I am officially a RetroBiker

Yesterday i took ownership of a very tatty Kona..





the forks are absolutley fcuked. not even sure they're repairable, especially as i knocked the valve unpacking them and it snapped

No seat or seat post. Chap said he's got them floating about somewhere and he'll dig them out if i want them, definitely think i will for the seat post.

Bolts all over the bike are rusted to hell, headset needs replacing. Quill stem looks ok. rear mech is also missing. not sure if he'll find that as it looks like the gear cable has been cut, so that needs replacing too. all new cables..bleeeh, the list goes on...

one thing that does worry me is the bubbling paint near the bottle cage mounts..surely aluminuim doesn't corrode??



last of all a serial number for ID porpoises


could someone help me translate it?

Massive thanks to Anthony for some amazing advice and information and to rojo for being more excited than i am!

verdicts please gents..i know it's a long road ahead and would welcome all the advice and help you can offer! (still quite the junior at all this)

made at Hodaka factory / Taiwan in 1994

Anthony & rojo are really no. 1 source for getting advice & help in any Kona related stuff

as for your bike: seems that it just been garaged since ages and gathering dust. dismantle the hole lot to the frame and give all parts you are keeping a good clean. check the frame and give him also a good clean / T-cut / polish and it will stay out nice.

have fun

Quality! Love the AAs

Anthony is your man for info, sure he'll be along on here in a bit to guide you through and technicalities.

Not sure about the paint, mabe it is just bubbling an d lifting, as you are right, cant corode.

I see no problems, only opportunities.

It looks as though everything that's there is original, except for the LX M600 V-brakes and levers, which were an almost universal upgrade in 1997 and still work very well indeed. If so, the wheels and tyres alone are worth more than you paid for the bike - Mavic 237 on Kona suspension front / LX rear, with Mr Dirt / The Cleaner tyres. Like everything else, they just need to be taken to bits and cleaned/lubed and then everything will look a lot better. The paintwork looks pretty good to me, just needs cleaning and a bit of touching in. I wouldn't worry about a bit of bubbling - it isn't causing any damage, but you could file it off and repair it if it offends your eye.

I actually have one of those forks in working order if you wanted to do a period-correct build, but tbh you would probably be much better off with a Judy XC or Z-series Bomber for it. It would be well worthwhile chasing him up for the missing rear mech (XT), the saddle (worth 15-20 if in ok condition),and the rest of the Impact headset, as it would be a pity if it was MIA.

As to what you've got there, the Sugino Impel cranks look ok from here, you have the LX front mech, the stem which looks in good order and is worth a tenner or more and the original reasonable handlebar. Somebody seems to have done you a favour and put the left hand Gripshift SRT-600 in the bin, which is a good hint for what to do with the rh one. And even if the frame was useless, believe it or not the seat clamp is worth 5-10 and the cable guide must be worth 15 in the rare 31.8 size.

We mustn't get carried away though. We all have the experience of cleaning a frame like that and finding a crack, which in this case would be fatal. You would still be way ahead on the money, so not a tragedy, but I do think you should strip the bike down as soon as you have an opportunity and as you clean the frame have a really close look for any hairline cracks. I'm not saying these frames were prone to it, but just that until you've done that check, you can never really declare yourself content with your new addition to the family.

Subject to that, I can see this bike as being quite a fast cross country charger by the time you're finished with it.

you can see the potential.

Also I'd dump the forks - I've always thought they were ugly, especially where they narrow to meet the spindle. Period Judys are better IMHO

Thanks guys,

I'm very torn between trying to keep it original(ish) or going a little neo-retro (or whatever they call it).

Love the velocity stem, but not sure i like the options it leaves me with. I fancied some forks with a little longer travel (around 80-100mm) but really want to keep it sympathetic to the original colours (plus i really fancy some orange ano bolts!)

Had a very good inspection last night Anthony, no cracks in the frame at all, which is great news. All in peices, save the cranks as i can't find my bloody crank tool. Front mech has polished up amazing well considering, apart from the usual spots it's shiny shiny, as are the brake levers (typical, seeing as i'm looking at some grey/silver magura's very kindly on loan from a good friend)

The headset is a terrible mess, so unfortunately thats a-goner.

The front tyre is original, but the back is not. both seem in reasonable condition though the back one will be first in the bin when it goes. I'm thinking this may have semi-slicks on it for the time being after i lost my other bike to the missus.

I've got a long cage XT mech sitting underneath my desk, so i'll be digging that out (if it fits) but i'll be chasing him up at the weekend for all the outstanding bits.

the cogs are in pretty decent nick, though the middle front is showing some signs of abuse, the back ones will be fine after a clean and polish. the only thing i'm not sure about is the chain. as it's a total write off and the cogs are well used, i should be looking at a used chain too, right?

The gripshift will be aiding the build fund if anyone wants them (the pair if the other one turns up) as i don't really get on with Gripshifters. I shall be starting a wanted list very shortly for some shifters (been hassling rojo for some already! )

a little thought if i do try and clean up the paint chips, as there are a LOT! how easy is it to paint match ? spot thing from halfords, or is it a little more hassle than that?

i think that's it for now, it's still stupid o'clock and i should be getting ready for work, not posting up here..

thanks for the help so far guys

Got the cranks off last night, wanted to get some more done, but needed to help the missus with a few things and that ended up taking the whole evening. Can't complain too much tho

No play in the BB, middle cog may not be as bad as i thought.

Starting the cleaning and polishing tonight and over the weekend, so was wondering if anyone had had any thoughts on the paint and how to match it?

magas' idea of humbro was quite good, failing that should i just take he frame to Halfrauds and see what they can do?

Yeah, spot on with paint idea.

If you are going to overhaul everything I'd take the Bottom Bracket out and clean the threads and reinstall it, but personal choice.

Thanks coomber. I'll take it to halfords, and then the local model shop.

I would love to, but lack the tools and know-how. I'm content at the moment to leave as is, as to be quite honest that scares me a little. Maybe next time

Hi again,

If it is smooth I wouldn't worry about it, but for info they are really simple to remove. Just need to make sure you are unscrewing each cup the correct way. I had the same trepidation first time I starting taking bikes to bits last year but its not one of the harder things.

Thanks for the encouragement coomber. I think if i had the tools to do it, i would give it a try.

Something to save for the next bike i get my grubby mits on

I would definitely recommend Humbrol or other modelling paint rather than Halfords. The reason being that Halfords sells complete kits for specific cars at £15 a throw and until you've bought one and tried it you can't tell whether the colour is anywhere near right. Humbrol is £1.50 a tin, so you can risk it or even mix colours. With your graphics knowledge, you'll know much better than me. As the paint is metallic, you'll never match it perfectly, but you just want something that isn't noticeable.

It's never a bad idea to remove the bb, but it isn't really necessary if it's totally silent when you turn it by hand with your your ear right next to it. If it rumbles though, it's on its way out. If you like, I could drop round and remove it sometime if need be.

You bought your next project already

Going to look good max

Not just yet mate. infact the only way i think i'll be allowed to do that is if i turn this one over to her



Sussex Modelling Shop it is then, and thank you very much for the offer of help, that really means a lot

i did the ear/turn test this afternoon, and it wasn't totally silent, but it did seem very smooth.

I've had another minor set back with the front cogs and they seem fairly knackered. I'm not sure which eyes i was using when i looked at them the first and second times, but it was obviously the wrong ones..

I'm going to re-fit them anyway and see what happens.

also, i bashed the headset about today but it's claiming squatters rights in the frame and won't budge

Good things that happened today..
- I got a part worn chain and corresponding 8 speed XT cassette (very pleased about that, thank you Steve!)
- rojo sent me a headset
- Missing bits should be collected tomorrow after a quick phonecall this afternoon.
- a very tidy Kona top arrived for the missus from Rotwild, ta mate (this may not be so good, she is keeping a very close eye on this bike)

did some pics..

cranks before


cranks after


not amazing, but not bad for a couple hours work

What's wrong with those cranks?

Err, no what I meant to say was those cranks are rubbish, but it would be a shame to put them in the bin, so I'd be willing to give you 50p for them.

It would be only fair to warn those headset cups that if they won't cooperate, somebody might come round with a steel Marzocchi steerer and a big hammer, and they wouldn't like that, would they?