1990 17" Kona Lava Dome restoration project

agent29

Dirt Disciple
I bought two Kona's over the weekend One very tidy 1993 original 16" Lava Dome and a rather deprived and scabby 1990 17" Lava Dome (although It was advertised as a 16") that was advertised here on Retrobike earlier in the month. The fact its a 17 is a big bonus as its more suited to the missus.

The 90 Lava dome is in need of some serious work to get it up to standard, It is complete with a worn Suntour X-1 group set. The rear mech has quite a bit of play in the pivots, its also a part steel construction which I'm not a fan of. With this in mind I am thinking of upgrading the group to a period Shimano Deore possibly DX setup.

The frame and forks are in a bad way so I will have them shot blasted and powder coated. gota get some decals sorted? The Araya rims and Suntour hubs at first glance seem ok but the spokes are well past redemption. the stem has been replaced with a girvin flex, which feels quite heavy, talking of which the bike as a whole is considerably heavier than the 93 Lava Dome? Due to the state of the ol' girl I wont be attempting to ride it just yet, not without a tetanus jab anyway. Next job is to get it stripped and prepped.

If anyone has any advise or pointers It will all be gratefully received

A big thanks goes out to Brother who PM'd me with lots of helpful advice
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2373.jpg
    IMG_2373.jpg
    262.3 KB · Views: 1,500
  • IMG_2372.jpg
    IMG_2372.jpg
    243.9 KB · Views: 1,500
  • IMG_2371.jpg
    IMG_2371.jpg
    109.4 KB · Views: 1,500
  • IMG_2367.jpg
    IMG_2367.jpg
    111 KB · Views: 1,500
  • IMG_2364.jpg
    IMG_2364.jpg
    247.9 KB · Views: 1,501
  • IMG_2370.jpg
    IMG_2370.jpg
    256.7 KB · Views: 1,501
  • IMG_2359.jpg
    IMG_2359.jpg
    156.1 KB · Views: 1,501
Right, got the ol' girl apart well sort of, my crank puller and chain extractor seem to have gone walk about?? anyway the frame apart from surface rust doesnt appear to be in bad shape. will be ringing around for quotes on shot blasting and powder coating this week.

Does anyone know what differences there are if any between the frames in the 1990 Kona range. Was it the same frame with different paint and components or a totally different package?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2386.JPG
    IMG_2386.JPG
    72.7 KB · Views: 1,474
  • IMG_2385.JPG
    IMG_2385.JPG
    115.4 KB · Views: 1,474
  • IMG_2384.JPG
    IMG_2384.JPG
    65.1 KB · Views: 1,474
  • IMG_2383.JPG
    IMG_2383.JPG
    150 KB · Views: 1,474
Nice, almost bought that myself. BTW Kona only did 16" and 18" in 1990 ;)
 
Thanks for the heads up, Ive just measured it again and it is indeed a 16".. my mistake. (the measure must have kinked when I did it the first time around?)
 
Good progress, what are your plans colour wise/spec ? Are you restoring back to original or something else in mind ?

Your x1 chainset and front mech look in much better condition. Than mine were, nice project underway anyhow

Cheers
 
Im undecided as of yet. If the Suntour X-1 groupset was in better condition I would consider keeping it even though its below par in my estimation. X-1 is more scarce than its Shimano counterparts so finding parts is a nightmare. I would like to fit it out with Some Deore DX if I can find the parts I require? I already have DX STI shifters/levers.

As far as colour, getting it powercoated white is the cheaper more sensible option. It would keep it original looking but I do like the splatter paint jobs of the era, but thats more of a pain in the a**e to recreate. So I'm leaning towards white at the mo.
 
Is it worth getting these Araya RX7 rims re-Anodised? They are straight, though if memory serves, when these were new they were only just considered barely adequate on the grounds that they were circular! Mind you I must admit my only remaining memory of a conversation regarding Araya rims was outside a newsagent as I went to purchase a 20 unit BT phone card, so I could be wrong?
 
The frame set was the same Tange that they used on the Cinder Cone that year. As you guess, it was just a different set of components. Originally I though the white version was more rare than the black red splatter on yellow but I've seen more and more of these now so I'm not so sure.

The X1 kit is rare so I'd try and do that up if you can if you want to keep it authentic. That said, the black finish wears off very easily and I didn't think it shifted that well.

The rims are decent so you could keep those and have them re-laced. Check out the one I did up a while back here:

viewtopic.php?t=172939&start=0

dsc00097yd.jpg
 
Thanks al-onestare, I am in two minds weather to keep the Suntour or not? Like you say it would keep it original and realistically the rear mech is the only worn component in the drive train. it has quite a bit of play in the top bolt that screws to the hanger, dunno if that can be repaired?.

Apart from the Girvin stem and seat the bike is original even with tyres although the tyre sidewalls are shot.
 
Well ive just had a quote here in the Peterborough area for shot blasting and powder coating. They quoted £20 for shot blasting, £20-£25 for powder coating (depending on the colour and finish chosen) and £20 for lacquer although they say they dont normally have a need to lacquer.
 
Back
Top