Pipmeister
Senior Retro Guru
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The search for this treasure has been long and hard, but finally I own the rarest of rare.
The Columbus Altec2 Megatube 1998 Kona Ku – Handmade in U.S.A.
Without further conformation, we understand that only 50 Ku frames in total were produced in 1998. Considering it wasn’t until January this year that we had even seen a confirmed photograph of one, I and others think that this figure could be lower. Serial number of mine to come later.
This is the picture from the 1998 catalogue, which to me appears to be an artist’s impression. It’s unlikely that the frames would have been made by the time the catalogue was printed.
Leaving the titanium models aside for the moment, 1998 was the last year of production for the handmade Kona frames – the Ku and the Hot. There is an interesting quote on Al-onestare’s Caldera thread explaining what happened at Kona in particular, and probably the industry in general.
Inquiries are still ongoing to discover who welded these tubes together, but we can assume for now that it was Enigma Design, while Velographic were responsible for the paint job.
The (full?) crazy story of how I came to own this one could be told on here at some point, but first I need to thank Kyle888 and Al-onestare for their help.
Firstly Kyle for finding an old expired Pinkbike advert for the frame. It had been sold via this advert back in May last year - but to whom and where was it now?
Then, Al for his help, encouragement and advice regarding shipping a complete bike from Canada – as it eventually transpired.
I’ll leave the other Ku thread on 1998 chat to run its course. It was originally started to try and find out about this frame, then turned into an inventory for serial numbers – currently numbering 9 bikes in total for all four years of production of the Ku.
viewtopic.php?f=41&t=336784
Pictures to come.
Pip - currently in a state of euphoria
The Columbus Altec2 Megatube 1998 Kona Ku – Handmade in U.S.A.
Without further conformation, we understand that only 50 Ku frames in total were produced in 1998. Considering it wasn’t until January this year that we had even seen a confirmed photograph of one, I and others think that this figure could be lower. Serial number of mine to come later.
This is the picture from the 1998 catalogue, which to me appears to be an artist’s impression. It’s unlikely that the frames would have been made by the time the catalogue was printed.
Leaving the titanium models aside for the moment, 1998 was the last year of production for the handmade Kona frames – the Ku and the Hot. There is an interesting quote on Al-onestare’s Caldera thread explaining what happened at Kona in particular, and probably the industry in general.
Inquiries are still ongoing to discover who welded these tubes together, but we can assume for now that it was Enigma Design, while Velographic were responsible for the paint job.
The (full?) crazy story of how I came to own this one could be told on here at some point, but first I need to thank Kyle888 and Al-onestare for their help.
Firstly Kyle for finding an old expired Pinkbike advert for the frame. It had been sold via this advert back in May last year - but to whom and where was it now?
Then, Al for his help, encouragement and advice regarding shipping a complete bike from Canada – as it eventually transpired.
I’ll leave the other Ku thread on 1998 chat to run its course. It was originally started to try and find out about this frame, then turned into an inventory for serial numbers – currently numbering 9 bikes in total for all four years of production of the Ku.
viewtopic.php?f=41&t=336784
Pictures to come.
Pip - currently in a state of euphoria
