What year is this Kilauea ?

[Jones]

My mate wanted me to get him a steel kona but with disc brakes :roll: so I was going to either do it myself or get a frame builder to do it but then spotted this one on ebay

The seller killed his sale by saying when it came back from Mercian Cycles from having the disc tab done they told him the rear triangle was out of alignment :? so I got it for £38

I've had it checked and it was out by a whopping 2mm the seller said he bought it as frame only in about 2002 but I can't find any mention of a 2000,2001 or 2002 Kilauea :?:

Its just going to have the back end rattle can sprayed black again and a cheap build for him as he's not even willing to spend £30 extra on powdercoating :roll:

Just a bit confused as to what year it is :?: it doesn't specify a tubeset just double butted chromoly but its lighter than my 1998 853 Explosif and has nicer real Ritchey dropouts and not copies

 

[FluffyChicken]

Serial number ?

then wait for Anthony, but this thing is modern, proper this century modern ... surprised it's not Alu in disguise or actually a Kilauea/Kona

 

[FluffyChicken]

A quick looksee at the Explosif in 2003 (it's on the konaworld uk site I'm looking at) and the rear mech routing is over the top, but I cannot see the stops on the stay... could be the picture, but it shows them running under it.
http://www.konaworld.uk.com/bikes/2003/ ... 00x4in.jpg

So a 2003 bike could be bought in 2002 and the dropouts look the same.

oh similar with the 2002
http://konaworld.uk.com/bikes/2002/explosif.html

 

[Jones]

I knew it was very modern but can't find any mention of a 2000+ Kilauea :? although I'm obviously being a bit thick as I'm completely confused as to how you got to the 2002/3 catalogues on Konaworld :?

In their wisdom Kona obviously decided it would be good to give frames three frame numbers right hand side of BB KB1-0569 across the middle of BB OI-77 left side of BB F010Y0497L

Not sure he really cares what it is to be honest but it would be nice to put a year to it

 

[FluffyChicken]

How did I end up on the 2003 and 2002 site, well er somehow (really just somehow) I ended up on the 2003 site with the bike list, then I went to look through them all and only the explosive looks about right. Then there is a link to 2002 bikes on there, BUT that didn't work.. so I altered the url of 2003 to 2002 and there was 2002
2001 didn't work though

2000 looks like Kona lost there way with too many Alu bikes, 2001 wayback seems to be a bit iffy with the 2001 site.

 

[Tad]

Panier rack mounts on the seat stays but not on the drop outs or am I missing something :? ?

Can't help with identification or age though, sorry.

 

[Anthony]

That's a 2001 Kilauea. I don't know how modern Kona serial numbers work, as they've changed them slightly, but F010Y0497L means it was built at the Fairly works and either the 0 means it was built in 2000 or the 01 means it was built in 2001, but it's a 2001 model either way.

There was a silver Kilauea for 2000 as well, slightly more attractive IMPO. I think it was sold in the US as well, but the UK was the main market for steel frames by then. I think it was available as a frame for £299 (the 'real' Kilaueas up to 1998 were £399), but also as a built-up bike in Halfords, with mid-range kit for a quite reasonable price.

I take it it says 'Kona double-butted cromoly' on the sticker, and I've always assumed that it was essentially the same as the Calderas of 98 and 99. i.e., made of a reasonable-quality 4130, but not heat-treated (if it was, I should have thought they would say so and it would have cost £399).

Note that by 2000 the Caldera name was being used on a 7005 frame, and in 2000 and 2001 the Explosif was built with scandium, so this Kilauea was the top steel frame that they offered. But when the Explosif reverted to heat-treated steel for 2002, they had no further need of special-edition Kilaueas.

2mm out isn't all that good, but I expert Mercian were mainly needling for a bit of extra business. I expect they have to check the alignment before any welding, in case the customer later claims that they caused it (which is quite possible).

Not a bad buy for £38, if you can tolerate those decals.

 

[Jones]

Thanks Anthony I knew you'd know it does indeed have the 'Kona double-butted cromoly' decal

I'm pleasantly suprised how light it is, thought they'd started to overbuild them by then but obviously not.

Thankfully I won't have to tolerate the decals

Must say I'm a little disappointed that its lighter than my 98 Explosif though

 

[Anthony]

Now, now Steve, don't be a weight weenie.

The important thing to emphasise about the 98 Explosif is that it was made 0.25lbs heavier than the 97 as a matter of design preference, not cost-cutting. If they'd specified the lightest available 853 top and down tubes, the bike would have weighed 0.3lbs less and the cost would have been the same. If that's what you want, buy a Rock Lobster 853, which did use those tubes, is 0.3lbs lighter than the 98 Explosif and was built in the same factory. But Kona were moving away from the 'race' orientation for the Explosif, so they wanted it to be stronger and stiffer than before. And an excellent frame it is too.

Having said that, I expect your Explosif weighs c4.5lbs for a size 18 so if the 2001 Kilauea weighs less than that, even after having the disc tab added, then it may well be made of a heat-treated tubeset after all. There is certainly generic/unbranded heat-treated 4130 available, I'm just surprised they don't take credit for it.

 

[Jones]

To be honest its marginal not even a good haircuts worth of weight but I was suprised

Bit of a bonus, I phoned the local powder coaters yesterday just to see what they charged and was told come down now and as long as your willing to have whatever colour we're using at the time, we'll blast it, epoxy undercoat and powdercoat for £25

No idea what colour its going to be but I did notice they were using turd brown when I left :? but they lined my frame up with a Yeti, Pinarello and Look frame so I'm hoping their owners didn't choose turd brown