Y2K 'Pipmeister' Kona Kula

I believe in silver linings and Covid19 has had its positives for me. To explain, I have been into bikes since my first Raliegh Burner BMX back when I was a little nipper. My First MTB was a Rigid Saracen back in the mid 90's which was tricked out with Pace hubs, Purple Campagnolo rims, Cook Bros cranks and a Hope Ti BB. It even had a Flextem! I've had a couple of Konas over the years and a GT Zaskar LE but always loved Kona, especially the steel frames. However for the last 10 years I have not owned a bike or done any riding... Until Covid!

A friend of mine who buys and sells bikes called me up saying he was at the local tip and had found a old Kona Lava Dome. He asked if I wanted it for £30 so I said why not. It sat for a while and then when lock down hit I began wondering. I had the idea to get a disk tab welded on and do a restomod with it. So the process began gathering secondhad parts from the Pinkbike BuySell pages. A 2013 SID XX and some lovely Crossmax Wheels found there way to me along with some other goodies. As the process went on I began to feel it would be a shame to mess up the lovely purple paint on the old Kona...

I had been talking to Wasdsy who builds some of the most beautiful retro mtb's out there. He mentioned that he had a 2000 Kona Kula frame in near mint condition. The previous owner had bought him and his wife a pair of kona bikes back in 2001 and hardly ever used them so it had sat in his garage for 19 years. A deal was struck and the frame is now mine! Thanks Wadsy

EDIT: Details on the history of the frame here in Pips original thread: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... p;t=326440

The build will be a kind of resto mod although I cant go too modern as I dont think 29" wheels will fit!

Re: Y2K Kona Kula - Previously from the Pipmeister collection

Excellent

Looking forward to seeing it get built

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Very nice!!

Re: Y2K Kona Kula - Previously from the Pipmeister collection

Lovely condition and interesting colours.

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Re: Y2K Kona Kula - Previously from the Pipmeister collection

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Frame arrived today so I made a start

I would have loved a King headset but for the money the Cane Creek 40 is just as good and was only £35 new. I also found the Loaded Precision stem on sale for dirt cheap!



Found a set of Sram XO1 cranks for a bargain price. They need a new pedal thread though so will be sent off to Highpath Engineering soon and then i'll refurb them with new blue decals (https://highpath.co.uk/). Also bought for a bargain price was a barley used RaceFace Cinch BB.



This is as far as the build has come so far. I still need a few components and the secondhand brakes I bought need a service.

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My camera doesnt do it justice but this thing is gorgeous. In bright sun it looks almost lime green but then in different light it changes to a more leafy green. Cant wait till it gets dark so I can see if the decals still glow

Just a mock up. I had hoped to get it rideable but the chainring I have doesn't fit the sram spider.

Waiting for some nicer bars, a chainring that fits (going for a direct mount jobby), decent tyres, pedals, and a new seat. Im thinking about a dropper post too.

Also need a better camera!!