Pre Kona lava dome?

[Anthony]

Hi again.Got another question.
The 88 kona brochure as all 3 models for 1988,but how come the components on these bike are for 1989 models.Shimano history has the Deore II came out in 89?

I personally always refer to those bikes as 1988/89. Kona themselves didn't bother with model years at that time, and the 1991 brochure was the first to be given a model year. So although we call it the 1988 brochure and it came out in 1988, it could be more accurate to call it the 1989 brochure and the bikes the 1989 Kona range. The way the bike industry works is that the 2010 ranges are just hitting the shops now/soon and they have 2010 components on them. My understanding is that you can just deduct 21 from that and say that the '1989' Konas came out in 1988 and had 1989 kit on them. It just so happens that everybody calls them 1988 Konas for some reason, that's all.

My guess is that strictly speaking your bike is a 1989 Cascade Lava Dome, but TBG couldn't be bothered to give out model years. The T88 serial number is totally consistent with it being a '1989' bike. Whatever year you call it, the historical significance of it is that (we presume) it was sold alongside the first Kona range.

 

[GT BIKE RIDER]

That sounds reasonable,that the 89 bikes started selling late 88 with 89 components.
With that reasoning,in my opinion this bike is a 87-88.The components that it has are according to shimano history,came out in 1988 year.
I hope i am not being a stickler but just doing research.I appriciate your input.

 

[Anthony]

I agree you may very well be right. I have a suspicion that at some points in Kona's history, and maybe then, your T8804 might denote April 88, thus the bike may well be an '88' (but only just), whereas if it said T8809 it would be an 89.

I was just jumping to a conclusion because it would explain why there was no Lava Dome in the '88' Kona range. Lava Dome is such a good name that as they used it previously, I don't understand why not then - hence assuming that perhaps they did use it, but for something else.

 

[GT BIKE RIDER]

True.I do like the name .I also agree there is no 1988 Kona Lava Dome.
I think it would be a 1988 Cascade Lava Dome.The other post of the early firemountain and lava dome with under chainstay u brakes in my opinion 87-88.The firemountain is blue and the lava dome is lavender.Now i have not seen a decal on my bike stating it is a lava dome,was there a upper model obove the lava dome?The 88-89 brochure has the explosif with Tange prestige and shimano dropouts.Would this model also be made of prestige or was it just beginning to be used by Tbg with the Explosif?

 

[GT BIKE RIDER]

Well i recently emailed Kona to see if they could give me some info and this is what they said."From the down tube decal that bike looks like a Cascade. That was the bike that predated Kona in the spring of 88."
Happy trails.
Still looking for info.

 

[GT BIKE RIDER]

And for the final word from Kona about catalogs"No sorry, that archive of info was burnt up in the fire that wiped out the original office. There were no catalog pictures or web info back then either. It’s a lost world.



Happy Trails!

 

[Anthony]

I'm not sure Kona had a website before 1997, and tech doesn't seem to have much info prior to then. I'd bet Dan Gerhard would have recollections you'd find interesting, but maybe he's too busy running the company for Tech to ask him a question that wasn't going to make Kona any money.

The man who first imported Konas into the UK in 1988 has a bike shop not too far from me. He doesn't seem to have any archive, but if he ever imported Cascade as well he'd certainly remember something about them. I could ask him if I'm ever over there.

Interesting that Tech's dating of spring 88 corresponds to my wild surmise that T8804 could mean April 88. But it's not apparent from his remark whether he is aware of the earlier Cascade range with quite different geometry.

Somebody must have brochures etc. I'm surprised there's no US-based web archive of old catalogues in the way that German enthusiasts provided the material for mtb-kataloge. All there is/was is Bikepedia, but even that seems to have expired recently.

 

[GT BIKE RIDER]

Thanks Anthony.
I have tried but could not get anything.One last effort is i have emailed Joe Murray in Sendero Bikes.He is about 2 hour drivre from here.But i think hes a little busy.Thank for you time.

 

[GT BIKE RIDER]

Well no answer yet.
I did however got a hold on these serial numbers for these bikes.The firemountain sn is F351795 and the Lava dome is F354390.
Any thoughts as to origin?.The firemountain is lavender color and the Lava dome is green.[/img]

 

[Anthony]

I did however got a hold on these serial numbers for these bikes.The firemountain sn is F351795 and the Lava dome is F354390. Any thoughts as to origin?

Well it's certainly tempting to think that those two frames were made in the Fairly works (which I think is owned by Giant). It was only the '88' and 90 Konas that had T numbers (Taiwan). By 1991, the frames were made in Fairly and Hodaka - for example, F104 4149 is a 1991 Cinder Cone.

Unfortunately the rest of the number on these two appears to be in a different kind of format, and it may well be that it doesn't tell us anything about date. That is, not unless they were made in 1983, which seems too early.

I wonder whether Joe Murray can remember when he started designing bikes and bike parts for TBG - they seem to claim it was quite a while before the Kona brand came out.