Kona Hot Help

[GearlessinSeattle]

Howdy all,
I bought this Kona Hot today and have 2 questions.

1-What year?
2-Has anyone ever seen a disc mount like this?

Serial # is 591. Is that 1995 and 91st made?

Any help and information would be greatful.

Thanks,

Lawrence

 

[Anthony]

Howdy all,
I bought this Kona Hot today and have 2 questions.
1-What year?
2-Has anyone ever seen a disc mount like this?
Serial # is 591. Is that 1995 and 91st made?
Any help and information would be greatful.
Thanks,
Lawrence

The decals are the 94 ones, but the dropouts with the triangular cut-outs were used until 93. I don't think it can be earlier than 93 though, as it's the later shape.

If it was a 93 Hot, it should have Tange Concept tubes that are oval in cross-section and taper to fatter at the front, but if so I can't make that out in your picture. And actually, the 93 Hot shown below has the Tange Ultimate Ultrastrong down tube (with the distinctive fluting just visible) that was used from 94 on. So maybe the Hot went over to the new tubeset during 93. And maybe I can see fluting in your picture? I'm not sure.

[EDIT
Apologies, some of that is actually nonsense, I must have been asleep. If anyone is interested, they actually used Concept throughout for the Explosif and Hot up to 1992, not 93, and of course the 93 Explosif and Hot had fluted down tubes. I expect the men in white coats will come to collect me in the morning.]

The answer to number 2 is no I haven't, but the existence of the disc tab adds to the case for this being a 93 frame that was repainted quite a lot later, when the closest (or favourite) decals were the 94 ones.

If it is a Hot at all, it should have TET stamped on the bb shell, I should have thought alongside the serial number. I don't know the format of Hot serial numbers, but AFAIAA there's no reason to assume that it would tell you anything, I'm afraid. However it is a non-standard number, so I'm still hopeful that this is a Hot.

Tell us more about the down tube and the BB stampings and we may be able to work it out!

 

[Andy R]

The disc mount looks like it has post mount centre dimensions , but seems a long way outboard to me.

 

[manitou916]

[removed]

 

[GearlessinSeattle]

Okay,

So I took a closer look and right above the serial # it is stamped TET.
I did not notice it before because there is a nick in the paint right over the E.
The seat tube is fluted right where it hits the BB shell. Right where the Kona sticker"made in the USA" is.

Another crazy thing is that the down tube has these ridges(you can kinda see them in the "fluted photo") Does that mean anything?

Also, I looked at the Bikepedia website and it says the 94 came with a Kona Titanium Seatpost which is what this frame has. I know it could have been added but from all you have said it seems that this is a 94.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[mousemat]

The downtube ridges are the fluting on the Tange Ultimate Ultrastrong tubing Anthony mentions above. Nice Hot even with the strange disk mount! Why can't I find a Teesdale Hot! :cry:

 

[Anthony]

Okay,
So I took a closer look and right above the serial # it is stamped TET.
I did not notice it before because there is a nick in the paint right over the E.
The seat tube is fluted right where it hits the BB shell. Right where the Kona sticker"made in the USA" is.
Another crazy thing is that the down tube has these ridges(you can kinda see them in the "fluted photo") Does that mean anything?
Also, I looked at the Bikepedia website and it says the 94 came with a Kona Titanium Seatpost which is what this frame has. I know it could have been added but from all you have said it seems that this is a 94.
Thanks for all your help.

Well I'm glad you've confirmed that it is definitely a Hot, but as to the year, I'm still not sure whether it is 93 or 94.

If you want to be sure, please measure the top tube, exact (preferably millimetres!), c-c, along the tube, as it changed between 93 and 94.

 

[kanerdog1x1]

disc mount looks like the original hayes offering, these were available from about 95?, then they changed untill about 2000(look at early whyte designed marins) then 200 on they standardised to either i.s. or 74mm post.

its entirely possible that the frame was earlier than 94 and had the dropouts changed to better accommodate the disc mount as late as 2000? its not that difficult to change dropouts on konas, i have replaced some that broke on a lavadome.

 

[GearlessinSeattle]

So I measured the top tube and it is 56cm c-c.
The seat tube is 48.5cm.
So.........?
Thanks again to all your help.
Lawrence

 

[Anthony]

So I measured the top tube and it is 56cm c-c.
The seat tube is 48.5cm.
So.........?
Thanks again to all your help.
Lawrence

Well the short answer is that it is definitely a 1993 size 19 Hot. Congratulations on an excellent purchase.

If you have appetite for even more details, check out the references to the Hot in the 1993 US Kona catalogue, very kindly provided by Mechagouki who used to read these pages. The 1993 Kona catalogue that is on the web doesn't mention the Hot, but the Kona range sold in the US had different colour schemes and so had its own catalogue. Mechagouki's shots are very valuable because they are I think the only record of this catalogue anywhere on the web - and they show us a few things about your bike.

You'll notice that the 93 Hot also had the ti seatpost that your bike has. But also the description of the tubeset as confirmed by your photos shows that the 93 Hot anticipated the 94 design in having a Tange Ultimate Superlight top tube, an Ultimate Ultrastrong downtube, together with the Tange Concept tubes that I believe had been used for the entire frame up until 1992.

Now I think the only question outstanding is about the disc mount (and thus the paint). I don't think they can possibly be original, as you have 94 decals on the bike. But why don't you ask Tom Teesdale? He still makes frames and I'm sure he would remember whether he fitted a disc tab to a Hot that early on in the game. And if you ever want it repainted, I believe he'd do it for you for $125. And how could you ask anyone else? http://www.tetcycles.com/index.html Tom might also be able to tell you whether the frame is 'suspension-adjusted'.