Help needed: Identify my 90's Kona frame

janhe

Retro Newbie
Hi!

I recently bought this claped out Kona frame. I'm having trouble figuring what model it is- Torn between Kona Kilauea or Fire mountain as there seems to be some kind of dark(ish) green as the first coat.. Tubes are not ribbed, and the seat tube is not bigger by any means at the BB. Just the frame without any bearings or accessories weighs 2285g. Weight includes about 4 coats of different colors. Size 19"!!

BB is stamped with 5I 23
Small thread at the bb for the cable guide.
Serial: F5121978

Fairly 1995
 

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Re:

Perhaps a few more pictures that include Cable Stops would help, or from further back may reveal more.

If your sure about the Green paint, then a Fairly Works December 1995 Frame could be a 1996 Lava Dome, which seems to have been available in that colour as well as Orange. The weight seems about right too.

The join at the Dropouts looks somewhat different though in your picture that was taken from the inside of the frame?





Pip
 

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Re: Re:

pipmeister":2mukkjuz said:
Perhaps a few more pictures that include Cable Stops would help, or from further back may reveal more.

If your sure about the Green paint, then a Fairly Works December 1995 Frame could be a 1996 Lava Dome, which seems to have been available in that colour as well as Orange. The weight seems about right too.

The join at the Dropouts looks somewhat different though in your picture that was taken from the inside of the frame?





Pip

Orange look like top coat, rest under coats, black on top is rattle can

Orange Lava colour, same.'96 lavadome.
 
Re:

Sorry FC, I just edited my first post to add another picture, a couple of minutes after you first posted.

Yeah, usually Orange for the 1996 Lave Dome:



Pip.
 

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more photos

This definitely is not an orange lava dome. There would be some kind of orange overspray in the head tube etc. I used nailpolish to help get through the paint layers. First black coat rattle can fo sho. second some kind of orange/red base maybe? under that is a blue metallic color that is definitely not the original color for this frame as the headset has also been painted with the blue, then the red and again with black rattle can.

More photos! The crimps near the DS dropout? can't tell is pipmeisters have same looking things going on.
 

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Re:

yup that's true. damn it. Hard to remove paint in a way to find out the original color. Still not fully buying the idea of it being a lava dome. oh well maybe I won't ever know for sure what it is.
 
Because of the tubing profile of the seat tube its not anything higher.

My first instinct from the stays though, is that its not a Kona.
 
Lava domes had the seatstay and chain stay crimped? mine has them crimped as show but chain stays for tyre clearance seems to be not crimped.
 
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