'97 Kona Kilauea

i've always ridden 16" and 17" frames and this is an 18" but Kona sizing being what it is i thought it would be ok... always wanted a Kilauea so if its too big i'll just try to swap the frame with a Retrobiker for a smaller version..

I guess I'll find out soon enough!

I've promised myself, purely for looks, to run with straight handlebars....I nabbed some 600mm X Lites yesterday.

baj":1di8et2k said:

i've always ridden 16" and 17" frames and this is an 18" but Kona sizing being what it is i thought it would be ok... always wanted a Kilauea so if its too big i'll just try to swap the frame with a Retrobiker for a smaller version..
I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Click to expand...

A size 17 has the same front height as the 18, as they share the same 11cm headtube, so the only significant difference is that it's 1.2cm shorter in the top tube.

The main thing that strikes me size-wise is that 13cm stem - basically you're running the bike the same length as a size 20 would be with a 10.5cm stem, so it must seem very long compared to what you're used to. If you swapped the stem for one a cm shorter than you would normally use on a size 17, you would have a bike the same effective size as a 17.

cheers Anthony, it does feel long! I measured the stem ctc to be 120mm so you reckon find something around 100mm? I thought the stem was OE, the finish is lovely so i'll have to be picky if i do replace it!

baj":3p0usrr5 said:

cheers Anthony, it does feel long! I measured the stem ctc to be 120mm so you reckon find something around 100mm? I thought the stem was OE, the finish is lovely so i'll have to be picky if i do replace it!

Click to expand...

Sorry, that must be the original stem then and I was fooled by the scale of the picture (doesn't take much).

I agree they're nice stems, but they're actually very similar to lots of other stems that were around on the market back then. Also similar to the contemporary Ritchey stems that you can often see for sale on eBay.

The geometry chart below shows how they used stem length as a major part of differentiating between sizes - in theory, you shouldn't because stem length should be all about steering characteristics, but it's evident that they used stem length and also seat tube angle to minimise wheelbase differentials. I think they're saying it's the lesser of two evils - i.e., a long stem deadens the handling, but a long wheelbase deadens it even more, so we'll go for longer stems and slack seat tube angles in the bigger sizes as well as longer top tubes.

The intended height range was roughly 5-0 to 5-6 for size 16, 5-3 to 5-9 for 17 and 5-6 to 6-0 for 18. So I guess you can look at the standard stem for each size and adjust according to your height. But it's only a reference point - in the end, it's all down to personal taste anyway.

This is what a size 17 looks like with a 90mm Ritchey plus no-name ti bar, Onza Ules and 70mm Z2 (which raises the front one inch unloaded, compared to a Project 2). It seems fine to me, it's what I like.

The blue does look nice


Talking of stem length, of course a year later and some time after that peoples arms got shorter (98/99/00 at least)

I think the taste for stems got shorter when suspension came in, then they got shorter again when 51-63mm gave way to 70-80mm and then shorter still when they went to 80-100mm, etc.

Kona basically let the head angle get slacker at each stage, so moving to shorter stems would be logical and help to counteract the slower steering.

But Baj doesn't need to worry about that as the quoted 71 degree head angle is what you get with a P2, so he has the intended Kona handling.

well i am 5'8" so guess a 17 would be ideal, I noticed whilst riding it for the first time today that the original Racelight seatpost is bent towards the rear making the stretch apx 10-15mm longer too!!! a chat with the chap i bought it from, a new seatpost+stem and all will be dandy in terms of riding position I reckon

thanks for all the info chaps, your 17 looks very nice Anthony. oh and if you ever fancy swapping frames for an 18 give me a nod!

just a brief update for the Kilauea now in 'winter mode', added some...

XT cranks
Avid SD7 Vs
Grey Conti Cross Country nobblies
USE seatpost
Cruds
+ lights


and a shite photo, not sure what happened there, camera phones ey?!

unfortunately some tool drove head on into my car last week and my neck is stuffed so won't be riding (or surfing or climbing) for apx 6wks min the physio reckons but at least its ready when i can!