il est fini!

It's Alive!

Here's the final build!  Did a 9 mile ride today and it is awesome.  Since this is my first and only singlespeed bike, getting started was interesting.  My brain wanted to shift when I first started the ride..but 20 minutes in, it felt like I'd been riding the bike for years.  The geometry is perfect.  It's simple, quick and efficient - everything I wanted out of the project!  The build quality is excellent and it feels super tight.

Here's the build list:

Frame:  '94 Kona Cinder Cone
Fork:  Surly
Horizontal Drops:  Paul Components
Bottom Bracket / Cranks:   Race Face Evolve
Gearing:  Surly 34t / Shimano 17t
Salsa Bash Guard
Wheel set:  WTB 650 Laser Disc fore / WTB DX23 aft
Rear Hub:  Spot Brand singlespeed
Front Hub:  Shimano XT
Tires:  Pacenti Neo-Moto / Fore, Bontrager / Aft
Headset:  Chris King
Bars:  Easton Monkey Bars
Stem:  Truvativ
Brakes:  Avid disc fore / XT aft  (Mullet)
Seatpost:  Thomson Elite

Shop Bound

Gathered up all the goods and brought it in to West End cycles today.  Went with a Shimano 17t rear cog to compliment the 34t Surly chain ring.   Stay tuned!

Powdered Up

Picked up the bike from Precision today.  I love the metallic green.   These guys did a great job and the turn time was one week. Next step is decals then build-time. 

Tugnuts

Here's a pic of the Paul Comp tugnuts that keep the wheel from sliding under load.  They also serve as chain tensioners. Rig should be out of powder this week. 

Spot

I'm a little bored waiting for the powder job - so here's a pic of the WTB laced rear wheel with the cool Spot singlespeed hub. 

Pow Time!

Brought the bike to Precision Powder today.  Steve Gauthier runs the place with his father John.  Steve knows exactly what to do when it comes to powder coating bikes.  I went with a metallic green.  Should be ready in about 7-10 days.  I think that green has some pop...don't you?

Looks Great! Frame and Fork done!

Picked up the bike tonight from Koh's shop. I thought it looked great in the pics he sent me, but up close and personal, it looks awesome. The attention to detail is excellent throughout. Like I said to his wife Susan (thanks for the sandwich by the way!), "I'm not sure if this frame is worth the attention...but it looks great!!". Here are some repeat pics of the fork and frame back at my house. Man that Surly fork would be ugly with the canti's left on! Grind em off!!

Mod Work in Progress

Koh's almost done with the mod work. Looks awesome from what I see so far. He did a few extras, so let's just review some of the work so far.

• The Paul Component horizontal sliders are in. I love how he made the transition from the chainstays to the Paul Components flawless. Looks tight!
• He removed the canti brake posts of the fork. Since I'm going disc, these things don't need to be there.
• He filled in the small hole at the top of the fork.
• He removed the cable routers for the derailleur and positioned one on the top tube for the back brake which was previously managed by the clamp on aluminum (original). This will give the top tube a much cleaner look.
  
• He'll also do a few more mods to remove other unnecessary tabs and fill in some holes.

I should have the bike this weekend and then it's Pow time!

Decals Procured...and when was I born?

I found some retro Kona Cinder Cone decals on eBay. Procured em from some bloke in the UK. I thought my bike was a 98 Cinder Cone...but from the decals I bough on eBay, it appears that my bike is a '94, which officially makes it an "Antique" or "Vintage". Take that American Picker!!

Front and Back

Picked up the front wheel from West End Cycles today. They laced up the 650B WTB Laserdisc rim to the XT hub. Also dropped off the Spot singlespeed rear hub and 26" back rim. Maybe Koh will surprise me with having the frame done tomorrow!

Light Surgery Scheduled...

I brought the frame in to Koh Annoura tonight. Koh is a bike builder based in Clear Lake Tx. He used to race Keirin in Japan and has been building bikes for a few years. He'll be brazing on the Paul Component rear dropouts and doing some other knick knack work as well, including removing the brake posts off the front fork and some of the now unnecessary cable routers previously used for the de-railler. He's a great guy and was all smiles when I asked if I could take the picture with him holding the frame! Should be ready in a week and then off to Powder land!

Starting Point

I picked up a 1998 Kona Cinder Cone on Craigs List from a guy here in Houston. It was his own ss project that he started and bailed on. I gladly took it over from him...to finish what he had started. That's when the plan started to go sideways. I did not know about all the specific ss parts you needed, or what was required to turn a geared mt bike into a singlespeed...most of which centers around the vertical dropouts. See, the vertical dropout does not allow for adjusting the tension of the chain - which is what the derailleur does on geared bikes. You can compensate for that with a few different solutions...all of which I had never even heard of...things like "eccentric bottom bracket" or "eccentric rear hub". Basically, these are special bike parts that allow for slight rotation on a cam to adjust the chain just right.

After more research and and talking to my LBS about other singlespeed solutions I decided against the eccentrics (which cost $200 ) and found a frame builder who can put a torch on the rear drops and braze on the Paul Component Horizontal Sliders. It will be done right and look cool. Now you know the story about the FRAME. Stay tuned for the rest of the build plan!