[mikesnowdon]

Hi all.

I might be purchasing a second hand retro steel Kona frame which has has a disk brake modification. The mod looks a bit DIY and is ugly as hell though. Also, the mount has been tig'd on right across the brazed junction of the seatstay and dropout The reinforcing strut between the seat and chain stays looks like its a solid peice of thick steel plate too. Heavy and fugly. Pics below....

Its been in proper use for a long time now so its holding up OK and is clearly strong enough. It just looks like crap and I would want to try and make it prettier somehow if I buy this frame.

What I could do with the strut is grind/file it down to a thin I shaped piece and round off the edges. Example:https://stellawasadiver.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/letter-i-260.jpg

I think that would look OK and save some unnecessary weight. I'd also file/grind the welds to smooth them out a bit doing the same thing to the other welds on the mounts. With the mounts I might try and change the shape to a more attractive narrower form which tapers out to a wider base where the welds are.

What do you think guys?

 

[Walt]

Dude, it's a used Kona

Spend your effort on some other project. If you like the bike, buy it, ride it, and don't spend any time worrying about whether the disc mount is pretty or not.

-Walt

 

[edoz]

Spend your effort on some other project. If you like the bike, buy it, ride it, and don't spend any time worrying about whether the disc mount is pretty or not.

-Walt

+1

It's a steel frame, don't sweat the 8 or 10 grams you might save trimming that brace down. After the first ride, you'll probably have 30 or 40 grams of dirt on the frame.

 

[pvd]

Yup.

 

[Vlad]

As geeky as he sounds, I totally understand where he's coming from. I ride BMX and have been brakeless for almost ten years now, and I cannot ride a frame that has brakemounts. So, I sit there cutting cable guides and brakemounts off and filing the area smooth. For a bike that is going to get thrashed, I put a lot of effort into this.

 

[Yogii]

Strip the frame and get it repainted. While it is down to bare metal, file what you think is fugley, and repaint/PC.

 

[dbohemian]

I agree with the rest. Life is waaayyy too short to not work on projects that actually are meaningful.

That thing is a P.O.S. Ride it, use it up, put it away wet and concentrate on maybe building a dream bike or something.

Or I will make it look super pretty for you, I have some house painting I need done in exchange.....

 

[coconinocycles]

Strip the frame and get it repainted.

and fill in all the dents & cracks that brings to light.......seems to be the way it goes - Steve garro. Coconino Cycles.

 

[mikesnowdon]

I happen to be a big fan of these mid 90's steel frames and for the low £$£ they can be bought for these days they can be modified for disk brake use and given a re-spray resulting in a superb handling reasonably light bomb proof frame that can be ridden all day and dosent cost too much money. Its worth it.

My dream bike would be a mid 90's (post '96) Explosif with a disk conversion. Sorry if that doesnt please anyone but its what I like. I tried some other bikes over the years but nothing came close to a steel Kona despite the slight weight penalty.

Thanks to those who posted helpful or encouraging comments. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[TimT]

Purple chain tensioner!! (top pic)

Tim

 

[dbohemian]

My dream bike would be a mid 90's (post '96) Explosif with a disk conversion. Sorry if that doesnt please anyone but its what I like. I tried some other bikes over the years but nothing came close to a steel Kona despite the slight weight penalty.

Thanks to those who posted helpful or encouraging comments. I will let you know how it goes.

You need to dream bigger......

I also see a trend here. Not just from you but others also. We do give good, solid comments. If all you wanted was a bunch of affirmations why ask for opinions?

I have no problem with the disk conversion but your only real question was how to make an existing disc strut look "nice"? What a waste of our time...seriously.

 

[mikesnowdon]

You need to dream bigger......

My dreams are mine and I like them.

I have no problem with the disk conversion but your only real question was how to make an existing disc strut look "nice"? What a waste of our time...seriously.

Aesthetics are as important to me as anyone else, maybe more so than others. That should be clear to you from the originating post. I guess what your saying is I would be better off just getting it re-done professionally.

By the way. You might have noticed I frequent retrobike.co.uk alot (see link below?). You can assume then that I find most modern stuff quite unappealing. You can keep your Carbon, your monocock, your 100mm forks, 10 speed, and your big wheels etc thanks....

I'd take a 90's Explosif over any of that.

EDIT: I dont need or want affirmation or approval from anyone. I'm my own person and keep my own counsel. I post here to air ideas and ask for advice from experienced people who know about this sort of thing. I couldn't care less if any of you like the idea or not.

 

[dbohemian]

Aesthetics are as important to me as anyone else, maybe more so than others

Mikes. Aesthetics is important to us all in some way. You might want to check my link because if you had, you would have seen that maybe, just a little bit, people buy my stuff because it's fancy dancy you know.....

By the way. You might have noticed I frequent retrobike.co.uk alot (see link below?). You can assume then that I find most modern stuff quite unappealing. You can keep your Carbon, your monocock, your 100mm forks, 10 speed, and your big wheels etc thanks....


You hate it all except the discs eh?.....

I didn't say a word about being retro. I am cool with that. Be as retro as you like. Just because something is old though doesn't make it good anymore than something new being good. Good was good. Crap was crap regardless of age.

I'd take a 90's Explosif over any of that.

Mmmmkay.....What I really meant was the brace looks fine and functions well which is of utmost importance on a mountain bike. File it nice if you wish but it won't affect function. This is a framebuilders list. I can pretty much say all of us are interested in building new "dream" bikes. Now that does not preclude using tried and true geometries from any era it's just that making a functioning brace on a mass produced Asian frame look really good doesn't have a lot to do with framebuilding.

 

[mikesnowdon]

Fair points you make there and your bikes are quite pretty too

We need a "Frame Modding" sub-forum then Otherwise where else do these types of questions get asked....

 

[shovelon]

Modding[/I]" sub-forum then Otherwise where else do these types of questions get asked....

Totally agree with you. Frame modding and repair is where I stand.

Although welding a grinding is a PIA, in this case it might be the only way to clean it up.

Good luck.:thumbsup: