That's very interesting. I had previously understood that it was the bullet stays that indicated TST/Sandvik built frames.Caramba Kid":1d1h3yer said:
They make it sound as though there was a big parting of the ways between 1990 and 1991. The 1990 catalogue has a ti bike called the Titanium which is clearly a Merlin design with Kona decals, it doesn't look like a Kona. The catalogue is also half Brodie and feeds off the association with Brodie as a prestigious name in hand building. Paul also finished and painted all Konas at that time. There was no Hot, and effectively the Brodie Catalyst played the role of the Hot in 1990.
However Kona may not have taken altogether kindly to Paul's view of Konas as 'poor men's Brodies', because by 1991 there was no mention of him. The Hot, looking very much like a Catalyst, had been invented and was being made by Tom Teesdale, who doesn't sound like the kind of guy who would call a Kona a poor man's Teesdale. And the Hei Hei had been invented to replace the Titanium. I didn't know they split with Merlin that early though.
