1996 Lava Dome..going to hell and back..anti-retro thread!

dablk

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Warning... this thread will get very very ugly before it gets pretty.

So I needed a bike that I could chain to things and not get too upset about. I also wanted something reasonably nice that would do longer runs. I had planned this for the E3 but it became far too expensive and really was far to nice to do that to. Plus i could n't just throw a powder coat at a beautiful polished frame when i wanted to.

So figured a stretched out kona might do the job. Never owned one before so I though would give it a whirl. Large ones seemed few and far between. I just missed a stunning 20" 96 Lava Dome that would have done the job. Then a 91 Fire Mountain came along which was just perfect. After sealng the deal i went abroad with work for a month. Got back and was very happy with it.

FM12.jpg


Then a week later this happened

FM1.jpg


I had caught a sniff that the orginal Lava Dome I had missed might be availible again, and local this time. So after explaining to SWMBO why one kona became two. it was pickedup. The Fire Mountain has a new owner along the road.

Now I got stuck once again with how utterly lovely the Lava Dome actually is.

Lava1.jpg

Lava3.jpg

Lava2.jpg

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But this time I need to stick firm I need a bike not a Garage Queen... The P7 is more than filling that slot right now. So she going to get a year of work... then treated.

Initial plans involve saving all the lovely parts and just sticking whatever I find. I need semi slick, bigger rings, and brakes that work. Theres also going to be horrible u-lock mounts and all sorts. Never had a Dog Collar before... probably wont again either!
 
I done an old lava dome for run about duties too.. But time spent cleaning/restoring means I got a bit guarded over leaving it chained up etc :shock:

Bought another one to use as runabout but will probably go same way

:D :D
 
So here she is... dont worry all the nice retro parts are safely stored for a rebuild one day. Thanks EofB for the excellent seconds he sold me. And to merlin cycles..not sure if it was a typo but got a full set of v brakes including outers and cables for £31 delivered?? they are back up to £45 now.

Its a 48 on the front now for road use.

Lavafinished7.jpg


Went for the frame clamp brake boss converstion. the double actually looked neater than the single.

Lavafinished8.jpg


The rumour is there is a next to nos bar on its way which will let me add bar ends to this one without worrying about making a mess of it.

What I really want is a set of the tan wall double fighters..anyway.
 
thanks lads... it used to belong to a macretro rider i believe... its got a side stamp on the headtube.

yeah usual story its now too nice to lock up but trust me it gets a full kryptonyte and matching cable everytime it goes anywhere. and thats only local no inner city venues.

a lavadome was on my list of bikes i really wanted when i was younger.. So thats one knocked off the list.

all good fun
 
Re: 1996 Lava Dome..going to hell and back..anti-retro threa

Well she's done here bit and its time to return her back to an original spec. I don't think the frame is bad enough to respray yet.

I haven't found a scratch tyre but do have a new conti to match the tan wall that is currently on it.

The only real question. I can either go back to the lx sti shifters as it came to me. And reading into the history I don't know if these came on it from the factory. Original spec is curve levers and gripshift. I have these aswell. So what do folks think stick with the lx that came with it or go with the catalogue? Rem its a bit of an odd paint job as its a 96 spec and decals, but 97 paint.
 
Re: 1996 Lava Dome..going to hell and back..anti-retro threa

That frame doesn't need a re-spray - very very nice. It's original - keep it that way.
 
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