavic Sunset rims with IRC Mythos rubber. I’ve had these since 1998 when I bought a Cannondale Super V 1000 SL and they came fitted. I’ve come close to getting rid of them several times but I’m so glad I didn’t.... The fork is a Judy XC.
For me I can’t think of many bikes that look better than a steel Kona hardtail. Next time you see this it should have nice new decals.

Good progress

nice, will be good to see it with decals on again.

Funily enough, the first Kona i ever bought new was a '96 Kilauea too, from Sunset mtb, or something like that. I must admit that though it was a nice ride i never really got on with it as much as i had hoped. I had an 18" '93 Kilauea before it and expected it to feel the same. It always felt too big, later in the year they brought the 17" out which i think would have been a closer fit to the older 18".

Looking forward to more pics.

My ‘96 was a brilliant bike, I hope the ‘95 does it justice. I’m so disappointed that I can’t race it at Mayhem this year.

More progress... Gil provided a set of replacement decals which I stuck on the Kilauea today. Not an enjoyable experience as you only get one shot at it! That said they make such a difference! I’ve also fitted the brakes, I’ve gone with Onza HO cantis along with a pair of Kona brake levers. I have forgotten how many hands you need to actually get them set up. I think the last time I had a pair of canti brakes was ‘96 before I got vee brakes... [/url]Untitled by A A, on Flickr[/img]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2iKVJgn][img....com/65535/49723850043_3e99dd1504_c.jpg[/img]Untitled by A A, on Flickr[/url]

Very good, nice job.