1990 Kona Cinder Cone - Update: What to do about tyres?

CranksAndCanvas · Jan 8, 2022

Super excited to have picked a Cinder Cone project for the new year. Apart from the addition of some rust and a few scrapes, it looks to be all original, full survivor spec!

The plan is to pull it apart restore and recommission with all the original parts where possible. I think I want to replace the decals, I'll have to see how well the paint cleans up as that might need some attention too. Interestingly the splatter seems to have been applied after the decals, Does anyone know if that is normal?

mk one · Jan 9, 2022

Nice bike and project.

And yes, they mostly splatted over the decals, there are a few restoration threads on here of splatter Kona's with some great ideas and tips.

Splatter Paint · Jan 9, 2022

Original tyres - score! But, they’re probably shot after 31 years

I always wanted a 100% catalogue spec one. They ride really well.

CranksAndCanvas · Jan 11, 2022

Splatter Paint said:
Original tyres - score! But, they’re probably shot after 31 years I always wanted a 100% catalogue spec one. They ride really well.

The tires are most definitely shot, the sidewalls are almost see through!

CranksAndCanvas · Jan 11, 2022

I've started the strip down, Most of the components seem in good/salvageable condition apart from the tires. The frame has got a fair few bumps and scrapes so I think I'm going to go for the respray. The headset feels pretty rough, the bottom bracket is not so bad. I've soaked both in DW40 to help with the extraction.

CranksAndCanvas · Jan 17, 2022

A little bit more progress today. I managed to complete the strip down, the bb and headset didn't put up too much of a fight in the end which was nice. The bearing surfaces seem to be in fairly good condition from an initial look, but I'll have a better idea once things are cleaned up.

I had a go with some paint stripper on the forks but it didn't make much of a dent. It seemed to soften the lacker and splatter but not the white base layer. Does anyone know if this is a powder coat? Either way any tips on the best way to prep it for a repaint would be appreciated. I've ordered a set of replacement decals from retrodecals so am eagerly awaiting those.

CranksAndCanvas · Jan 23, 2022

The fame and forks are now back to bare metal. I just need to do a bit more tidying up around junctions and hard to reach spots. I ended up having to sand it all, I abandoned the paint stripper, it didn't do much in the end.

I've started to clean up the headset and bottom bracket, looks good so far.

Decals also arrived, they look spot on. I'm looking forward to getting them on the bike...