89/90 Kona Fire Mountain - light resto

sparkybhp

Senior Retro Guru
Hi folks, just wanted to upload a pic and some details of my latest project - picked it up last night.
I thought that the days of picking up one of these at sensible money were gone, anyone else notice how thin on the ground early Konas are getting?
This came up on Gumtree about 40mins from me and the guy accepted my offer, so off I went to collect it.
It’s in incredibly good order considering it’s 30 years old - the gorgeous paintwork has really stood the test of time. I’ve put some gum wall tyres on it, sorted the brake cables and tweaked the gears, also stuck down the saddle fabric.
The spokes are really rusty so I’ll be replacing those, I actually have an exage front wheel of this era - the front hub is a joytech at the moment.
Other than that? Not sure - the exage 300 group is complete and working, I could put some XT bits on it which I have but I may just leave it and enjoy it for what it is for now.
Any thoughts?
 

Attachments

  • 00914747-4A56-4475-8118-8BE2CF2C57E8.jpeg
    00914747-4A56-4475-8118-8BE2CF2C57E8.jpeg
    238.4 KB · Views: 610
Re:

I like it! That said, I've owned 3 of these, so I might be a bit biased :D

Yours looks very original indeed. They aren't the lightest of bikes, but roll well once on the move. Paint is indeed very good on these and pretty thick.

Mine were both bought as framesets, so I had licence to build with what I liked. I swapped out the wheels on both of mine for something lighter and used Deore LX spec parts, which did make a difference I think.

Have fun with it...
 
Re:

Nice bikes, keep it stock if your into retro and if your a rider .... ride it, just replace or upgrade as needed, I took one of these back to stock a few years ago and as people will agree its the nicest colour scheme for a fire mountain, personally I got on well with the plastic'y parts and it rode well with the slicks I had fitted (cheaper amberwalls). It was a headturner.

Enjoy

IMAG0790-zpskqurih9q.jpg
 
Re:

Thanks for the positive comments, I’m just chuffed to have one in my collection.
For now I’ll just fine tune what’s already there and like you say enjoy it, the 300LX stuff that’s on it is fairly low rent stuff but it just looks so right being stock.
 
Re:

Just a quick update, I’ve changed out the wheels with crusty spokes for a new set with stainless spokes. Shimano hubs front and rear and Araya rims, thanks to Prezza for supplying those at a decent price.
Only thing left now is some small areas of black touch up paint to the handlebars and stem, otherwise it’s pretty much there.
Love this thing!
 

Attachments

  • 6E31C7B5-FA12-459F-813B-6272D62A1158.jpeg
    6E31C7B5-FA12-459F-813B-6272D62A1158.jpeg
    232.4 KB · Views: 245
Re:

Looking good Marc!

Glad to see those wheels go to a fitting project...

Some close up shots of the bike would be good when you get chance...

Very nice
Andy
 
Re:

Gratuitous close up shots incoming..
 

Attachments

  • D0D89FCB-4B45-49F9-B88B-82E19E162014.jpeg
    D0D89FCB-4B45-49F9-B88B-82E19E162014.jpeg
    258.2 KB · Views: 216
  • D3DCD545-48FD-4888-B485-E2299E601A18.jpeg
    D3DCD545-48FD-4888-B485-E2299E601A18.jpeg
    251.1 KB · Views: 216
  • 6936205D-B7D5-4F1E-8557-0AB2CB3C2F81.jpeg
    6936205D-B7D5-4F1E-8557-0AB2CB3C2F81.jpeg
    266.5 KB · Views: 216
  • CEE687AD-F918-4BE7-A142-6128A966AB71.jpeg
    CEE687AD-F918-4BE7-A142-6128A966AB71.jpeg
    221.4 KB · Views: 216
  • 7E58DB7A-FDC8-44FD-AC9E-CF35A390BD58.jpeg
    7E58DB7A-FDC8-44FD-AC9E-CF35A390BD58.jpeg
    239.5 KB · Views: 216
  • 44AE1E7E-D417-4EFD-8AD2-C24DA6BFBB58.jpeg
    44AE1E7E-D417-4EFD-8AD2-C24DA6BFBB58.jpeg
    220.5 KB · Views: 216
  • 0EF94811-CBA6-48BE-89F5-8D360D85BC5B.jpeg
    0EF94811-CBA6-48BE-89F5-8D360D85BC5B.jpeg
    246.2 KB · Views: 216
  • A61D3F37-3E6F-4AD3-B45C-616020484328.jpeg
    A61D3F37-3E6F-4AD3-B45C-616020484328.jpeg
    128.4 KB · Views: 216
Re:

Lovely! I have one just like it :D

I kept mine stock for a while, but I found the brakes shocking. I subsequently upgraded to a full XT groupset, which was a total waste of time, but looks pretty. They're never going to be performance bikes, but they are just the job for pottering about.

SP
 
Back
Top