PurpleFrog
Kona Fan
I *do* have an excuse for this that makes it sort of retro.
Back when I was doing courier work I thought that a mountain bike with 1.5-1.75 slicks and drops would be the best all-rounder bike going. The gears would eat hill climbs (this was San Francisco). The tyres would bounce over kerbs, tram rails and pedestrians feet but be decently fast. The bars would give you a good climbing position and you tuck into the drops in a head wind. Fast MTB geometry would be more stable than a racer (nice if you hit debris or holes in the road) and better for road-salmoning through stalled traffic - lots of big steer at moderate speeds.
So that's my excuse.
Of all the bikes of the period the Kona's seemed like the best bet, so - still unable to forget the jeers and beatings* - when I saw a Lava Dome in my size on ebay it seemed a good idea to buy it and prove that I'm utterly sane.
Advice **really** appreciated. At the moment my plan is mount the trigger shifters on Minoura space grips like this - oh, feck, the thing won't let me post links because I'm too noob - and connecting the cantilevers up to ordinary road brake levers.
Later I'd like to add disc mounts (can they be added to the fork or do I need a new one?) and swap the derailer for an Alfine IGH - to maximize the "In your face, carbon fork boy!" factor should I run across any Specialized Tricross owners. Talking of the Tricross, I'm planning on using an adjustable angle 90mm stem (because that's what the Tricross does).
*But that wasn't nearly as bad as what they did to the guy who said "I shall sell fixed gear bikes made out of radiator tubing to people who want to pretend to be couriers. They shall sport goatees and tattoos and bid for Zo bags like Picassos on ebay, and I shall charge exorbitantly and become rich!" I often wonder what happened to him and his crazy idea. Not that I have anything against fixed gear bikes that *aren't* made out of radiator tubing - or even goatee wearers (the bastards).
Back when I was doing courier work I thought that a mountain bike with 1.5-1.75 slicks and drops would be the best all-rounder bike going. The gears would eat hill climbs (this was San Francisco). The tyres would bounce over kerbs, tram rails and pedestrians feet but be decently fast. The bars would give you a good climbing position and you tuck into the drops in a head wind. Fast MTB geometry would be more stable than a racer (nice if you hit debris or holes in the road) and better for road-salmoning through stalled traffic - lots of big steer at moderate speeds.
So that's my excuse.
Of all the bikes of the period the Kona's seemed like the best bet, so - still unable to forget the jeers and beatings* - when I saw a Lava Dome in my size on ebay it seemed a good idea to buy it and prove that I'm utterly sane.
Advice **really** appreciated. At the moment my plan is mount the trigger shifters on Minoura space grips like this - oh, feck, the thing won't let me post links because I'm too noob - and connecting the cantilevers up to ordinary road brake levers.
Later I'd like to add disc mounts (can they be added to the fork or do I need a new one?) and swap the derailer for an Alfine IGH - to maximize the "In your face, carbon fork boy!" factor should I run across any Specialized Tricross owners. Talking of the Tricross, I'm planning on using an adjustable angle 90mm stem (because that's what the Tricross does).
*But that wasn't nearly as bad as what they did to the guy who said "I shall sell fixed gear bikes made out of radiator tubing to people who want to pretend to be couriers. They shall sport goatees and tattoos and bid for Zo bags like Picassos on ebay, and I shall charge exorbitantly and become rich!" I often wonder what happened to him and his crazy idea. Not that I have anything against fixed gear bikes that *aren't* made out of radiator tubing - or even goatee wearers (the bastards).
