1996 Kona Fire Mountain Resto-Mod

Following my "failure" with the Fiori dinglespeed, I set off looking for another canvas to complete my 1x10 winter commuter build for my partner. 

Oddly enough, a quick scan of local Kijiji ads and a lovely (well-priced) mid 90's Kona Fire Mountain popped up. I was quick to hop on this one given the prestige of some of these old Konas. To find one in my partner's size, and within budget felt like a real treat. 

This one in particular had a lot of potential - a straight blade 1 1/8" Kona Project 2 fork, ultra thin "Race Light" chromoly steel frame tubing, and rear 135mm spacing meant that this frame offered up a lot of potential for a fun build! 





Great silhouette on this one! 

It didn't take me long to strip it down, throw in the rear 26" wheel with 8sp freehub, and some Surly Open bars to get things mocked up. I really loved the silhouette with the inverted Surly bars! The only downside to this one is the kooky looking stem. Short, 1 1/8" diameter quill stems are hard to come by, so I'll keep hunting for something a little more aesthetically pleasing. 

170mm Shimano XT cranks blinged out with a 34T Wolftooth Narrow-wide chainring. Murdered out MKS Sylvan pedals. 

1x10 Shimano SLX rear mech w/clutch on Shimano XT hub

After finishing, my partner found the frame to be a bit long, and felt a little too stretched out. We flipped the bars "right-side" up for a little more comfort. I'm not as big a fan of the overall look, but this bike isn't for me. Here's hoping that with a proper quill stem it will clean up the look a bit. 

Max comfort


We'll call this one done...for now!

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