Steel Kona Lava Dome Build

hoathy

Finished yesterday. Paid £25 for the frame and have been working on it since. I was aiming to get a complete retro XT groupset, but I'm still short of the correct brakes and shifters.

supersonic

Very nice! I used to have that Judy Race, back then was th ebest fork RS did.

hoathy

Its still a very nice fork to ride. The bike rides well, and the geometry is similar to my Hot, I'm really pleased with the whole bike actually, with only the exception of the brakes and the worn out middle ring.

supersonic

I'd try some Kool Stop Eagle pads (in yellow!). Very good.

hoathy

Spec:
Kona Lava Dome 1994 frame
Rockshox Judy Race Hydracoil forks
DT Swiss/Mavic X517 SUP (radially spoked front) wheels
Mitchelin Wildgripper/Panaracer Fire XC Tyres
Bontrager Race Lite Stem
Bontrager Race Lite Ti Saddle
Shimano XT chainset and mechs
Avid SD3 brakes
Shimano LX brake levers
Shimano Deore shifters
Sram PG950 cassette and PC951 chain
Quranc Red Bars
Odi LTD Ed. Gold Lock on grips
Unbranded alloy Seatpost
DMR V8 Pedals

jay12

very nice bike. love the retro kona styling

rottitera02

The 'old school' look is something i like in a bike just like your kona's, what's they weight in at ?
keep them rollin', the're great

hoathy

The lava dome isn't exactly super light, but its not bad considering. The XT chainset and the wheelset are suprisingly light, however the forks are not, but they do work excellently. I was toying with putting some manitou SX-Es that I have on it, but then i gave it a go and found the steerer was to short. The Kona Hot, is a lot lighter:

they both ride quite similarly, but as I say the braking on the lava dome is truely shocking.

rottitera02

i cna see your point regarding shocking brakes, why don't you try an earlier set of xtr centrepulls, (the grey bodied version) they are excellent and you can pick em up quite reasonably priced too. i have a rear one which i used to have on my stiffee before i changed to disc on the rear. it was bloody good especially if you used it with a decent brakelever and flak jacket cabling.

By the way i've been meaning to ask but what's the riding like over on isle of wight?

hoathy

yeah, well xtrs back and front would be ideall. but i don't think i can afford any right now.

OliverMTB

Hi,

I just rescued my old Lava Dome I think its '92 (its purple).

Everything needs replacing (its all origional) & I'm keen to have a go myself. I would be really greatful if you could give my any advice / tips + ideas about locating parts & if you have any idea about some of the spec I need to find that would be great.

Thanks,

hoathy

here: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=2
is an excellent place to start if you want retro bits to keep it all oldskool. if your more interested in just getting something that works well, and won't break the bank, check out the classified section on here, and obviously keep an eye out on ebay.
Merlin have a good deal on some LX V brakes at the moment.
Have you though about whether to stay rigid or go with front sus? If you opt for sus forks make sure you keep the axel to crown distance well down, don't even think about any forks with over 100mm of travel, probably best to stick with 80mm of you can.
I also have a few bits for sale that might be useful here:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72142
Also on the old konas there is not stop for the brake cable at the back of the top tube, so I have run outer all the way to the brake, if it still has it, they did come with a guide attached to the top of the seat tube, but these are often broken.
Let me know if there is anything else I can help with!

hoathy

rottitera02 wrote:

i cna see your point regarding shocking brakes, why don't you try an earlier set of xtr centrepulls, (the grey bodied version) they are excellent and you can pick em up quite reasonably priced too. i have a rear one which i used to have on my stiffee before i changed to disc on the rear. it was bloody good especially if you used it with a decent brakelever and flak jacket cabling.

By the way i've been meaning to ask but what's the riding like over on isle of wight?

Just noticed the question tagged onto the end there, the riding here is good, there isn't tons and tons of it, but there is more variation than you'd expect, you can do some really good and relitively long routes. The veiws are also fantastic. There was a route in MBR last month.

rottitera02

Thanks bud, will have a look back in last months issue, i will probably be down in bournmouth/poole area next year for a week.