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Pipmeister
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Re: Re:
That is some collection of Kona bikes you are showing there - do you still have them all now?
I realise that the Score is a rare beast, but was that painted King Kahuna ridden or owned by one of the former Kona Team members? Did you see my Stars and Bars 1997 King Kahuna that I got in September?
Pip.
Hi there,Canuck":3vtw8hq2 said:A bump for my favorite thread
That is some collection of Kona bikes you are showing there - do you still have them all now?
I realise that the Score is a rare beast, but was that painted King Kahuna ridden or owned by one of the former Kona Team members? Did you see my Stars and Bars 1997 King Kahuna that I got in September?
Pip.
Re: Re:
Hiya Pip,
Yup, still have them all
From what I understand the KK was previously owned by a Kona employee in Washington. I don't believe the frame was ever raced however according to Kona tech it could very well have been a replacement frame for one of the two Lesley's.
I got very lucky with the Score. I was looking for a Hei Hei at the time but was offered the Score instead. I could hardly say no
I did see your KK, a very nice find indeed, congrats! Have you found out anymore about it?
pipmeister":2bobu707 said:
Hiya Pip,
Yup, still have them all
From what I understand the KK was previously owned by a Kona employee in Washington. I don't believe the frame was ever raced however according to Kona tech it could very well have been a replacement frame for one of the two Lesley's.
I got very lucky with the Score. I was looking for a Hei Hei at the time but was offered the Score instead. I could hardly say no
I did see your KK, a very nice find indeed, congrats! Have you found out anymore about it?
Pipmeister
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Re:
Yes I did get a reply from a very helpful guy who works for Kona in Nelson, British Columbia.
The main body of my e-mail was:
……..I bought the frame from a guy in Boston Massachusetts in September, and imported it into the U.K. He told me that he had contacted Kona who in turn said that the Stars ‘n’ Bars custom paint job on titanium King Kahuna was an option available to Kona employees.
I had always assumed that the only painted titanium frames were the few done for the Kona Team in 1997 – Roland Green’s Yellow Flames on Green for example.
Anyway, the serial number of this one is K18066, and any information with regards to who may have owned it back in the day would be very much appreciated.
Best wishes, Pip.
(Aged 57 years - Currently owning 12 Kona bikes… cool)
His reply was:
Hi Pip,
I’ve confirmed with Dan, the guy who ran our custom paint program that the bike pictured was definitely not one we did out of the Kona paint program, this was done privately and I will not be able to give out the previous owner’s name due to privacy restrictions. It was not a staff bike.
Best,
So it would appear that the Stars ‘n’ Bars was not one owned by a former Kona Team member. It is interesting to learn however that a private customer indulged themselves in a paint job on a titanium frame – that must have cost them a fair bit back then.
Pip.
Yes I did get a reply from a very helpful guy who works for Kona in Nelson, British Columbia.
The main body of my e-mail was:
……..I bought the frame from a guy in Boston Massachusetts in September, and imported it into the U.K. He told me that he had contacted Kona who in turn said that the Stars ‘n’ Bars custom paint job on titanium King Kahuna was an option available to Kona employees.
I had always assumed that the only painted titanium frames were the few done for the Kona Team in 1997 – Roland Green’s Yellow Flames on Green for example.
Anyway, the serial number of this one is K18066, and any information with regards to who may have owned it back in the day would be very much appreciated.
Best wishes, Pip.
(Aged 57 years - Currently owning 12 Kona bikes… cool)
His reply was:
Hi Pip,
I’ve confirmed with Dan, the guy who ran our custom paint program that the bike pictured was definitely not one we did out of the Kona paint program, this was done privately and I will not be able to give out the previous owner’s name due to privacy restrictions. It was not a staff bike.
Best,
So it would appear that the Stars ‘n’ Bars was not one owned by a former Kona Team member. It is interesting to learn however that a private customer indulged themselves in a paint job on a titanium frame – that must have cost them a fair bit back then.
Pip.
Re:
What I find most interesting about the reply to your email was that they knew for sure the paint job was done privately, that it definitely was not owned by a Kona employee and they seemed to know exactly who the owner was. Kinda tells me it wasn't just some guy who bought a KK and had it painted, something made it memorable.
Regardless of the history you have something very unique and I'd be very surprised if you came across another just like it
What I find most interesting about the reply to your email was that they knew for sure the paint job was done privately, that it definitely was not owned by a Kona employee and they seemed to know exactly who the owner was. Kinda tells me it wasn't just some guy who bought a KK and had it painted, something made it memorable.
Regardless of the history you have something very unique and I'd be very surprised if you came across another just like it
Pipmeister
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Yeah I agree with your view. I'm intrigued by the reply, but I don't like to press them further.
Anyway regardless of what some may think of my choice of build, I think some pictures of the S 'n' B K.K. is well over due on this thread.
Pip.
Yeah I agree with your view. I'm intrigued by the reply, but I don't like to press them further.
Anyway regardless of what some may think of my choice of build, I think some pictures of the S 'n' B K.K. is well over due on this thread.
Pip.
thats a very unique frame with, maybe, an interesting history behind.
from what I can see from the pics. the paintquality and work is par with the paint of my 96 KU in Star's n Bar's - It would not surprise me if the work had been done by the same painter using the same paint and techniques.
from what I can see from the pics. the paintquality and work is par with the paint of my 96 KU in Star's n Bar's - It would not surprise me if the work had been done by the same painter using the same paint and techniques.
magas":1dgsi6yg said:
This is exactly what I thought. The quality of the finish, the decals as well - these are so tough to replicate exactly. Add in the cryptic but very clear email from Kona:
pipmeister":1dgsi6yg said:
= it was and it was done on the side // for a BIG expense
= we know exactly who's it was and it's someone we a) like a lot, long term colleague, b) someone fairly well know, c) someone we fell out with
= it was a special one-off
That's just my 2 pence illumanti confirmed theory
It's a very special bike - proper, proper brilliant - would love to see it in the flesh
pali82":7rrehdlv said:
Szia!
Is that the original paintwork? I've not seen one in that guise before or with a seat-tube decal like that.
