Hello, just found this forum after searching for decals after refurbing my old 1994 Kona Lava Dome that I pulled out the garage six months ago to overhaul. Gutted I only found this site after I stripped and painted the frame, I plan to have it powercoated now which I would have realised if I had read your posts before hand. Im not very happy with my paint job, however had to have the bike ready to play with for this summer. Also gutted I dont have photos of before and after, the bike was in quite a mess and it didnt even cross my mind to photograph it. Due to this frame being a 16" I decided to set it up for trials use so I can hop about town on the little green mantis!!
I matched the factory green kona paint colour by eye which I think has turned out to be quite accurate. It has a heavy layer of primer, three coats of silver, 3 coats of green and then a final three coats of clear lacquer. I managed to source 1994 decals for a kileau on ebay and was relying on hand drawing the lava dome text with adobe illustrator however have become impatient, run out of lacquer to level the decals and now just need to ride the bike - will get all decals finally sorted for next summer after the powder coat in winter!
Most of the components I already owned on old bikes in my folks shed etc and any other compnents have been purchased on ebay over the last six months. I have tried to use as many parts from the mid nineties as possible. The only three parts on this bike that dont qualify: the FSA pig headset, the gold hope seat clamp which has hopes latest branding and the Halo twin rail tyres which I dont remember seeing on the market when I was a kid. Apart from that everything else is genuine retro, even the cables!!
Some very very beautiful bikes on this forum, will post more pics of the lava dome when I get it powder coated and replace that headset with a retro chris king piece for next summer!
Any suggestions are very welcome. Im looking for a powder coater that can match factory spec kona colours. Also looking for any nice old bolts, seat clamps, skewers etc... Thanks, Chas.
Spec:
1994 Kona Lava Dome
Manitou SX Ti Answer forks
Shimano XT bottom bracket UN-73
Middleburn RS7 Pro Trials Crankset
Odyssey Shark Bites
Shimano XT v brake levers M739
Shimano XT rear gear shifter M739
Mavic 231 rims
Halo Twin Rail tyres
Shimano LX hubs M550
Shimano XT M760 Cassette
X lite seatpost
Club Roost 'Dude" seat
Onza Porcipaws
Yeti tapered superlight bar
Shimano XTR rear v brake 950
Shimano LX front v brake (temp)
Shimano HG93 Chain - In post!!!
Shimano XTR Rear Mech - In post!!!
**the front tyre is covered in duraglit
I matched the factory green kona paint colour by eye which I think has turned out to be quite accurate. It has a heavy layer of primer, three coats of silver, 3 coats of green and then a final three coats of clear lacquer. I managed to source 1994 decals for a kileau on ebay and was relying on hand drawing the lava dome text with adobe illustrator however have become impatient, run out of lacquer to level the decals and now just need to ride the bike - will get all decals finally sorted for next summer after the powder coat in winter!
Most of the components I already owned on old bikes in my folks shed etc and any other compnents have been purchased on ebay over the last six months. I have tried to use as many parts from the mid nineties as possible. The only three parts on this bike that dont qualify: the FSA pig headset, the gold hope seat clamp which has hopes latest branding and the Halo twin rail tyres which I dont remember seeing on the market when I was a kid. Apart from that everything else is genuine retro, even the cables!!
Some very very beautiful bikes on this forum, will post more pics of the lava dome when I get it powder coated and replace that headset with a retro chris king piece for next summer!
Any suggestions are very welcome. Im looking for a powder coater that can match factory spec kona colours. Also looking for any nice old bolts, seat clamps, skewers etc... Thanks, Chas.
Spec:
1994 Kona Lava Dome
Manitou SX Ti Answer forks
Shimano XT bottom bracket UN-73
Middleburn RS7 Pro Trials Crankset
Odyssey Shark Bites
Shimano XT v brake levers M739
Shimano XT rear gear shifter M739
Mavic 231 rims
Halo Twin Rail tyres
Shimano LX hubs M550
Shimano XT M760 Cassette
X lite seatpost
Club Roost 'Dude" seat
Onza Porcipaws
Yeti tapered superlight bar
Shimano XTR rear v brake 950
Shimano LX front v brake (temp)
Shimano HG93 Chain - In post!!!
Shimano XTR Rear Mech - In post!!!
**the front tyre is covered in duraglit