1993 Kona Hot

[Canuckbiker]

93 Explosif definitely has the Prestige Ultimate Ultrastrong tubing and that Hot has aswell you can tell just off the ribbed downtube. Plus with the Hot being above the Explosif, Kona couldn't really use a lesser tubing, imagine that.
"Here's your Kona Hot sir"
"Hold on whys it only got Concept tubing and the Explosif has Ultimate Ultrastrong"
"nothing to worry about Sir, it's a Hot and has TET stamped on it, it's a way better bike because of it" lol
Then the man from Kona runs out the back to the mechanics.
"right! which one of you thought it would be funny to make a Kilauea look like a Hot by respraying it and stamping TET on the BB"

Thanks @Spanky22b I've got a 93' Kilauea, it came with a concept decal and I assumed incorrectly the tubeset of the Explosif

The screenshot below from the 93 catalogue is interesting where it shows the Explosif stays being concept (higher grade than the Kilauea super light stays I assume)

I'm wondering if Tange made ultimate stays, possibly a third tubeset combination for the Hot?



@HuskyDinoBomber either way I'd say Spanky's comments confirm using the Ultimate tubing decal

 

[mk one]

The down tube is Ultrastrong, the other tubes are a mix of various Tange tubes as with the Explosif. '94 frames also but stopped using the Ultrastrong tubes halfway through '94 so you can get '94 Explosifs/Hots without the Ultrastrong down tube.

 

[Spanky22b]

I've always wondered regarding the Kona Hot why they never went down the route of fillet brazing it aswell as having it hand made,for me it would've put it right up there with the Brodies or maybe you could spec it to be fillet brazed and i've just never seen one

 

[Spanky22b]

Looking at the 93 catalogue the Explosif and the Kilauea both have the blue Prestige decals. The bike hasn’t been resprayed.

Konas catalogues can be confusing lol They seem to do all the photos and specs of the bikes then change there mind afterwards, as an example for years i was looking for the Orange 1990 Lavadome in the catalogue, turns out they never even done that colour in the end lol

What's your plans for the build?
With it being a custom Kona i'd be tempted to do my own one off colour and me being me splat it to make it a one of one bike lol But there's something about that green which is just spot on,so would maybe go black P2's and make the green really stand out.
Looking forward to seeing the build progress because there is something really cool about the Kona Hot

 

[HuskyDinoBomber]

I had originally thought of a full XT M700 with top mount thumb shifters now not so sure. My vision is black stem, fork and component but am considering a color matched fork. You all know this stuff better than I so will rely on thoughts provided. I currently have Joe Murray Brake booster secured(Black), DiaCompe SS-7 levers(Black), DiaCompe 987 cantilever brakes(Black) as well as Velocity stem and 165 handle bar(Black). Definetely sticking with top mount thumbies and will likely use a set of ODI Attack grips that I have. I also have a lead on a set of Equilibrium and Propulsion tires(Black wall) that I am trying to secure. Undecided on seat post, derailleurs, crankset and wheels. I do have a front wheel with Nukeprook front hub matched to Mavic 231 Profil PSP rim and rear wheel XT M-750 hub with Mavic 117 S.U.P SBP rim both silver.

 

[HuskyDinoBomber]

Through the wheels on it so I could hang the bike for storage. American Classic Ti seat post and Kona Race Light saddle.

 

[al-onestare]

For sure the 93' Explosif & Kilauea are prestige concept, it's always possible a previous owner needed to replace the tubing decal and could only source a prestige concept version, I assume your decals are above the clearcoat.

@al-onestare is it safe to say the tubing used would have to have been Prestige Ultimate Ultrastrong for a 93' Hot?

​

Intel here from the don-dapper Pip

The 1991 – 1995 frames are made from various mixes of Tange Prestige Concept, Tange Ultimate / Ultrastrong, Tange Ultimate / Superlight and Tange Ultimate / Ultralight.

The customer could pretty much choose what they wanted. So, there was no normal in theory. In practice, I'm sure there was some focus on a specific tube-set at a particular time in the production era.

A word of warning. Relying on catalogue information should be taken with a big pinch of salt. What was listed was 6-8 months in advance of what was actually taking place.

Someone mentioned fillet brazing. Very nice. Also expensive. These were priced at a point, for a "hand-made" frame.

 

[HuskyDinoBomber]

Hope you guys can help me. Would like a set of these fork decals. Any idea where to source them?

 

[Spanky22b]

View attachment 818641

Hope you guys can help me. Would like a set of these fork decals. Any idea where to source them?

Gills your man to go to but hang fire because i may have some spare from a set i bought ages ago.

 

[Spanky22b]

Found them