is it worth the money?

Andy said:

Hi,

I've been offered a Kona Fire Mountain circa 199?....it's rigid, purple fade to silver, got an
'exage[?] groupset

Exage could be 198?.

Quoted message said:

and shifters on top of the bars [thumbshifters?]

Begining to sound pre-1991...

Quoted message said:

my old one had rapidfire so this could be older or newer [I think they went back to them for a
while before those push pull ones..?] Mine was a good 10 years ago so this is an older bike.

I thought it went "push-pull", then "two butons under" then rapid fire, but that depends on what
part of the Shimano range you were looking at, I suppose.

Quoted message said:

It is in pretty good nick apart from sctatches down one side [leaning against lamposts rather than
chain/stone chips on the ...chainstay{?}] and a rideable but buckled rear wheel.

If you feel competent with a spke wrench, this may be recoverable, but its not a good sign.

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The bottom bracket is sound and original [mine wore out in a year] as are all other bearings, and
it rides ok.

Is it worth 130gbp?

I sold a similar spec Specialized from the same sort of era for 50 ukp a few months ago. I
considered that a fair price, and I was the seller. I gave it a damn good service before I sold it,
and the buyer has now got really into cycling, I'm told.

Quoted message said:

I said no at the time, then looked at the price of project two forks....55gbp! so maybe its not
too bad...?

The project 2 forks are a Good Thing. Perhaps a tad overpriced, but good robust kit.

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Im currently riding a battered diamond back 'topanga' after going to a road bike and
regretting it.

What did you regret about the road bike?

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Looking at what I can get NEW for a coupla hundred quid [previous post 'which budget mtb'] maybe
this would be a good bet.

Looking at what you can get new for 70 quid more, its overpriced unless its in perfect nick.

Quoted message said:

I look forward to your comments....maybe someone has a better bike for sale for the same
price......maybe I should get it quick before it sells....??

If the seller can't be bothered to get the rear wheel fixed before they sell it, thats not a
good sign.

If I was in your position, I would hang on for a few months and get a ~340 quid bike reduced to
~200 quid off season. I've done this 3 times over the years, and got what I consider to be a
bargain each time.

--
Jim Price

jimprice.dsl.pipex.comjimprice.dsl.pipex.comOpen ↗

Conscientious objection is hard work in an economic war.

Jim Price said:

Begining to sound pre-1991...

I believe this would be a 1993 model.

http://www.konaretro.com/articles/catalogues/1993/10.jpg

Quoted message said:

I thought it went "push-pull", then "two buttons under"
then rapid fire, but that depends on what part of the
Shimano range you were looking at, I suppose.

"Two buttons under" was Rapid Fire. "Thumb and Finger" is Rapid Fire Plus. In 1993 all three styles were available, RF+ being, at that time, limited to the XTR group. Subsequently, Kona were compelled to use Suntour thumbshifters as Shimano ceased manufacture.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is it worth 130gbp?

I would have thought 75 to 110, depending on condition. It would make a very practical, reliable general purpose bicycle.

N. Lenderby (Mrs)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my old one had rapidfire so this could be older or newer [I think they went back to them for a
while before those push pull ones..?] Mine was a good 10 years ago so this is an older bike.

I thought it went "push-pull", then "two butons under" then rapid fire, but that depends on what
part of the Shimano range you were looking at, I suppose.

You're probably right....

Quoted message said:

The project 2 forks are a Good Thing. Perhaps a tad overpriced, but good robust kit.

I did like them...rode well and looked better than standard 'bent' ones

Quoted message said:

What did you regret about the road bike?

Well I'm in North London, mainly cycle on the road, and felt more secure on the mountain
bike...road bike, even with those time trial bars, wasnt as good for keeping an eye on the lunatic
drivers round here

Quoted message said:

Looking at what you can get new for 70 quid more, its overpriced unless its in perfect nick.

Point taken...I wasnt sure

Quoted message said:

If I was in your position, I would hang on for a few months and get a ~340 quid bike reduced to
~200 quid off season. I've done this 3 times over the years, and got what I consider to be a
bargain each time.

When is the best time of year for this....Evans are knocking 50gbp off a 400gbp FireMountain at the
moment...still too much for me.

Also, if it's on sale, would the shop be willing to change the forks for rigid and the bars for
straight ones?...I'm sure they would if I was paying full price....but I dont want suspension
forks..Ive tried them.

Quoted message said:

--
Jim Price

Thanks

Andy

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Quoted message said:

I believe this would be a 1993 model.

konaretro.com10.jpgOpen ↗

.com

that's the one!

Well done, I couldn't find it!

Andy

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