97 Kona - replacing suspension fork with rigid

[jonthefish]

That is an exceptionally well spent $75. Buy yourself a beer. Or three.

I'd be looking for a 410 Kona P2 fork. In triple butted form. Light, good to look at and they do soak up some bumps.

 

[al-onestare]

Definitely, Bombers are pretty much the mutt's nuts for any '90s mtb & were always the "holy grail" for an impoverished younger me! Now here's the dilemma for you Al, '99 Stinky Dee green frame orange highlights. Do I refurb the leaking Z1 BAM that came on it or leave the freshly serviced Drop Off (crown courtesy of the worn out BAM, thank you sir) I've replaced them with to get it riding?

Personally I like the contrasting BAM orange but the green also looks well & I think the extra travel and simplicity suit the novice rider better for the moment. This is almost the dream dilemma to have had back in the day, although I think if I was going all out wet-dream I'd be choosing between Monster T and Shiver...

It depends if you want to stick to the original spec or not. Personally, I think there's more room for playing around if you're a purist, in this era and discipline, simply because DH was developing so quickly and folks were breaking parts left, right and centre. Whatever floats your boat. Orange for me

 

[al-onestare]

The frame is great condition, just a few cosmetic scratches. The seller noted that the seatpost was frozen and a bike shop added the tape to protect the post while briefly trying to remove it. I was able to grab the bike for $75 and was able to remove the frozen seatpost after a few days of adding penetrating oil and slowly working it out of the frame with the post in a vice. It was a tedious but satisfying process.

I plan to service and keep most of the original components, but I'm going rigid because I'll only be taking it out on hard pack and singletrack occasionally and will mostly use this for commuting. I'm a roadie at heart and that heavy squishy fork isn't the ride I'm going for when riding primarily on pavement. I will hold on to the fork at least until I complete the build and if I really like the completed project, I'll consider selling the fork to someone with an affinity for these bomber forks. Otherwise I'll hold onto it in case I decide to sell the bike or frameset some day. Here's a list of upgrades and additions I'm planning on:
- New rigid fork (Carver 410 a to c)
- Riser bars and grips
- New tubes and tires
- New pedals
- New chain


I have the same question. I can't find much info and assume the frame geo is the same.

Great news you'll keep the original components. You'll get more bang for your buck should you come to sell in the future.

Also good news you rescued the frame from a stuck seat-post.

If you're commuting then I'd think of a better suited bike but that's another conversation

 

[Ren Rawbor]

It depends if you want to stick to the original spec or not. Personally, I think there's more room for playing around if you're a purist, in this era and discipline, simply because DH was developing so quickly and folks were breaking parts left, right and centre. Whatever floats your boat. Orange for me

Purists bedamned! These bikes are for riding as long as the frames hold up, Although I do prefer to keep to a similar era definitely doesn't have to be catalogue. I do like the orange though, and TBF technically a better fork so when the better half has built up her confidence & bike handling a bit more will probably go back to them.

 

[Imlach]

The frame is great condition, just a few cosmetic scratches. The seller noted that the seatpost was frozen and a bike shop added the tape to protect the post while briefly trying to remove it. I was able to grab the bike for $75 and was able to remove the frozen seatpost after a few days of adding penetrating oil and slowly working it out of the frame with the post in a vice. It was a tedious but satisfying process.

I plan to service and keep most of the original components, but I'm going rigid because I'll only be taking it out on hard pack and singletrack occasionally and will mostly use this for commuting. I'm a roadie at heart and that heavy squishy fork isn't the ride I'm going for when riding primarily on pavement. I will hold on to the fork at least until I complete the build and if I really like the completed project, I'll consider selling the fork to someone with an affinity for these bomber forks. Otherwise I'll hold onto it in case I decide to sell the bike or frameset some day. Here's a list of upgrades and additions I'm planning on:
- New rigid fork (Carver 410 a to c)
- Riser bars and grips
- New tubes and tires
- New pedals
- New chain


I have the same question. I can't find much info and assume the frame geo is the same.

Your bike do whatever you want to it mate. Rigid is wonderful, no extra maintenance. I personally prefer the look too. I've never liked squish and certainly not vintage squish. Sounds like you can get a decent bit of cash from the sus fork so that's always great.

Excited to see it with the Carver fork. I wanted to get them in the past but US shipping no thanks