Kona Hot 1993?

[zardoz]

Hello all,

I just found this forum after looking at the Kona Hot I purchased new back in 1996. Quick back story, I was looking to get into mountain biking after I borrowed a bike & went with a group of friends in the summer of 1995. I must have read quite a few MB magazines and I decided I wanted a Kona. I went to a shop in Brooklyn with the intent on buying a new Cindercone. The shop owner showed me a Hot he built up from a frame for a customer but never picked it up. I took it from a quick spin a put down a deposit right there. I had retired it about 10 years ago and was riding a more modern dual suspension bike. Recently, I decided to put back the the original rigid fork and use it on the street. Even though I purchased it in early 1996, by looking at some of the photos on this site, it appears to be a bit older.
Can anyone date the year of this frame correctly? Most of the bike is original. I wore out the rear wheel, that was replaced. Changed the seat post at some point. That"s about it. Also, just curious about current value.
Thanks in advance, This site has been an awesome read over the past couple of weeks. Here are a couple of pics

 

[romanrinos]

Thanks for posting up a pic of your Hot! The frame looks lovely. You don't see many originals on here, and if the paint is original, which it looks like it is if you've owned ever since 96' - makes it a bit of a rarity

My own, which is also a 93, is quite similar that you can see in the thread below:
viewtopic.php?t=354642

Yours has some notable differences though, which makes it interesting by comparison:
- The serial number is pretty late on. Mine happens to be TET480 but yours is further on as TET1015.
- The frame is badged Tange Ultrastrong (fluted downtube) characteristic of the 93' , which if I'm not mistaken, I believe was used for the later builds. Mine has the earlier(?) Tange Prestige blue badging of the early years but came with 94' components.

Similarities are:
- Both 19"
- Same lined Kona decals on fluting
- Custom paint. Yours has a purple metallic, which Ive not seen before, although a nice metallic green has been seen which I believe was ex-racers bike.

What groupset did yours originally come with? It should have had XT as a minimum. I'd guess yours is a very late 1993 which would make it the latest ive seen. Looks like it needs a bit of TLC though as well as an original velocity stem putting on it

p.s. please get rid of those awful forks messing with the geometry and the rear seat pouch does help it either!

 

[zardoz]

Re:

Thanks for the info. Still not really sure if a legit 1993. As I said it was built for another customer. So, It was not a pure Kona factory build. I basically purchased "as is" at the time. I know I have the purchase receipt somewhere, you have challenged me to look for it.
Paint is original. Has some knicks as you would expect a 20+ year mountain bike to look. As for the build, this is what came on the bike

Fork: Kinesis 6061 aluminum originally. I put on a White Bros. SC 90 fork during the summer of 1996. Still on the bike.
Headset: Aheadset
Stem: No name aluminum
Bars: Bontrager Aluminum
Brakes: LX
Levers: Avid
Shifter: Grip shift X-ray
Front derailleur - XTR
Rear derailleur - XT
Cranks - LX
Front hub- Ringle
Rear hub - XT
Seatpost - Thompson Elite - I think the original was a Sakae. Now I have to find it
Seat - Sella Italia Flite - Ti rails
Front wheel - WTB Power Beam
Rear wheel Sun - Original is long gone but was WTB as well.
Tires - Now Panaracer Fire XC Pro. Think the originals were A: drive B: drive?? something like that.

I am going to put the original fork on the bike, for street riding. Any contact to source frame decals?
Any idea of value?

 

[k-rod]

Re:

member Gil_M on this forum should be able to furbish you with any decals you might need/want

 

[al-onestare]

That's lovely - a really nice 93/94 I reckon. I highly recommend you retain the decals; they look in decent shape and have a nice charm about them. Repro's are never as good or have the same finish.

 

[zardoz]

Re:

Just a couple of more pictures. Can anyone tell me about the rigid fork I plan I putting back on? It was originally installed on the bike when purchased.

 

[romanrinos]

Re:

Take no substitute for anything less than an original pair of p2s or spinner fork. You really want a pair of metallic grey ones if you can find one (see 93 Kona catalogue on here)

As Al says, avoid replacement decals if you can, although I happen to know Gil has recently made some nice screen printed versions for P2s if get you stuck!

 

[Dr Dremel]

Re: Re:

Take no substitute for anything less than an original pair of p2s or spinner fork. You really want a pair of metallic grey ones if you can find one (see 93 Kona catalogue on here)

As Al says, avoid replacement decals if you can, although I happen to know Gil has recently made some nice screen printed versions for P2s if get you stuck!

+1, the Kinesis fork may be light and decent quality, but this frame begs after a nice Kona Project 2. Besides I don´t trust these alu forks. Judging from the posted catalogue pic with suspension fork you´d want a P2 with tan axle to crown height of 410mm.

 

[mk one]

Hi, welcome to the site. Great frame you have there

Its hard to tell from your pictures but a way to tell the year is the rear dropouts. If they have triangle holes in them then its a '93, if they dont then its a '94 or later.

If its a '93 then you should be looking for a 390mm P2 fork, if a '94 then they changed to the 410mm. And you need to look for the triple butted version ideally

mark

 

[Dr Dremel]

Re:

Thanks for setting me straight regarding a to c height. Very useful info about the dropout style to identify the year.

@zardoz: Totally forgot to mention that indeed it is a lovely frame you have there in a (at least for me) very desirable colour!