Hi all! I'm new to the forum but have lurked a little bit here over the years. I am the original owner of the Kona Hot Stars 'n' Bars described in the title. I ordered it from Kona through friends that owned a bike shop in Kalamazoo Michigan in early spring of 1996. I bought it as a frame and built it up with a custom kit. The reason I am posting this thread here is after owning the bike 23 years I am going to sell it. I am putting it out here to see if there is any interest in this frame and the original components from the build that I still have.
I rode the bike for a little over 10 years and then made some changes to to the build but after late 2006 it has not seen much riding time. Obviously I replaced chain rings and cassettes over that time and took very good care of the bike. I traveled with the bike and rode it all over North America including Whistler in the old school days just as the bike park was getting started. The Hot was a great bike and served me very well as back country trail and sometimes xc race bike.
I have it taken down to the frame and have most of the components as I said earlier. I originally treated the frame internally with J.R. Weigle's Frame Saver and it's never had a spec of rust. The frame has some scratches and chips in the paint and it had chain suck a few times but overall it's in very good shape. Kona even supplied us original owners with touch up paint on these custom paint jobs. I still have the red, white and blue touch up paint. I also have the original seat post clamp and rear brake cable routing guide that slides down the seat tube below the seat clamp.
I am going to list my original build that I ended up with after I massaged and tweaked the build over the first year. I still own most of the components with a few exceptions which I will list below.
Here's the original build:
1996 16" Kona Hot Stars 'n' Bars
Specialized Judy FSX with Englund Air Kit and carbon fork brace
Mavic 217 rims/ Hugi Sulver Hubs/ DT DB 14/16 spokes, Now Bontrager Valiant Asymetrical Ceramic rims/ Hugi Hubs DT SG 14g spokes
Ritchey WCS Z Max 2.1 tires
Shimano XTR 12-32 Cassette
Specialized Ti black skewers
Shimano XTR RD M-950 w/ Avid Rollamajig
Shimano XTR FD M-950 w/ Carbon E-Clamp on BB
Grip Shift Attack 8 spd shifters
Specialized Direct Drive Ti Bottom Bracket (made by TnT)
RaceFace Turbine LP, Silver 110/74, 175 w/ Race Face Silver chainrings 24/34/46, Now RF Black chainrings 24/34/46
Chris King Silver Headset
Kore Silver 120/ 0 deg Stem
Answer Hyperlight Flat Bars then Specialized Thermo Plastic Flat Carbon Bars (I have both and a brand new Hyperlight bar)
Marinovative Cheap Trick, Silver Brakes, the original long arm brake designed by Ben Capron in 1989
Real Brake Levers, Silver, Long Pull
Onza CWA Black/ Silver bar ends
Answer Rocker seat post 27mm
Avocet Ti 40M saddle
I still have every component except the Specialized FSX Judy, Kore stem and the Real brake levers. I rebuilt the Ti BB once, it has 4 cartridge bearings and I upgraded them the Abec 5 bearings when I rebuilt it. I's still butter smooth. The RF Turbine LP cranks are in great shape and have seen a few chainring replacements. It currently has RF black rings. Unfortunately I put the FSX fork on my ex-wife's hardtail and lost the fork in that split.
I will post some photos of the frame and components when I get a chance but here's a shot of the last build it saw with a Fox Float RL, an a Avid BB7 front brake, disc brake DT front wheel, Paul Love Levers and Fizik Nisene saddle.
Let me know if anyone has any questions and if any body has any interest in this frame and the components that I have.
I rode the bike for a little over 10 years and then made some changes to to the build but after late 2006 it has not seen much riding time. Obviously I replaced chain rings and cassettes over that time and took very good care of the bike. I traveled with the bike and rode it all over North America including Whistler in the old school days just as the bike park was getting started. The Hot was a great bike and served me very well as back country trail and sometimes xc race bike.
I have it taken down to the frame and have most of the components as I said earlier. I originally treated the frame internally with J.R. Weigle's Frame Saver and it's never had a spec of rust. The frame has some scratches and chips in the paint and it had chain suck a few times but overall it's in very good shape. Kona even supplied us original owners with touch up paint on these custom paint jobs. I still have the red, white and blue touch up paint. I also have the original seat post clamp and rear brake cable routing guide that slides down the seat tube below the seat clamp.
I am going to list my original build that I ended up with after I massaged and tweaked the build over the first year. I still own most of the components with a few exceptions which I will list below.
Here's the original build:
1996 16" Kona Hot Stars 'n' Bars
Specialized Judy FSX with Englund Air Kit and carbon fork brace
Mavic 217 rims/ Hugi Sulver Hubs/ DT DB 14/16 spokes, Now Bontrager Valiant Asymetrical Ceramic rims/ Hugi Hubs DT SG 14g spokes
Ritchey WCS Z Max 2.1 tires
Shimano XTR 12-32 Cassette
Specialized Ti black skewers
Shimano XTR RD M-950 w/ Avid Rollamajig
Shimano XTR FD M-950 w/ Carbon E-Clamp on BB
Grip Shift Attack 8 spd shifters
Specialized Direct Drive Ti Bottom Bracket (made by TnT)
RaceFace Turbine LP, Silver 110/74, 175 w/ Race Face Silver chainrings 24/34/46, Now RF Black chainrings 24/34/46
Chris King Silver Headset
Kore Silver 120/ 0 deg Stem
Answer Hyperlight Flat Bars then Specialized Thermo Plastic Flat Carbon Bars (I have both and a brand new Hyperlight bar)
Marinovative Cheap Trick, Silver Brakes, the original long arm brake designed by Ben Capron in 1989
Real Brake Levers, Silver, Long Pull
Onza CWA Black/ Silver bar ends
Answer Rocker seat post 27mm
Avocet Ti 40M saddle
I still have every component except the Specialized FSX Judy, Kore stem and the Real brake levers. I rebuilt the Ti BB once, it has 4 cartridge bearings and I upgraded them the Abec 5 bearings when I rebuilt it. I's still butter smooth. The RF Turbine LP cranks are in great shape and have seen a few chainring replacements. It currently has RF black rings. Unfortunately I put the FSX fork on my ex-wife's hardtail and lost the fork in that split.
I will post some photos of the frame and components when I get a chance but here's a shot of the last build it saw with a Fox Float RL, an a Avid BB7 front brake, disc brake DT front wheel, Paul Love Levers and Fizik Nisene saddle.
Let me know if anyone has any questions and if any body has any interest in this frame and the components that I have.