2004 Kona Unit resurrection
- Thread starter moonlite
- Start date
moonlite
Kona Fan
It's been a frustrating few months with severe back pain preventing much in the way of riding or working on bikes -- any kind of bending sends the old lumbar region into spasm. X-rays and MRI scans have shown 'general wear and tear due to ageing' so there's not much to be done except avoid bending and do some cautious physio. Ageing sucks the big one.
Anyway, today I did the smallest possible job on the Unit, achievable while sitting in an office chair -- installing these eBay bar plugs. Not ruling out getting aboard and taking it for a spin in the next few days!
Anyway, today I did the smallest possible job on the Unit, achievable while sitting in an office chair -- installing these eBay bar plugs. Not ruling out getting aboard and taking it for a spin in the next few days!
moonlite
Kona Fan
Finally, finally, got out on this little number for its inaugural ride. Two months' back pain, physiotherapy and osteopathy meant a long delay in actually testing the thing, but now we're in summer time and the light lingers later in the evenings, it seemed about right to get out and about.
First impressions: very nice, light ride, although the ratio I have chosen may be a little too geared toward climbing and not enough to motoring on the flat. The pricy Rene Herse tyres do a great job in soaking up the bumps but it was very clear very soon that the rear has an irregularity in it which resulted in a rhythmic bump-bump-bump as I rode. Very irritating. Here's hoping deflating and re-seating it will help.
And two months' worth of lard needs to be shed, judging by how knackering this modest outing was . . .
First impressions: very nice, light ride, although the ratio I have chosen may be a little too geared toward climbing and not enough to motoring on the flat. The pricy Rene Herse tyres do a great job in soaking up the bumps but it was very clear very soon that the rear has an irregularity in it which resulted in a rhythmic bump-bump-bump as I rode. Very irritating. Here's hoping deflating and re-seating it will help.
And two months' worth of lard needs to be shed, judging by how knackering this modest outing was . . .
moonlite
Kona Fan
Still fiddling about with this. In light of the recent test ride and following the controversial 'Bar ends yay or nay?' thread, I decided to fit some bar ends, which I figure will help with riding position given my height vs the 19" frame.
Also finally whittled down that strange little cassette arrangement to a single cog, although may have to go down to 15t as this seems a little low-geared.
Which leaves the bumpy back tyre to be sorted.
Also finally whittled down that strange little cassette arrangement to a single cog, although may have to go down to 15t as this seems a little low-geared.
Which leaves the bumpy back tyre to be sorted.
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This is very nice. I liked the cluster but one thing I've come to notice, in all my various attempts at having more options while keeping it SS, is that at the end of the day you end up never making much use of it. It is fiddly to do manual changes, particularly in the muck. Understand why you opted for just the one.
Very clean and purposeful build.
Very clean and purposeful build.
moonlite
Kona Fan
In line with my idea to make this pup as light as possible with the best parts I can get my mitts on, I decided to upgrade the fork. Although there's nothing wrong with the P2 I installed at first, there was this very nice Pace RC31 just sitting there, complete with bolt-on v-brake bosses, so I recently grabbed the bull by the horns (or the bike by the bar-ends) and made the swap.
Everything went together nicely, with just a bit of fiddling to get the brake bosses positioned correctly. Apart from the fork, the rest of the build remains the same.
One thing I did fret about a bit was whether to mount the brakes behind the fork legs in true Pace style, but looking at other builds with RC31s showed a lot positioned in the conventional way, so went with that (for now).
The fork has seen some action, as you can see -- apart from the usual nicks and scratches, it's clear that the previous owner touched up the grey anodising on the crown with some not-quite-matching paint. Other than that, all seems good and it felt great on a few test circuits of the garden this morning. As it's a special-occasion bike and a bit pimpy, it won't be thrown around too much, but it's certainly a little lighter and more 'trick' with this fork.
Everything went together nicely, with just a bit of fiddling to get the brake bosses positioned correctly. Apart from the fork, the rest of the build remains the same.
One thing I did fret about a bit was whether to mount the brakes behind the fork legs in true Pace style, but looking at other builds with RC31s showed a lot positioned in the conventional way, so went with that (for now).
The fork has seen some action, as you can see -- apart from the usual nicks and scratches, it's clear that the previous owner touched up the grey anodising on the crown with some not-quite-matching paint. Other than that, all seems good and it felt great on a few test circuits of the garden this morning. As it's a special-occasion bike and a bit pimpy, it won't be thrown around too much, but it's certainly a little lighter and more 'trick' with this fork.
