Jamie found this bike a few years back, it was just laying in the park looking like someone had just done a runner on it & had dumped it for an alternate 'getaway' means. We took it to the local authorities but no one claimed it so we gave it a home. It was set up to run as a single speed with some major adjustments of the dérailleurs, as it had no gear-shifters on it & after a few years of my son running it into the ground, I figured it was time to 'go to work'
Here's how she looked before I started:
It was fully stripped to assess the condition & get a list of parts that were required to make it rideable again. It appears that this was two bikes that had been merged (probably stolen?) as it had the wrong headset in it, a 6 speed rear dérailleur on a 9 speed block & a disc brake on the rear hub but no provision for a disc brake assembly on the frame. The frame is in very good condition bar a few scratches & the rear dérailleur hanger which was quite bent but was persuaded back to true with some gentle hammer & vice work. The forks are so heavy it's stupid & they do tend to 'dive' quite badly under heavy braking from the front disc setup. All the other parts were in good condition although the seat had a badly bent rail, so had to go.
After cleaning everything up I could start the rebuild. The wheels were trued up & a new rear tyre was sourced as an exact replacement for the 'skidded to within an inch of it's life' old one. I changed the existing 9 speed Shimano block for an 8 that I had taken off my Cindercone & also had the XTR 8 speed shifters left over from the Cindercones 7 speed conversion. This was planned a while back as I had some old 7 speed thumb-shifters & DX levers from about 15 years ago that I always wanted to go back on the Kona before she was sold.
It all went back together nicely & with some new rear blocks for the V brake, a new rear derailleur & a full set of new brake & gear cables, it was ready to roll. I put my old BMX homemade bar ends on it as the grip ends were mashed & the seat I salvaged from this lot was used to replace the damaged GT one.
After cleaning everything up I could start the rebuild. The wheels were trued up & a new rear tyre was sourced as an exact replacement for the 'skidded to within an inch of it's life' old one. I changed the existing 9 speed Shimano block for an 8 that I had taken off my Cindercone & also had the XTR 8 speed shifters left over from the Cindercones 7 speed conversion. This was planned a while back as I had some old 7 speed thumb-shifters & DX levers from about 15 years ago that I always wanted to go back on the Kona before she was sold.
It all went back together nicely & with some new rear blocks for the V brake, a new rear derailleur & a full set of new brake & gear cables, it was ready to roll. I put my old BMX homemade bar ends on it as the grip ends were mashed & the seat I salvaged from this lot was used to replace the damaged GT one.
Cost was around £45 all in which, seeing as the bike was a freebee in the first place, seemed to be money well spent!
After getting it dialled in with numerous trips around the block, it rides quite well for what it is & the gear shift is very smooth as it should be. Jamie was pleased that he could ride up hills on it now & even bought the old man a big bar of Fruit & Nut to say thank you - good lad x
After getting it dialled in with numerous trips around the block, it rides quite well for what it is & the gear shift is very smooth as it should be. Jamie was pleased that he could ride up hills on it now & even bought the old man a big bar of Fruit & Nut to say thank you - good lad x
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