Kona Impact headset and 1990 Joe Murray Project Two fork

[MattiThundrrr]

When the position of the brakes are the same at the left and at the right, that's good, there is the same tension in the two springs and when everything is connected, the brakes are evenly placed on each side of the rim. (I hope my explanations are clear, I have searched on the net, I have found nothing about that).

There is a fantastic tool to help you with that process. it is called a Third Hand, uses spring tension to hold the brakes closed so you have two free hands to do the rest of the work. As for the Joe Murray era fork, it is a highly desirable piece, triple butted chromoly versus plain gauge. If it doesn't work with your headset (threaded vs threadless), you might be able to trade it with someone who has the newer version, and you could get some money in the deal...

 

[Wilou]

Hello MattiThundrrr,

Thank you for the advice about the tool !

For the fork, the headset and the stem, the three pieces are compatible with each other. The only thing I didn't think of was the diameter of the handlebar. Its 22.2 mm, even in the center of it, and the stem is made for 25.4 mm handlebars. There is a "clamp" (let's use that name) I don't have (and it's understandable, because the stem that was used to replace the original one and that was adapted to the Rock Shox didn't need it (I don't have a photo of it, it's a GT one, very short, the same kind of stem we can find on the BMX).

On another thread about a 1995 Lava Dome, there is a pic where we can clearly see that clamp :

https://imgur.com/LNtZ9pA

I'll see if I buy another complete handlebar (I've seen several ones on ebay) or if I can find the clamp alone (it's more difficult and I doubt I can find an original one).



W.

I quickly took a pic of the bike this morning (a little shaky). No finished, but that gives an idea :

 

[Canuckbiker]

The bike looks great with the new parts!

You can buy a 22.2 - 25.4 'shim' separate. There's quite a few on eBay from inexpensive Chinese options to cooler ones with longer end tapers like this black one:

Ti Cycles 7/8" to 1" (22.2 to 25.4mm) handlebar shim black anodized aluminum | eBay

Machined & anodizedALUMINUM handlebar shim.

www.ebay.com

Being a Kona Bar I'd be looking for a similar one with longer end tapers in silver to go with what they used BITD

 

[Wilou]

Hello Canuckbiker,

I didn't know that this piece was named a shim. I did some research yesterday with other words and most of the time, I had results showing me seatpost adapters (presented like adapted to handlebars too - but I could see on the pics that it wasn't the good product, they weren't even symetrical). English isn't my native language and it's even more difficult if I don't know the name of the thing in my own language.

I did a new search with the "shim" word and I quickly found something perfect, in the same spirit compared to your example :
Guidon Shim 22.2 25.4 26.0 31.8 Réducteur-Convertir petite barre pour s'adapter à grande tige | eBay

(the translation is hilarious - "Convertir petite barre pour s'adapter à grande tige" ! )

Of course, I choose the silver one (I don't have a choice as the others are not with the good dimensions).

I'll take photos of the saddle too. It's not new but I was pleasantly surprised because it's in better shape in my hands compared to what I saw on the pics. The main "problem" is that the inscriptions ("Expedia") on the sides are mostly erased. And there are two little damaged spots on the leather (at the rear and on the right, but it's barely visible).

I have wonderful grease for the leather (I have used it for almost 30 years), it's named Sapo (used for the saddles but the ones for the horses). Nothing better to nourish the leather. That and some colorless shoe polish and the result is fantastic !



W.

EDIT : Shim bought !

 

[Wilou]

Hello,

I have received and installed the shim. Quick delivery and perfectly adapted to the stem (same width) ! The only thing I have to do now is to finish to install the headset.
Strange thing : I have verified the weight of the bike and I'm at exactly 10 kg (22.05 pounds). When I bought the bike, the seller had used an illustration from Kona where the weight announced was 11,5 kg (25.4 pounds). And the bike is almost original. The most weight gained is, I think, with the seatpost (50 grams if i remember). The quick releases are probably a little lighter but the rest...

Do you know the weight of the original tyres (Scratch and Sniff if I remember well) ? The Dart is 590 grams and the Smoke is 610 grams. It's the only thing that can explain the difference (with the hanger, the fork is 750 grams or 950 ? I don't remember).

Hmmmm, another question : I suppose the frames are not the same weight depending on their dimensions. I'm not up at the moment for a complete disassembly. Does someone know what is the weight of the XS frame for the 1996 Lava Dome ? (I'd be curious to know the weight for the others too (S, M, L,...). On the catalog, there is only one weight mentionned (the one I wrote before, 11,5 kg).

W.

PS : the pics of the bike on the site where I bought it.

 

[Canuckbiker]

The smaller frame definitely safes weight over one they would have used as an example in the cataloge, probably a medium, hard to say how much. Switching to the P2, removing the bar ends, I assume swapping the stem as well has all lead to some healthy weight loss, congrats!

Not sure about the Panaracers vs Scratch & Sniffs

22lbs is very light, should feel more lively out on the trail

Looking forward to a drive side complete build shot, sounds like you are close?

 

[Wilou]

Hello Canuckbiker,

Indeed, I've ridden with the bike one time an evening one or two weeks ago, I still had the Indy SL and what stroke me was the reactivity and the rigidity. At the end of the road, I stopped behind a car at the red light. When the light became green, the car restarted, the bike had already started to move as I was pushing on the pedals and I had absolutely no difficulty to follow the car as the guy was driving at ca. 20 miles per hour (and I'm pretty rusty).

I have an old BMW coupe (1994 E36 318is for those who know) and as it's a propulsion, we feel clearly that something pushes at the rear when we accelerate (and I don't even drive like a fool, I'm very zen on the road, but the sensation is clearly here, this car is a pure joy to drive, that's insane, and not only for the foot in the ass sensation, the torque, the comfort, the noise of the motor, the ergonomy, the overall quality, waouh ! The only 2 things I'm not a fan : the motor of the wipers is close to me and the noise is annoying, and the heat system is not very efficient).

I have the same feeling with the Kona (the little frame is certainly not a stranger in this). When I start riding, I clearly feel that the rear is pushing and i think that if I go really very franckly, I could initiate a wheelie... Or climb to a wall ! ). And the Project Two wasn't even installed. I already saw a difference between the Scott and the Trek, and it's at another level with the Kona. Very impressive. It seems it'll be absolute fun if I want to ride not like a grandpa (but for that I must find some legs muscles on ebay ! ).

The aluminum of the Trek is supposed to be more rigid than the steel of the Kona but it's the contrary (again, the size of the frame surely has to do something in that). Its size reminds me a BMX, I could say I have a BMX with 26" wheels !

Again, fun, fun, fun !

W.

 

[Wilou]

Hello,

I've received the tool to change my headset ! I could install everything (I only had done a temporary installation of the fork for now). Everything went smooth. I've taken some photos of the headset, the saddle, the fork, the cable hanger, the seatpost and, of course, the shim.

I'll put them in two posts as there are more than 10 pics.

The first ones :

 

[Wilou]

The second part :

 

[Wilou]

I hope I'll be able to test it this week-end (the weather is pretty bad).

On another subject (well, not entirely) : I've read nice reviews on the Cannondale Pepperoni. Just out of curiosity, is there a comparative review of it and the Project Two somewhere ?

Good afternoon !

W.