1994 FIRE MOUNTAIN

Here is my new to me Kona Fire Mountain.

Started with Mountain Bikes in the early 80's on a Freeway Yeti, complete with Sturmey Archer Hub brakes, was replaced by the bike shop after 3 months of commuting and light offroading, it just fell apart! Then got a Ridgeback S, the a Diamond Back Ascent, lovely blue smoke fade.

Have not got rid of a lot of the bits, so the garage is well stocked and I decided to build a 90's bike, bought a Voodoo frame and started choosing bits, then this Fire Mountain cropped up close by.

Hadn't had a lot of use, but plenty of cosmetic abuse!

Had to change the tyres and saddle to ride it, but that was it and it rode well, but I did want a little more!

So now has a pair of Specialized Stought hubs with Mavic 221 rims, radial spoked at the front, these will make way for a pair of ceramic rims when I have built them. Probably will swop for modern tyres and tubless conversion then too.

Crankset is now a polished Specialized Strong Arm with Middleburn 30 and 42 rings and Campag bolts. Ritchey Spds

A minty XT rear mech and new chain and 8 speed cassette.

Saddle is a titanium flight, but had to change the seatpost to suite, have sorted the saddle angle since the pics!

New brake blocks and rear gear cable did the lot.

The paints is unfortunately really bad (the piccies flatter it) so have bought new stickers from Gil and will strip down and sort this winter, will redo all the cables in grey like the rear mech cable then.

Just want to ride it for the time being. It's way more racy than my newer bikes.

Something about that makes it look very very cool....

I think its the frame colour with the red walled tyres and black bits.

Well done

My first MTB was a the same as this, super quick in town and fast twitchy handling. I ended up using it as a commuter on slicks etc during the winter and a trail bike in the summer.

Lovely colour.

That puts a lot of much more expensive bikes to shame. I don't know what it is, but it just looks stunning. Exactly what an early 90's mtb should look like.

Top build.

Thank's for the comments guys, I think it is the colour that does it, bit worried about getting it right when it is refinished!

Mike, I too am from West Sussex.

That's a lovely looking bike

I have an identical Fire Mountain but it's pretty tatty...those pics have made me think about building it up period correct

looks really good

I use my '94 Cindercone as a commuter. But last week just for a laugh my kids egged me on too ride the black route at Thetford on it. Skinny tyres and no suspension.

Did it hurt but did it make me grin...........

Apart from the red chainring, very nice I have one which I've had from new and is still my main bike - not the lightest ever (and it definitely shows that it's been through the wars) but it does what I want it to just fine and I enjoy riding it much more than the modern Kona (or other) stuff.

Some older pictures of mine here http://retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13552&sid=f24f51e320db9b4e14848917ac9f50e8 - it's still in much the same configuration as in the second pic (only with the SPD pedals which it normally wore, even back then)

Directly compared to a modern Fire Mountain (or Cinder Cone for that matter) it feels enormously more manoeuvrable, nippy and responsive - only the brakes are completely rubbish

Ta Again for the kind comments.

Thought I would get more heat for the red chainring! But it was one I had hanging around.

The brakes are funny, have replaced the hard original blocks but still a bit scary!

Really enjoying riding this bike, and can see how it would be a rocket on the road with slicks, may be an option when the bridleways get impassable round here in the winter.