Kona cable guides/stops

[Neil G]

I've got a '93 Kona which I'm building up with XTR as it's going to be used as my main race bike etc and I've come across a bit of a dilemma.

The noodle from the seattube which used to route the rear cable is long gone and, to be honest was pretty useless anyway. I was wondering what people use on Konas without the rear stop to make the brakes work. I've always run full outers which has worked in the past but I've had to use clips (like you get on old road bikes) to hold the cable on which isn't ideal.

Can you buy clamp on cable stops and does anyone know the OD of the Hei Hei toptube off the top of their head?

 

[Anthony]

I think the top tube is a 31.8 and you should be able to get a top tube clamp-on cable stop, but you don't say whether you want to run Vs or cantis.

There seem to be two variations of 93 Hei Hei - which of these does yours look like? [Note length of seat tube extension above top tube and bullet ends on stays.]

 

[guybe]

Hello,

you are local to me as I lived just the outskirts of Bath, for your question, are you running canti or v-brakes types? I have attached a link if you are stuck which can help you out:-

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/category.asp ... 6&sfile=1=

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/product ... lbnj7vr816

I never seen a Kona Hei Hei for real only pics here and internet, they are good frames and collectables too.

 

[Neil G]

My Hei Hei is a '93 model which looks like the top picture (bullet dropouts) and I'm going to run XTR Vs on it.

Cheers for the links guybe....I'm currently running clips like the ones in the first link....obviusly okay for full outer runs but no good for stops but I can't decide which to do!

I brough my Hei Hei brand new back in '93 complete with XT group, Manitou 3s and Tioga Disc Drive (now on Gumps Mountain Goat). I was going to buy a brand new Orange but just love riding the Kona so much that I thought f-it, I'm going to race it full time and use it for what it was designed for...at the end of the day if it breaks it breaks!

Anyone else have any suggestions, does anyone run full outers without any problems?

Neil

 

[Anthony]

The Backstops on sale at Billys work perfectly, they're just a bit unsightly that's all. Whether they're more or less unsightly than a full cable run is a matter of opinion, I think less but that's just me. I don't think there's much difference in performance as brake cable outer is fairly strong.

I believe that the bullet ends indicate made by TST (Sandvic), whereas the earlier frames were made by Merlin. Even so, as it's a 93 it presumably isn't 'suspension-adjusted', so in theory it ought to handle better with a fairly short-travel fork. But then that's a matter of opinion too.

 

[lumos2000]

use maguras, you dont need a cable stop !

 

[Neil G]

The Backstops on sale at Billys work perfectly, they're just a bit unsightly that's all. Whether they're more or less unsightly than a full cable run is a matter of opinion, I think less but that's just me. I don't think there's much difference in performance as brake cable outer is fairly strong.

I believe that the bullet ends indicate made by TST (Sandvic), whereas the earlier frames were made by Merlin. Even so, as it's a 93 it presumably isn't 'suspension-adjusted', so in theory it ought to handle better with a fairly short-travel fork. But then that's a matter of opinion too.

Still undecided, I suppose for the price of some brake cable I could try running full outer and if I have problems, try using one of the stops.

I believe it is one of the Sandvik ones as well. I'm currently running a 2/3 year old Rockshox Duke fork on it which seems to be okay when set up with plenty of sag. Used to run Manitou 3s which had the 'long travel' kit which went up to 3 inches...steady on!

 

[messiah]

I was happy with the full outer on my explosif for years, and before that I was happy for years with a drilled out Kona collar thing. I'm now happy having got a top tube stop welded on - there is no percievable difference in how they feel... the flex from my rear stays is far more noticeable, but even that never stops the brakes from working really well (in the dry at least).

It's going to depend on which you think looks worse... cable stop or loose outer. Other option is get Vernon Barker or other Ti welder to put a top tube stop on?

 

[Neil G]

I did think about getting a stop put on and disc mount but after reading some threads it kind of put me off.

Do those guys do a good job on Ti frames?