Hot for Wife! (1992 Kona Hot) Mock up on page 2

frame weigh under 1 kg...nice.

13 ctc...does that not mean its really a 15". you'll be after 395mm p2 I guess for that age

or some 410mm with a shorter stem..lady might prefer a higher front end anway. PLus you have the added bonus of probably evry fork under the sun will fit that headset...i had a tougher time getting ones for a 20 inch frame.

good luck with the build.

I would get it measured. I bet the seller just assumed it came with a 1 inch headset as it was a threaded item.
or they meant it had a stem had 1 inch quill stamped(25.4) for 11/8 threaded forks.

1inch threaded forks took a 22.2 quill which is obviously smaller than an inch but got generally called 1inch quill.

if you get my drift

most people assume 1 1/8 came in just ahead type.

Fork

This happens a lot on Ebay, I've bought plenty of quill stems quoted as "one inch" when they arrive, they are 25.4 which is of course for an inch and an eighth steerer. A one inch fork will need a 22.2 quill to fit.
Just measure the diameter of the head tube and you'll know straight away. Kona did use one inch head tubes early on, but not on the Hot as far as I remember? HOWEVER! the Hot's were essentially custom built and a 15 is a rare size for this marque, so maybe it was ordered with one?
A quick pic would also soon confirm.

as WR says. i bet your headtube has an internal diameter of approx 34mm if 'm not wrong, for 1inch and 1/8 headset cups

13" C2C would make it 16" the smallest they made. As far as I know they where not Custom as in Custom built for the person, they where just custom colours though and you chose the groupset (though Orange did that). I've never really got why HOT's have such prestige put on them over other manufacturers in house made (read, or out sourced to a local builder and not a frame factory). Other than them being top of the line at Kona.

But each to their own I guess.

No idea if that has TET stamped on it, I can see a blur though

Frame is the right material for that year and given the year before was 1-1/8" and others of that year have been 1-1/8" and the size looks to be 1-1/8" I would not go for a 1" fork.

It is a 1992 size 16 frame, not newer, not older.
I expect you will find that it has a 1 1/8 / 34mm head tube.
If you are going to fit a short stem for your intended rider, a 410mm a-c fork would be ideal - better than the original 390mm P2, as that was matched with a long stem.

Anthony":3tjen444 said:

It is a 1992 size 16 frame, not newer, not older.
I expect you will find that it has a 1 1/8 / 34mm head tube.
If you are going to fit a short stem for your intended rider, a 410mm a-c fork would be ideal - better than the original 390mm P2, as that was matched with a long stem.

Click to expand...

Am I right in thinking they are not actually custom made frames, just a custom paint job if required.

I think they were basically batch-built to Kona's design. However if somebody went to a shop and said they wanted a Hot with a 1" head tube and they didn't want a Hot otherwise, who knows whether Kona would have agreed to do it as a one-off? There'd probably be a surcharge to cover the extra cost of TT doing a one-off frame, but if that's what the customer wants and it turns a profit why not? They're quite a laid-back bunch, and TT seems to be very amiable.

I don't think TT painted the frames at that time, but I expect he would paint it now, and at quite a reasonable cost last time I heard.

hmm 1 1/8.. I have an AMP fork that is not being used. I guess I will put that on.. until I find a nice 1 1/8 Project Two. They seem to be much harder to find in the States than the UK.

Did pick up these on ebay today...



My wife has taken a break from cycling since our two daughters were born. Before they were born we often went on cycling dates... She recently told me she never liked SPDs and she never clipped in to them when she went on rides. I hope she likes these...

Hot for Wife! (1992 Kona Hot) Mock up on page 2

Last Thursday night I got the frame in my hands.




From the ebay pictures the color wasn't the mango color that I thought. It was more of a light dull brown. It is definitely not the first color I would choose when painting a "Hot". Maybe if I get some decals it may look nicer.

Oh.. it does have a TET stamp on the BB





On Saturday I left for Japan and don't plan to be back in the States till July.. so Friday I was a busy making a mock build up.

I had a few issues with the seller...

I could not get any confirmation that he sent... so I sent two ebay messages that he never replied.. I was able to track him down via his paypal email. He is an owner of a bike shop. After calling the shop.. he wasn't there but a staff member told me the person in charge of ebay sales was busy with a new born baby and their computer crashed.. :roll: From what I can tell it is a small shop and with 43 total ebay references I doubt that they have a full time staff member handling ebay sales. He sent about 10 days after I paid.. and I needed a phone call to make it happen.


The ebay listing stated that it is one inch head tube.. and as many members posted it is indeed 1 and 1/8. After winning this auction.. I placed an order for a nice one inch headset. I guess I should have waited but, you'd think that a bicycle shop could measure things properly.

Before bidding for this frame I asked if there was a Kona Dog Collar for the rear brake. I was told there was none but he would give me a substitute.. I got something like this....




This doesn't work because it needs a brake cable guide in-front of the seat tube which my Hot doesn't have. I'm not a pro mechanic.. but I could easily see that this set up won't work.

The last thing I had issue was the powder coat residue that was left in the bottom bracket. I wish that the shop could have spent 15 minutes to chace the bottom bracket threads. I could see that there was no way that I was going to fit a BB with out it being chaced..



Would you give negative feedback? I am tempted.. but I know when buying things around the holiday.. things can get mixed up.


On Friday I went to the closest proper LBS in my area... Woody's Cyclery in Middleton, Ma... which fixed things properly. The owner told me he was the wheel builder for Fat City Cycles. In his shop he had a mint looking Wicked Fat Chance and and Chris Chance road bike that was made before City Cycles was formed... I also got a rigid fork on the cheap.. something to use until I find a nice Project Two

Here it is a mock up...




Now the next thing is to think about the decals... I am thinking of either Purple or Green decals. Any suggestions??