Kona Hei Hei words of warning.

[Neil G]

Agree with the above

Checked mine last night, 1993 (I think) and no shim in there either

 

[Tallpaul]

Even the seatclamp size was an unusual 29.8 when the front mech was 28.6

Is external butting unusual on steel seat-tubes?

Checked mine last night, 1993 (I think) and no shim in there either

I believe that they were made by a differant company, or at least to a differant spec. Certainly I believe yours will have differences to the OP's, including the dropouts and cable routing, so no suprise if the spec of the tubing is also differant.

 

[Anthony]

I don't think it was by any means just Konas that needed 30mm clamps Rich. Tange seat tubes and I think most others at that time had their butting at the top external, so that the inside of the tube was of constant diameter. So a 1.2/0.6/0.9 x 28.6 tube means (as far as I'm aware) that the 0.9-0.6=0.3 butt is at the bottom and the 1.2-0.6=0.6 butt at the top makes the external diameter 28.6+2x0.6=29.8. And for the same reason, you need a 33.0 clamp for most modern 31.8 steel seat tubes.

You can only use a 28.6 clamp on a tube where the butting is internal, but I don't think that kind of tube is as good for mtb, as the post is only being supported by the few inches at the top where the butt is (unless it is only single-butted and there is no butt at the top, which is even worse).

Are you sure about that NeilG? I've known Hei Hei owners to say that and then fiddle around with a torch etc and say 'oh yes!' I thought it was that you need a sleeve in a ti frame because if you put a ti post in a ti seat tube without something separating them, they can get very profoundly attached to one another.

 

[dyna-ti]

It really pisses me off that manufacturers dont stamp the post size next to or included in the serial number.Therefore under the BB shell. :evil:

worthy of :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[DM]

I have a skinny USE post in mine, with a USE shim.
No idea what size they are, but they work OK.... after originally trying several different sized shims.

 

[Neil G]

I don't think it was by any means just Konas that needed 30mm clamps Rich. Tange seat tubes and I think most others at that time had their butting at the top external, so that the inside of the tube was of constant diameter. So a 1.2/0.6/0.9 x 28.6 tube means (as far as I'm aware) that the 0.9-0.6=0.3 butt is at the bottom and the 1.2-0.6=0.6 butt at the top makes the external diameter 28.6+2x0.6=29.8. And for the same reason, you need a 33.0 clamp for most modern 31.8 steel seat tubes.

You can only use a 28.6 clamp on a tube where the butting is internal, but I don't think that kind of tube is as good for mtb, as the post is only being supported by the few inches at the top where the butt is (unless it is only single-butted and there is no butt at the top, which is even worse).

Are you sure about that NeilG? I've known Hei Hei owners to say that and then fiddle around with a torch etc and say 'oh yes!' I thought it was that you need a sleeve in a ti frame because if you put a ti post in a ti seat tube without something separating them, they can get very profoundly attached to one another.

Positive there's no shim in there although I did originally run the bike with a use post and an alloy shim.

 

[Caramba Kid]

Checked mine last night, 1993 (I think) and no shim in there either

Yeah neither have mine:

20" 1992 31.8 external / 27.2 internal

19" late 1993 (bullet rear stays) 31.8 external / 27.0 internal

Both TST Sandvik built.