Kona Rasta Flame

Crikey! Nice one. Looking forward to seeing this one built up. What is the plan for forks and stem? Obligatory Z2 Bombers!?

What's the full story with finding it?

Wow, so lucky!!

I’m guessing this wasn’t found in the UK?

Canada by the sounds of it

Is it really Columbus? Drop outs look like reynolds

romanrinos said:

Crikey! Nice one. Looking forward to seeing this one built up. What is the plan for forks and stem? Obligatory Z2 Bombers!?

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I'm a big fan of the mid late 90's Kona + Bombers set up so yes I'd say that will be the way forward. I'll post up a pic of the current favourite but I have a couple other options. I did consider a Rock Shoe SID, but that's not in my plan atm. Stem wise I am currently thinking of keeping the yellow Roox that came with it but am not 100% on that. The frame is actually a bit big for me (beggars/choosers etc) so I may end up with a shorty which would probably be a better ride fit, albeit not exactly PC.

Pllacebo99 said:

Canada by the sounds of it

Is it really Columbus? Drop outs look like reynolds

Click to expand...

Yes, I am in BC about an hour and a half drive north of Vancouver (Whistler). The frame came from a little town 20 min further north (Pemberton).

@W7Ford The seller is the brother of a friend of mine who knew I collected vintage mtn bikes. He was the original owner and got the frame directly from Kona. He was a friend/associate of the guys at Kona at the time and raced on the Provincial circuit/local races.

Having read through the fantastic thread posted by @al-onestare I concluded this was from the same livery and a Columbus steel frame with the ovalized tubes. Interesting comment about the drop outs though. I will pull my 1996 Hot out and have a compare. It's a Reynolds frame with the Goat head dropouts but they do look a bit similar now I think of it.

Here's the comprehensive thread by Al. I found it to be a very enjoyable 2 beer read. Pull up a chair...

The silver Marzocchi forks were mounted when it was built up originally but I do have another couple of options in red or yellow. I’m currently favouring the yellow ones. Crank wise it’s a toss up between Race Face (red, black or silver) or maybe Roox as per the stem. Roox had become a popular after market option back then. They look pretty cool too!

I second the comment about @al-onestare 's thread, a great read and a great bike. I'll be honest seeing this is making me jealous, probably the one frame left that I really, really want to own! And that frame looks in great condition too.

The Kona stamped dropouts first appeared on the Explosif and Kilauea in '97, both Columbus tubed frames. I'd guess they were at least partly inspired by the Mountain Goat ones from the Altitude Hot's the year before. I remember reading a comment on here from one of the Enigma builders, I think, who made the later custom frames about how good those dropouts were. They became more widespread through the range the next year, also appearing on (at least) the cheaper Caldera in '98.

I like the look of the build so far, black Race Face crank-set would be my choice. Personal opinion, but I think the bright yellow of the forks slightly clashes with the yellow of the frame, although the effect will be lessened once the wheels and tyres go on. I'd be interested to see what the red forks look like. I think Al had similar issues in his thread with a bright yellow stem too.