Well he did well to raise £507 for that frame. When I commented earlier, I hadn’t seen the additional photos he posted, but in fact they made it quite clear that it is a 94-96 size 18, with the higher top tube that most Hei Hei frames had at that time. It also has the bullet-ended stays that Andrew Ling says are characteristic of the TST (Sandvik) built frames. It was quite a well-presented auction in the end, so perhaps that explains the representative price.
I think the confusion over size-recognition arises partly from the high top tube shape of those 94-96 Hei Heis and partly from the fact that the 92 or 93 Hei Hei that Jez posted a picture of isn’t ‘suspension-adjusted’ and therefore has the other different shape that Konas used to have prior to 94. i.e., it has the longer 15cm head tube that size 19s had then, which makes it look almost like a modern size 20. It doesn’t have bullet-ended stays and Andrew says that means it was made by Merlin and not Sandvik.
Just to clarify, Kona increased the length of the P2 fork by 2cms from 94 onwards to make it vaguely equal in length to a sagged 50mm travel suspension fork. So at the same time they made the head angle steeper to give 71 degrees with a 41cm fork (previously 39cm) and they reduced the headtube lengths by 2cms to keep the handlebar height the same – size 18 from 13cms to 11, size 19 from 15cms to 13 and size 20 from 17cms to 15.
So no wonder it’s confusing!
i was a bit put off the size though the higher top tube looks like it makes the rear triangle a lot bigger. a small rear end is what i like about kona frames, can anyone tell me if this rides much diferent to the standard konas?
my missus is quite relieved. 
