1992 Kona "TET" Hot-Update 11-16-2010

It is always funny to me how things sometimes work out in the Retrobike world.

I posted this bike at a while back in Aug of 2009, http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... ht=#502568.

He never called but last night I was looking at craigslist when low and behold it showed up. I emailed immediately and 15min later he called me to say he still had it. I told him about seeing him riding it in downtown Seattle and leaving the note but he said he never saw it. I guess it work out in the end because I picked it up this morning.

He told me that it was a Kona Team member’s bike from 1992. It had been built with full XTR and came with a Kona Ti stem and seatpost (which he still has and I am trying to aquire). When he bought it the Team member, which he can’t recall his name, took all of the XTR, except the headset, with him and built it using a mix of parts. It is a 19” so maybe a little small for me but I love the paint and matching fork. I will strip it this week and build it back up as a singlespeed or a 2x1, not sure which.

Stay tuned, more to come.

that is the basis of a cracking project Lawrence- nice score

BTW getting a bonty frame in scotland and sending on to a fellow retrobiker down south, will be using your bike box- funny how things go round

All things come to he who waits....

I still think it's a 1993 size 20, so hopefully big enough! The decals are from 1993 for sure, including tell-tale Joe Murray in block letters not script. It should have a ribbed down tube either way. If you want to tell for sure, tell me the seat tube length and the c-c top tube.

Wicked!!!

Another sweet Hot!

This is what happens when the wife goes to bed early.

I dismantled my 92 last week in prep for a repaint and had shelved all the parts. When this 93 came along and with its paint I thought that the parts off the 92 might be better suited for it. So…..late last night I finished it and I think it looks pretty good. I took it out for a spin this morning and it feels a bit small but I will wait to pass judgment when I get it on the trail.

Anthony, it measures out 19.25 C-T and 16 C-C. Top tube comes in at 22 C-C. Could this have been a custom?

Well that's still a bit puzzling. Your seat tube length is consistent with a size 19 of either 92 or 93, more likely 93. Your top tube length is consistent with a size 19 of either 92 or 93. Your head tube is that of a 1992 size 19. The decals are 1993. The bike just looks like a 93 to me, but I'm often wrong. I wonder whether the serial number will tell us anything? I have a record that TET1201 is a 1993 Hot size 20, with 15cm head tube and 22.75 inch top tube.

I haven't heard of Teesdale Hots ever being custom, but I suppose this could be an instance of Tom's design being better than Kona's. If it is a 1993 size 19 with the longer 15cm head tube of a 1992 size 19, then that's actually what Kona should have done in my view.

I can't understand Kona's design progression. Taking size 19 as an example, 1992 was head tube 15cm plus P2 39cm equals 54cm, suspension-adjusted 1994 was head tube 13cm plus P2 41cm which still equals 54cm. So how do you get there? 1993 was head tube 13cm plus P2 39cm which is just 52cm. Why make the low front end even lower just for one year? Could Joe Murray leaving in between times be relevant? I don't know, but if you were concerned about this bike being too small, I hope the longer head tube will be an advantage for you.

I wouldn't normally ever say that adding purple anodised bits to a bike had improved it, and you'll get us into a whole lot of trouble with your compatriots over on mtbr, but on this occasion I have to admit you've got it just right. No more though, a great artist has to know when to stop!

A really nice colour that

As much as I liked the Purple bars I thought that Green might be better.
What do you all think?

green for me and that looks scrumptious- you my friend have created a thing of beauty, I generally hate ano but that just works