1997 Kona Kapu - sourced

[PNWBoy]

Re:

What year is this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224155975690

 

[FlimFlamVanHam]

look at that. It's a 95, 96 or 97. But 96 or 97 because the 95 had the mat finish group and the 96 and 97 had the same polished Veloce group.

"NEMO" on BB shell...Alasdair?

What's interesting about that one is it appears to have every stock piece from seat post to seat collar to stem to rims to hubs to skewers and every aspect of the Veloce group in waht appears to be great shape EXCEPT the original Impact headset.

And it's a 58 in seat tube only. It was a 56 by Kona's sizing (and is a 56 by all other standards for fit).

I still cannot get over how good those bikes look even now in 2020.

edit to add the obvious: repaint and re-decal. And the decal choice was in line with '96. It looks great though.

Is it your listing? Serial number might shed some light.

 

[PNWBoy]

Re:

Yep, it's mine It really looks like the original paint to me. I have never seen an aftermarket paint job this good, and it looks like a 90's Kona paint color to me. I live close to Kona HQ, and it was originally a Team Kona rider's bike, so maybe it was a prototype or sample? I can't find a serial number, nothing on the bottom bracket.

Always hard to size Kona bikes. The effective top tube, which is what I usually go by, is 58cm. You think they would have called it a 56? I'm 6'1", and with the original stem it has a very healthy amount of reach.

 

[FlimFlamVanHam]

Re:

Nope. Not a 56 then. It looked like a 56, proportionally, to me.

The 56 had a 58 seat tube and 155mm head tube.

Ok, just based on what you said I believe that paint is original. The decals are in line with a 96. And ignore my questions via eBay.

 

[Pipmeister]

"NEMO" on BB shell...Alasdair?

It is indeed a 1996, and is the only other example that I have seen of a Kona with what appears to be using Columbus NEMO tubing - or at least a NEMO Bottom Bracket Shell.

This was the same colour scheme and tubing set used for a short run of Explosif Team frames. I'm not sure why the Explosif also has a Nivacrom Max Decal, while the Kapu also has a Nivacrom Genius Decal. If you look at the link below, you'll see that there is mention of a "more refined tubeset".

Scroll down to 02-14-2009 - the links to the pictures still work:

https://forums.mtbr.com/kona/who-owns-c ... 76320.html

1996 Team Explosif:





NEMO Decal:



Pip

 

[i-am-iron-man]

Re: Re:

Yep, it's mine

Hi all,

As pipmeister says: it's probably a '96 bike, easy to identify as a non-'95 as it doesn't have the fluted seat tube.
Would you believe I've seen a Kapu in those colours before? Spotted on the internet at some point in the past; I was so taken with it I saved the photos (sorry that they are super-massive). This one has lost all its original parts apart from the seat clamp by the looks of it - pity the BB shell isn't visible, I'd have been interested to see if it was stamped NEMO too.
I assumed it was a sympathetic re-spray [non-Kapu colours but matching other models of the same year - as per the Explosif] but must have been a limited factory run after all. Still haven't re-painted my '95 yet ...

 

[PNWBoy]

I guess it's a 96 then, thanks! Same head tube decal there. Does this bike predate the compact geometry of the Giant TCR? Has room for 28mm tires, also ahead of it's time.

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Re:

Yep, it's mine

Hi all,

As pipmeister says: it's probably a '96 bike, easy to identify as a non-'95 as it doesn't have the fluted seat tube.
Would you believe I've seen a Kapu in those colours before? Spotted on the internet at some point in the past; I was so taken with it I saved the photos (sorry that they are super-massive). This one has lost all its original parts apart from the seat clamp by the looks of it - pity the BB shell isn't visible, I'd have been interested to see if it was stamped NEMO too.
I assumed it was a sympathetic re-spray [non-Kapu colours but matching other models of the same year - as per the Explosif] but must have been a limited factory run after all. Still haven't re-painted my '95 yet ...

Not much to add to this other than another shot of the same Kapu i-am-iron-man captured. At the time I put this down to an oddity. Now we can say it's a limited run for local/national semi-pro/pro cyclists. Remember my '94 (pre-production '95) Kapu was built and used for a triathlete.

Since I've sourced this I'm going to lock the thread. Thanks to everyone who's contributed and if you're searching a Kapu - good luck!