2000 Kona Blast - FINISHED

[gavinda]

final spec of the bike.

Frame: 16" Kona Blast, powdercoated by Armourtex . Front mech guide shaved.
Forks: Surly 1x1 with v brake bosses shaved.
Headset: Ritchey Pro V2
Stem: Thomson x4
Bars: On One Fleegle
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Saddle:Brooks B17 honey
Crankset: old Truvative Blaze with singe 36 tooth ring (this will go next year i think)
Rear derailleur: Deore
Wheels: F 29" Mavic rim, Deore hub, Maxxis Ikon tyre
R 26" Mavinc rin, Deore hub, DMR Moto tyre
Brakes:F Margura Louise disc
R Avid Single Digit 7 V brake with Speed Dial 7 lever


Had 2 great ride on it this weekend. 8 hours in the saddle on Saturday with a good mix of road bridleway and singletrack with some pubs thrown in., Despite only realising in the last mile that my seatpost was back to front (sky high saddle nose), my grundle wasn't feeling too bad. Had another 2 hours yesteday morning around windsor great park and some more bridleways and am even more confident i made the right choice in giving this bike another chance. it really feels like a new one.
Which I suppose, barring the frame, it really is

 

[hamster]

They are great-riding frames - got an Ali 1999 Cindercone which is I think almost identical. Nice colour choice too!!!

Out of interest, do you get toe overlap with the bigger front wheel?

You need to swap the Thomson post the other way round - it's facing backwards. The clamp head has a slight offset to even up the bolt lengths.

 

[gavinda]

Thanks

I realised after about 20/30 beer fueled miles Took the seat of and spun the head around, MUCH comfier

It rides as well as before it's op, but as you've noticed, there is a little toe overlap, but generally as long as my feet are nicely on the pedals it's no problem. I notice the clearance is much different to that of my trek 69er which is purpose built.

Even riding over loose mud I didn't really have any issue with the low wheel to fork crown clearance either.


Well pleased all in all!

 

[gavinda]

well, we have problems with this one. after having the brakes light up and the front wheel come loose, I took a look at the front quick release , a cheap chinese titanium one and found this.

it's hard to see but the 'cam' is mad up of a nylon type washer acting against the ball and pivot, and repeated tightening of the loose wheel had crushed the qr. :x

so i did what i out to have done before and bought a Shiamo Deore XT one on ebay for the front and use deore one that I had lying around for the rear. sod the cheap bling, I'll use stuff that works.

Unfortunately though, when I fitted the front qr I discovered that the forks had a lot of movement when rocking the bike with the front brake applied. turns out the head set and stem had some movement, 'no problem, I'll just get my LBS to sort it out when they sort the brake@ I thought.



but something made me look under the frame.

the bike to a pounding last week on the downs, and it could just be the frame flexing... or it could be time for some steel :roll: :cry: :shock: :x


frustratamacated.

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Ouch !


Could indeed be just the paint, but that's unlikely. Sanding it down and/or dye testing will provide the answer.

If it is a crack in the frame itself, you could still sort that out with a collar à la Al-Mega. However it might be time to look at a different frame indeed.

 

[gavinda]

wha tis dye testing? probably not worth it tbh. its just an excuse to spend more time on the modern stuff. I'll could get the headset and brak sorted out than then try the frame, but maybe ill just hold on for a nice cheap kona steel to turn up. of course, that means ill go through the whole 29/26 decision with the front again...hmmmm

 

[coomber]

If that's a crack and not just paint its a wall hanger.

What a shame after all the work. Least you should be able to put most of the parts over to a steel kona without too much of an issue. Pain in the arse though.

 

[superstu]

That's really bad luck!

 

[gavinda]

thanks guys, I'm pretty bummed about it, i'm not certain that it's the frame as I've not had a chance to give it a good flexing, but knowing my luck :roll: .

I do harbour some hope though as wouldn't you expect a frame to crack on the weld rather than the tube? that said the downs were pretty tough going and I must be somewhere near 85 kilo's these days. regardless, i'll put it at the back of the shed for winter as the tyre clearance on the front is not too mud friendly and enjoy my new toy and maybe keep an eye out for a steel frame as mentioned

 

[coomber]

Its not uncommon to fail in a line along the weld, which is what yours looks like.

Still, wait and see. Here's hoping.