1995 Kona Cindercone - finished (for now!)

[Kevhl]

I thought it best to start a new thread although I do have a previous one from when this was built up with retro parts...

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=106281&highlight=

I have a couple of bikes I use but I wanted a modern hardtail so thought I'd try an On One. Built a 456 summer season and decided it was way too beefy for what I'd use it for, as I'd always take my stumpy fsr if I was going for a 'bigger' ride. So for more distance/xc riding I tried out my Cindercone and decided to modernise it. Some will say it's not cost effective but the frame owed me -£ and I was owed a favour from a friend that has a paint shop.

A little research found Lee Cooper was only a few miles away so he did the frame modification... http://customcycleframes.blogspot.com/ really nice guy, did a great job and wasn't really expensive!

Anyway, she's not built up yet and I think my Gilm decals are sat at the post office but here are some pics so far:

Previously:

Frame prep pre mounts:

Back from Lee Cooper:

Prep prior to paint:

Back from the paint shop... they've done a great job but I don't know what it would cost to use them however Lee at http://www.brockhallcoachworks.co.uk/ did the work. I was so tempted to go down the white route but it's been done a lot so I've tried to get close to the turquoise colour but wanted it slightly more metallic.

Not 100% sure on spec yet, but I've a fair few bits lined up. I was going for a set of SIDs however I picked up some Fox 32s with short travel spacers. If I like them they might be going white, although they look pretty bulky. We'll see.

I was going with my Hope mini monos which are black/gold, however I've never been happy with the rear and it turns out speaking to a lot of people in the industry that 'some' of that style mono calipers can have a lot of flex and very little bite. So I might fit my shimano white gold disks, again we'll see.

A closer shot of the disk mount:

 

[coomber]

The finish looks superb, much better choice than white in my opinion.

The brazing (?) for the disc looks surprisingly heavy, although on those skinny seatstays I imagine it wasnt easy. I'm not sounding critical I hope, as I am impressed with the work, but the photo makes it look as if the disc tab isnt in line with the seatstay as well?

Please dont think I am being critical, just curious. Nice to see you give it a new lease of life and well worth it over a On One like you say.

 

[Kevhl]

Thanks for the comments, it is a lovely finish. The disk tab isn't in line with the chainstay, but then they never are... it has to be in line with the dropout. I think on most of the modern frames you don't see it so much as the chainstays are so much beefier or they run in parallel to the dropout and kink after the disk mount!

The On One was there as 'another' bike, but the funds from it (when I do sell it) are covering all the bits for this one. Should be pretty good when it's done.

Got a Race Face chainset for it and thought I'd try some Superstar bits... headset, ext. BB, etc.

 

[al-onestare]

I prefer it's before incarnation :cry:

 

[letmetalktomark]

As per Coombers comment the disc tab does look a little heavy handed :?

Be interested to hear how you get on with caliper alignment etc.

Cool colour Its a pretty good match to the original.

I disc'ed up my 99 Caldera - best move in my mind as it has meant the frame has had a new lease of life - one it probably wouldn't have had without the make over.

 

[Kevhl]

I do think the disc tab brazing looks a little heavy, it's pretty wide looking at it flat on but it's not actually thick at the edges and blends in to the contours quite well when you look at it in the flesh... if that makes sense. Regardless even though it is a nice colour and I've got a couple of bling bits it is always more about function over form for me, once it's built up I don't think the brazing on the tab will even be considered (unless it fails which it certainly shouldn't!)

I have to admit as well that I loved the way it looked before with the forks, tyres. But then it didn't ride as well as I wanted it to, the forks looked great but I was never impressed with them even when they were new bitd. Disks should give it a new lease of life although I've gone for IS mounts it looks as though I'm putting some post mount calipers (with adapters) on for the first build which seems arse about face.

It's going to be ridden and that's the main thing!

 

[Anthony]

I'm sure it'll do the job, but the brazing for the tab is obviously way over the top compared to what say Dave Yates would do. Also the brace, which perhaps looks a bit odd because it's at a slightly odd angle, is way fatter than it needs to be. It could have been slimmer than the stay and still ample - I'm not even sure it was strictly needed as the Cinder Cone's stays aren't the lightest. People do usually fit them, but I guess as much as anything to counteract the weakening of the seat stay consequent on being damaged by super-heating for the second time in its life.

 

[letmetalktomark]

This is what Argos did for my double butted stays:

 

[Kevhl]

Yeah, that's lovely! I didn't want to stretch to argos pricing though. This one's not cost much at all, two dent fills, three cable tabs, brace and mount were half what Argos charge. The frame was better than free and the paint shop owed me a favour so I think it's worked out pretty cheap. If it was a 'nicer' frame then I'd have spent a little more but it's just a cindercone being modernised to be ridden.

Hopefully it'll ride nicely once it's built back up, just undecided what forks to run at the moment.

 

[Anthony]

I think you can use any fork you like, provided you keep close to the formula stem length = 180mm minus travel of fork

My 96 Explosif has a 100mm Fox Float on it with an 80mm stem, and it handles really sharply, just as it should in my opinion. Plus of course the fork is way better than any period fork.