Consider me (re)educated! I'll also update the Hot thread so it's noted there for prosperity!
Can anyone help me ID this older Kona road bike model?
vancitynovice
Retro Newbie
Will do! I think I sent an email to someone named Tom with the same email domain, but I'll try this as well.
vancitynovice
Retro Newbie
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I don't have the bike with me yet, but I'm on an hour long bus ride to go pick it up right now. The anticipation is killing me, haha. I was browsing my local Facebook marketplace page (which has seemed to become a hobby for me) when I saw an ad for a "Kona road bike". I knew in passing that they only had a few models from this era, and most were made with high quality Columbus steel or titanium, so it piqued my interest. I reached out and the seller and asked for pictures of the drive side and the bottom bracket serial number, and that's when the alarm bells went off. I couldn't find anything that matched it, but mk one swooped in and saved me by identifying it as a Teesdale. That sent me down quite the rabbit hole, including learning about his unfortunate passing. I'm a huge fan of all things frame building, so I'm very pleased to know about another legendary builder, and to potentially own one of his creations!
I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but the format of the serial number makes me suspect it's one of the first ones he assembled.
I will take many many pictures once it's in my possession. Stay tuned!
I'll keep you posted if they reply. Your thread about the kapu was a fantastic read, and very helpful to me. I'm glad you finally got your hands on your dream bike.Absolutely this, and if they draw a blank, let me know and I'll do some digging with folks direct.
This is quite something - what a discovery! Is it yours and if so, what's the story of you acquiring it?
I'll say with 99.99999999% confidence that it isn't a Haole. To my knowledge, Tom didn't work with titanium. He certainly didn't with Kona at least. The welding and tubeset doesn't look titanium. A quick magnet test would determine the outcome quickly!
TET R has to imply "Road" and 001...well, that's obvious!The Hot SN thread explains a bit more about his work with Kona and the legendary bike he built for many years: https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/kona-hot-serial-number-list-update-16-06-23.446740/
The seat-tube extension is almost non-existent, and with the decals presumably original, this is leaning very much to late 1993, early 1994 for the 1994 range. If you know that, then you know the Kapu was launched for the 1994 range. Could this be an early demo/show bike? Could it be a bespoke 1-off for Kona / an employee / or even a customer who insisted they wanted a Kona custom road bike?
I don't have the bike with me yet, but I'm on an hour long bus ride to go pick it up right now. The anticipation is killing me, haha. I was browsing my local Facebook marketplace page (which has seemed to become a hobby for me) when I saw an ad for a "Kona road bike". I knew in passing that they only had a few models from this era, and most were made with high quality Columbus steel or titanium, so it piqued my interest. I reached out and the seller and asked for pictures of the drive side and the bottom bracket serial number, and that's when the alarm bells went off. I couldn't find anything that matched it, but mk one swooped in and saved me by identifying it as a Teesdale. That sent me down quite the rabbit hole, including learning about his unfortunate passing. I'm a huge fan of all things frame building, so I'm very pleased to know about another legendary builder, and to potentially own one of his creations!
I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but the format of the serial number makes me suspect it's one of the first ones he assembled.
I will take many many pictures once it's in my possession. Stay tuned!
vancitynovice
Retro Newbie
Does anyone have photos of this one? Wayback machine doesn't have it unfortunately.
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Is this the one that's for sale in Vancouver now?
vancitynovice
Retro Newbie
Yes, I'm on the way back with it now.
vancitynovice
Retro Newbie
Alright, so I've gotten the bike back home and I've poked around a bit. There are a few clues that lead me to believe it's a 1995 Kona Haole. The Haoles in this year were painted blue and made with Columbus MiniMax, as you can see in the catalogue page here:
They also had their braze-ons for the rear brake cable guides, and the rear derailleur cable guide on the bottom part of their respective tubes. The bike is also definitely steel, as confirmed by the surface rust and a cheeky magnetic experiment.
The specifications page (seen below) for the '95 Haole indicates that the bike was available in custom colors, which may explain the difference in decal color, although the blue paint may be the same color pictured in the catalog. I understand what you meant about the beauty of that green color on the '97 Kapu now!
I took a few close-ups of different parts of the bike for posterity, and to document some neat details on the bike, like the Columbus dropouts. I especially like the water bottle reinforcing boss that was used around the slot for the seat tube. The welds and brazing are also absolutely gorgeous.
I don't have any grand plans for the bike at the moment, but I'd like to throw on some parts to replace the ones that aren't working and take it for a spin around the block in the coming days. Thanks for all your help so far, and please let me know if there's anything else you would like me to photograph or investigate.
The specifications page (seen below) for the '95 Haole indicates that the bike was available in custom colors, which may explain the difference in decal color, although the blue paint may be the same color pictured in the catalog. I understand what you meant about the beauty of that green color on the '97 Kapu now!
I took a few close-ups of different parts of the bike for posterity, and to document some neat details on the bike, like the Columbus dropouts. I especially like the water bottle reinforcing boss that was used around the slot for the seat tube. The welds and brazing are also absolutely gorgeous.
I don't have any grand plans for the bike at the moment, but I'd like to throw on some parts to replace the ones that aren't working and take it for a spin around the block in the coming days. Thanks for all your help so far, and please let me know if there's anything else you would like me to photograph or investigate.
eric_james
Senior Retro Guru
Looks to be in pretty good condition, good find
dirttorpedo
Senior Retro Guru
Great deal for a hand built frame. Enjoy.
And that serial number!
