# The rebirth of my '94 Kona Kilauea



## always_last (Jun 7, 2012)

A happy day for me, I finally got my Kona Kilauea trail worthy again:










I bought this bike in 1994, it was my first real mountain bike- the one that fueled an almost 20 year passion for mountain biking. I make no apologies for the condition of the paint on the frame, we've logged in thousands of miles together and I have no intention of painting over the memories.


















This bike has been through several make-overs over the years including the addition of a front shock, a conversion to a single speed (in 1997!!), and many years as an abused daily commuter. Surprisingly I've managed to keep many of the original components including the fork, headset, stem, crank, front hub, front and rear derailleurs and the XC Pro thumb shifters. It had been sitting collecting dust in the back of my basement for years until this spring when I decided I wanted to ride trails with it again. Tomorrow will be the first time in probably 10 years I've taken it off road. Can't wait!

For reference, here's the catalog photo of the shock version as new in 1994:










Just thought I'd share!


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## longfinkillie (Jan 28, 2011)

Cross chaining like that is always a good way to wear out your drive train. Full disclosure: I had a '93 Cindercone that color. Fun machine. Those P2's are hard to beat (up).


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## uphiller (Jan 13, 2004)

Awesome bike, good to see someone riding the same stuff for such a long time. Love the thumbshifters- such good shifting, even compared to modern stuff.
It looks like you're running V-Brake levers with your cantis- this reduces your braking power by around 40%. Also- it looks like you're using dark green Kool Stop pads, which use a harder and more abrasive compound than normal and are designed for use on ceramic rims- supposedly they can eat through a rim sidewall pretty quickly, although I have neither experience nor hearsay on the topic.


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## djmuff (Sep 8, 2004)

Yeah, that's a great bike. I've owned a couple A'Ha's, but I recently picked up my first real Kona MTB - a Hot. I hope to get it looking like yours and shredding some singletrack soon.


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## jimbowho (Dec 16, 2009)

Nice! Many more miles and smiles left in that bike. I too wouldn't touch the paint, It's the patina of riding nostalgia. (porn) Hay? I might have invented a new term for old paint!

I say install V-brakes and walk away. I have an old 91 that I can never sell, it's currently a 1x7 the porn keeps it interesting.

Like


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## always_last (Jun 7, 2012)

uphiller said:


> Awesome bike, good to see someone riding the same stuff for such a long time. Love the thumbshifters- such good shifting, even compared to modern stuff.
> It looks like you're running V-Brake levers with your cantis- this reduces your braking power by around 40%. Also- it looks like you're using dark green Kool Stop pads, which use a harder and more abrasive compound than normal and are designed for use on ceramic rims- supposedly they can eat through a rim sidewall pretty quickly, although I have neither experience nor hearsay on the topic.


Actually the Tektro levers are adjustable for either V brakes or cantis. I forget how it works even though I just did it, I think there are two positions for the cable end that gives you more or less throw. Thanks for the tip on the green pads. I have know idea how I acquired them, but they were on the cantis when I dug them out of the parts box. They need to be replaced anyway.

I actually just took V brakes off the bike. I had these cantis laying around from a 'cross bike and they look pretty similar to the originals on the bike. My 'round the block test showed they weren't as bad as I thought but the test will be on the trails. I plan to ride this mostly at the trails nearby that are rolling singletrack so I don't anticipate getting too many hand cramps.

Thanks all for the compliments.


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## always_last (Jun 7, 2012)

jimbowho said:


> Nice! Many more miles and smiles left in that bike. I too wouldn't touch the paint, It's the patina of riding nostalgia. (porn) Hay? I might have invented a new term for old paint!
> 
> I say install V-brakes and walk away. I have an old 91 that I can never sell, it's currently a 1x7 the porn keeps it interesting.
> 
> Like


I started riding road and mountain bikes in 1989 and I went through a lot of bikes in the first 10 years. For some reason this Kona is the one bike I never considered selling. I had it set up as a 1x8 for many years of commuting but now it's a 2x8. Somewhere I have the original granny ring that is probably in mint condition. I started running 2x8 setups fairly early on.


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## uphiller (Jan 13, 2004)

Yeah, those brakes look a lot like the Ritchey Logic (basically the same as DiaCompe 986) brakes that came stock on a lot of Konas at the time, but yours are likely better- the DiaCompe and Ritchey brakes had a reputation for having bad pad hardware. About your levers- if you want them to be adjusted for cantis, the little detachable link inside should be closer to the handlebars. If you have not done that already, it will definitely help, although I doubt it will have the same short throw and high leverage of a set of dedicated canti brake levers. Sorry if I'm peeing in your drink a bit, everyone knows me here as the brake stickler. Happy trails.


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## always_last (Jun 7, 2012)

The brakes are actually "modern" Avid Shorty 6s that were on a 'cross bike. I stripped the black paint off and polished them one winter day. I don't mind people being a stickler for details. I've had the Tektro levers for so long I don't remember much about them. If the brakes don't work well i'll definitely look for canti levers (or go back to v brakes). There was actually a set of Kona brake levers on ebag not long ago that looked like the originals.


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## always_last (Jun 7, 2012)

Took it out yesterday, here it is looking more natural with some dirt on it:










What a great ride! It's been many years since I've ridden a rigid fork on the trails and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I need to find some cushier grips though, and the narrow bar is hard to get used to again. I might swap it out for a wider flat bar with more sweep like a Salsa Moto Ace. I also need to go back to V brakes. The cantis actually stopped really well but the #@%! heel strikes were driving me nuts. Now I remember why I changed out the cantis many years ago. The thumbshifters were awesome! So simple to use I'm not sure if the newer shifters are improvements at all.

Anyway, I'm very happy to have this bike back in the mix. It's the perfect bike for some of the trails around here.


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## islander (Jan 21, 2004)

1994 was my favourite year for Kona's . I was a broke university student back then, but thought they were clean and aged well given the rigid forks and thumbies.great bike for you to have invested in and later restored. Thanks for sharing.


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## MERK26 (Aug 31, 2009)

Looks great. Love Kona`s from that era! :thumbsup:


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## jimbowho (Dec 16, 2009)

Always-last. I have a sticker on my offroad bike that says "I'm so far behind I think I'm first"

I guessed well on the V-brakes, luck. Never heard of heel strikes, your feet must be knarly.

Also we agree on shifters, never had anything shift as well as the XT-thumbies. I think I'm regressing back to my roots also. Currently on a rigid 1x9 650b. I was bummed it didn't come with BB7's. I guess it's better to build a bike.

I did have a Kona 98-99-? Stinky five. I was way impressed with the quality of that bike but it bobbed so bad I even named it BOB. No lockouts.

Kona rigid mechanical 29 SS hmmmm, maybe someday.

Curious I went to Kona2013, they have the exact bike all the way down to the BB7's. I know I know people it's not VRC, It's called the "Unit" in nakid metal color.

See what you started?


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## always_last (Jun 7, 2012)

islander said:


> 1994 was my favourite year for Kona's . I was a broke university student back then, but thought they were clean and aged well given the rigid forks and thumbies.great bike for you to have invested in and later restored. Thanks for sharing.


I was just out of school and still slightly broke and remember paying around $850 for the bike. I was wondering if I was crazy since my car was worth less than that. Considering how many thousands of miles I've put on it it's probably the smartest money I've spent.

I consider bikes from around this period as some of the first of the modern mountain bikes (sloping top tube, suspension corrected), though I'm sure other people could argue that point. I remember thinking how odd it felt to ride a bike without a flat top tube for the first time.


jimbowho said:


> I guessed well on the V-brakes, luck. Never heard of heel strikes, your feet must be knarly.


No my feet aren't that weird though I do tend to ride slightly "heels in". It's the non low-profile brakes on the rear. The arms probably stick out past the frame a good 2". When my foot gets to around the 10 o'clock position the heel of the shoe sometimes hits the brake arm. Very annoying. You were right about the v-brakes, they're already back on.:thumbsup:


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## Offroadman (Jul 18, 2012)

This Kona is cool---rigids are still a lot of fun.


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