1996 Kona Sex Too

This bike was brought to my attention through the "Ebay & Marketplace" section of the forum, it looked interesting, and I like Kona's so I entered what I thought was a fair price into one of the ebay sniper services, reasoning that if I won the auction I could collect it whilst down in Yorkshire visiting family. I wasn't overly fussed about winning this bike, I thought my bid was bound to be overtaken and wouldn't win anyway, and tbh I had such a busy few days doing the rounds visiting family that it kind of slipped my mind, that is until I got the "Congratulations, you won this item!" Message from eBay :shock: sh*t!! Now I had to excuse myself and take a trip down to Chesterfield to collect it .

So here it is...

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I knew before I bid that the Judy XC's needed work, but I took a bit of a gamble on the Fox Alps 4 shock as apparently that wasn't working either.

I stripped down the Judy's and as expected this lot came out from inside...



I've had a look around and couldn't find any of the Kronos springs anywhere, the Type 2 Spring kits that I could find seemed rather pricey, so I've taken a punt on some of this stuff https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2325312847, it kind of looks like the elastomer you find in Rockshox Quadra forks, so when it arrives I'll see if it'll work in the Judy's.

The Alps 4 shock went much better, pumped it up to 150psi and it's held pressure ok for a few days now and seems to work just fine. Phew! could have been a deal breaker getting that serviced or finding a suitable replacement. The seller said he'd pumped it up, but when I mentioned "shock pump " he had a confused look on his face, I think he'd maybe put 50 or 60psi in with a regular bike pump.

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The rest of The kit on the bike seems to work Ok (Magura HS11's feel nice and powerful), it's not all original (wheels are Mavic X517 SUP replacements), and not all complete... I didn't notice when I collected the bike (it was dark, I was in a rush, seller was busy with other people collecting items from his post-xmas clear-out), but the left crank arm is NOT a Kona Curve crank the same as the drive side :facepalm: oh well, it's beginning to look like it wasn't the bargain I thought it Was, I probably paid about the right price for it

So with the forks out of action for a while I decided to fit a set of Marzocchi Z2's in the mean time, whilst i was at it I changed the rather long stem and flat bars for something shorter and higher rise.
It all needs adjusting, tweaking, and tightening, but should be rideable pretty soon at least...

nice, i have one, favourite Kona colour.

Was going to go have a look at this as its only down the road from me but been really busy, totally missed the end of the auction too :roll: dont think i really needed 2 of them though

The rear shock on mine needs sorting, bit of a squelch and the original quadra's were about the same condition as the judy's on yours. Good spec though, apart from the gripshift, and rides fine.

Mark

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Normally I like Gripshift, but these grips are quite worn. I've some STX 8 Speed trigger shifters I might fit instead, which will also free up some handlebar space, although they're Riser bars they're no wider than the flat bars I took off!!
That, and I'm so used to trigger shifters on my modern bike it's a bit of a brain f*ck getting on a retro bike with twist shifters

Yeah, i prefer trigger shifters too. I dont mind gripshift but these, cant remember what model they are, just seem to feel too industrial. It doesnt help that i was running full length grips with them also

I went the other way and took the risers that came with it off and put some Kona flat bars on, the original stem is just a bit too long for risers.

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They're SRT-600, actually work rather well. I've some 800-X-Rays on my Orange which I really like, but it's not often I ride it, takes a bit of readjusting to twist shifting!

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So its ready to ride, will give it an outing this weekend.
I've changed a few things around, fitting the M739 XT shifters instead of the Gripshift took longer than expected but went ok once I'd figured out how to fit the new cable inner!
Found some Magura braces in my spares box, faded neon yellow ones, so I might respray those to smarten them up a bit.
There was only the driveside Curve crank arm, and a generic NDS arm, so they have made way for M737 XT cranks.
The Z2's are staying for now, I test fitted some Junior T's which seemed ok but they're awaiting a service.
Oh, and some Odyssey Sharkbite shin rippers to complete the red/yellow look

Looking good, i think risers suit the ride better, it seems more playful than a xc machine, even though it is nice on longer rides.

The bombers are nice forks but the rear design and shock make for a basic rear end, it is plush though and eats through its travel smoothly. I think you will enjoy your ride once you have the shocks dialled in, and that saddle sorted

mkone":1ytrpphq said:

,... and that saddle sorted

Click to expand...

What's wrong with the saddle?
It all needs a test ride and adjustment.
27.2 seatpost, so I'll have a ride at the weekend, then swap in a manual dropper post I've got, and do another loop to compare.... :twisted: