Unusual Kona

Spanky22b · Sep 11, 2021

Pipmeister said:
Kona had copyright issue over their name in a number of continental Europe countries at that time, which led to them having to market the bikes as K Mountain Bikes for a while. These have a large Grey "K" on the Top Tube. Yours however doesn't even have the big "K" on the Top Tube, or indeed Cinder Cone on the Down Tube.

I have some Serial Numbers of the 1998/9 Cinder Cone documented, including another Chain Stay U-Brake version, which is similar to yours.

F903 3728, which my understanding was produced March 1990.
Yours at F903 6171 was produced in the same month and year.

Both of these pre-date the others that I have on record, which both have a U-Brake on the Seat Stays:
F905 2451 May 1990, and F906 1896 June 1990.

Pip

Cheers Pip i love info like this. So it's definitely a very early Cindercone then, i wonder if it was an early pre production bike like crossing over from the Cascade to Kona what Joe Murray done. I've seen a Fire Mountain and Lavadome Cascade not sure if there was a Cindercone Cascade. Or maybe an early Press bike where they just quickly cobbled it together for them to try.

fietskrokodil · Dec 1, 2021

Hi @Spanky22b @Pipmeister this is a very helpful thread.
I have picked up a similar one (big parcel on its way to me) if not the same model here in Germany and slowly researched my way up to here.
Thanks!

Seller photos below show the brake on the chainstays and the same P2 fork and paint job.
Frame number is F9045276 (should be April 90 then according to your doc Pip) with Mountain LX rear derailleur and biopace crankset. V brakes are not original.

What motivated me to buy this was actually the K2 Summit Mountain Bike Sticker on the top tube. Yours has that too Spanky22b.
K2 used to have a very neat lineup in the 90's which is quite well documented in the K2 History Thread in the German Classic MTB Forum.

However try to look earlier than 1990 and everything gets a bit murky. I actually had a K2 in 1988 which was only sticker branded. Same with the TNC Super Comp from 1990 frameset I picked up.
So it seems to me that K2 wanted to hop onto the mountainbike train and bought in framesets which they first branded with stickers and later expanded to a dedicated lineup.

Anyway, I love this Kona Cona Cinder K2 in disguise. Seller was very helpful, but not exactly communcative, so I don't know if it really fits yet.

Cheers Dominic

p.s. should I rebuild to Kona Cinder Cone spec or change gruppo to a nice Suntour XCD 6000 from 1990? What are your thoughts?

Pipmeister · Dec 1, 2021

It is curious that the Cinder Cones in this thread have a U-Brake on the Chain Stay. The 1988/89 Catalogue shows the Fire Mountain, Cinder Cone and Explosif models with Rear U-Brakes, but with the lugs on the Seat Stays. The 1990 catalogue shows the Cinder Cone and the Explosif with Canti-Brakes for the Rear; however the Fire Mountain still retains the U-Brake in 1990, and still on the Seat Stays. I have a 1993 Custom Hot on file with a Seat Stay U-Brake - presumably the person that ordered the Hot didn't like the new fangled Canti-Brake design!

1990 Fire Mountain 19":

Pip

raidan73 · Dec 1, 2021

I believe a few in the very first batch had chainstay u-brakes. Kona were just transitioning from the Cascade brand and pushing to get a piece of the market, at a time where the chainstay u-brake was being phased out by many companies

Spanky22b · Dec 17, 2021

fietskrokodil said:
Hi @Spanky22b @Pipmeister this is a very helpful thread.
I have picked up a similar one (big parcel on its way to me) if not the same model here in Germany and slowly researched my way up to here.
Thanks!

Seller photos below show the brake on the chainstays and the same P2 fork and paint job.
Frame number is F9045276 (should be April 90 then according to your doc Pip) with Mountain LX rear derailleur and biopace crankset. V brakes are not original.

View attachment 586807
View attachment 586808 View attachment 586809

What motivated me to buy this was actually the K2 Summit Mountain Bike Sticker on the top tube. Yours has that too Spanky22b.
K2 used to have a very neat lineup in the 90's which is quite well documented in the K2 History Thread in the German Classic MTB Forum.

However try to look earlier than 1990 and everything gets a bit murky. I actually had a K2 in 1988 which was only sticker branded. Same with the TNC Super Comp from 1990 frameset I picked up.
So it seems to me that K2 wanted to hop onto the mountainbike train and bought in framesets which they first branded with stickers and later expanded to a dedicated lineup.

Anyway, I love this Kona Cona Cinder K2 in disguise. Seller was very helpful, but not exactly communcative, so I don't know if it really fits yet.

Cheers Dominic

p.s. should I rebuild to Kona Cinder Cone spec or change gruppo to a nice Suntour XCD 6000 from 1990? What are your thoughts?

Cool another one exists, so they must of bought a batch off the bicycle group then, interesting. So K2 was a brand then, i took the stickers off mine because they sort of looked liked something you got in a magazine.
Makes me wonder though if they done a chainstay mounted brake on this did Kona actually put it into production on there own or did K2 buy up the lot because Kona decided to go with the seatstay mounted set up.
I wonder if there's a chainstay U-brake Explosif out there

sinnerman · Dec 17, 2021

My brother had one of the first Fire mountains, straight our of the box from Barettos bikes, came with a curved fork and a U brake on the chain stays, the TBG cindercone was the same, I was told then, they would be placed on the seatstays as more models arrived, i waited. The press were by this time were already reporting on the hindrances of the chainstay mounted U brake, Shimano had released the Shark tooth etc, but to me it was a pain in the ass, and it did look so much cooler on the seat stays, and TBG Konas were the first available in the Uk to change the brake position.

There was no rhyme nor reason with them, stickers and paint on every bike were always different, Some TBGs I saw had so much splatter on them you couldn't see the decals at all, others, minimal splatter, and even the shades of colour differed.

Not sure, but weren't K2 originally a European importer, like Second level Sport was for them in the UK.....? Just a thought.

fietskrokodil · Dec 20, 2021

you may got a point there, as there are definately more bikes on the continent ...
K2 had quite an extensive range here K2 History Thread with sales catalogues and all.
But all bikes seem to have been bought in like the Kona Cinder Cone and labelled or produced for K2 at the height of the boom

dirttorpedo · Dec 20, 2021

Interesting thread. I wouldn't have blinked an eye at a chainstay u-brake on any bike from the late 80's. It was super common. I remember test riding a lava dome with suntour roller cam brakes bitd. I ended up getting a rocky mountain instead because the shimano shifted so much better and I saved $50.

JLSPFOC · May 17, 2022

I just acquired this recently.. has the chain stay ubrake mounts. The serial is similar to that of a cascade lava dome from an old thread.. I have an 88/89 cinder cone in the same size and the geo is identical.

Monsieur Paul · Jul 28, 2023

I might have just picked up another unusual (assuming 88-90?) Red (no splatter) Lava Dome w/ seatstay u-brake, P Two fork, and mountain LX. Small Kona badging on the top tube, Joe Murray signature on top tube, and The Bicycle Group logo on the head tube. Serial #P9020122 so maybe old stock released in 90? Anyone have some insight?

Unusual Kona

Spanky22b

fietskrokodil

Retro Newbie

Pipmeister

Senior Retro Guru

raidan73

Spanky22b

sinnerman

fietskrokodil

Retro Newbie

dirttorpedo

Senior Retro Guru

JLSPFOC

Dirt Disciple

Monsieur Paul

Dirt Disciple

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