'98 Kona Hot!

[Mr. Zero]

Hots from part way through 97 onwards had the rear derailleur cable routing on the top tube, so that wouldn't have been a give away.

I've seen this point brought up before and don't doubt it, but notice that the '98 catalog showing a down tube routed rear derailleur cable. I understand that new model year catalogs often model the previous year's frames mocked up as the current year, but would think that if the Hot had already been running all top tube cable routing for part of '97 the '98 catalog would feature such a frame.

Any comments?

 

[cce]

send the serial to [email protected] - they're excellent

 

[Mr. Zero]

send the serial to [email protected] - they're excellent

Already have an email off to them. I'll be sure to recount any worthwhile feedback I receive.

 

[cce]

they gave me loads of good info on curve OM cranks, so i'm sure they'll be able to sort you out

 

[Mr. Zero]

they gave me loads of good info on curve OM cranks, so i'm sure they'll be able to sort you out

Cool. Will keep you updated.

 

[andrewl]

I've seen this point brought up before and don't doubt it, but notice that the '98 catalog showing a down tube routed rear derailleur cable. I understand that new model year catalogs often model the previous year's frames mocked up as the current year, but would think that if the Hot had already been running all top tube cable routing for part of '97 the '98 catalog would feature such a frame.

Any comments?

Depending on the model the change to top routing was late, however all 98 model Kona hardtail frames have top routing.

I know all the frames in the catalogue show downtube routing (except the King Kahuna), but every 98 frame I've seen over the last 10 years has had top routing including the ones I've owned.

For reference note the cable routing on Jezza's old 98 Hot and the decals below.

My theory is that someone ordered a Hot in the later part of 98 but they were no longer being made and hence were offered/sold a custom painted Explosif (which were also 853 in 98 ) with Hot decals.

From a marketting point of view you can see why the Hot was dropped, as in reality there was no need for a more expensive version of an 853 frame in the range.

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

Its got quite nice paint your Hot. That usually suggests that maybe there is something special going on there - did that model of explosif have that sparkly effect in the paint?

Real nice frame that regarless of Hot or not!

 

[Anthony]

The 98 Explosif in a test I have here has top tube cable routing and rack mounts. The frame was weighed and was 4.63lbs for a size 19. It was a solid dark blue, I'm pretty sure non-metallic, with red decals edged in white. I agree with Jez that your Hot has a far nicer paint job.

As to whether it was legitimate to market it as a Hot, under British law at least, the manufacturer does have the right to change details of a product without notification, but not the basics. So clearly you couldn't say 'this isn't a proper Hot, it doesn't have Ritchey dropouts', as a court wouldn't accept that the dropouts were a defining factor in what was being offered. However a Hot in Britain sold for £800 (single colour), whereas an Explosif sold for £500, both made from 853. Clearly what you were paying the extra £300 for in the case of a single-colour Hot was that it was hand-built in the US. So Kona would not be able to pass off a Taiwan-built Explosif as a Hot under British consumer law.

And with all due respect to Andrew's talk of fake Hots (and I'm sure he knows a lot more about konas than I do), I personally don't believe that Kona would pass off a Taiwan-built bike as a Hot.

 

[Anthony]

Oh, and I know I harp on too much about weight, but the 97 Kona catalogue has claimed weights in it, all a bit dodgy-looking, perhaps the weight of a size 14 with no paint, but whatever, they quote the Explosif (Columbus Max) 4.0lbs, Kilauea (Columbus Cyber) 3.9lbs, the Caldera (US-built Altitude) 4.0lbs, Hot (US-built 853) 3.8lbs. So I’m not saying this proves that the 97 Hot weighed 3.8lbs, but I expect it was pretty light and the relativities with the other bikes were legitimate and I’d certainly guess that it was lighter than a 98 853 Explosif.

So it’ll be interesting to see what Mr Zero’s Hot weighs in comparison to the 98 Explosif.

 

[andrewl]

I personally don't believe that Kona would pass off a Taiwan-built bike as a Hot.

Agree to a point - although they were happy to pass of Turner Burner DHs as Konas in the mid 90s....

If it came from the factory as shown, I'd say the story goes something like this....

Its late 98 (September?)

Customer (at shop counter): I'd like a new 18" Hot frame please.
Kona (via shop): Sorry but we've stopped production on the Hot frames as custom steel frames aren't selling these days and the surplus 18" frames have all sold. We can get you a 19" though.
Customer: !@#%& I really wanted an 853 Kona steel frame, and a 19" is too large.
Kona: The Explosif is an 853 steel frame and is just as good as the Hot for half the price.
Customer: But I really wanted a custom coloured Hot.
Kona: I'm really sorry but the best we can do is a custom coloured Explosif frame for 25 more than the standard frame.
Customer: Ok, but can you put Hot decals on it?
Kona: Consider it done.

Alternatively:

Kona: Hot productions ending at the end of this month and we're running low on tubing for the stays and the drop outs, I'll need to check.
Customer: Ok...
Kona: We can build one but it will have rack mounts and Kona drop outs, but you can have it for a 25% less.
Customer: Cool, can you paint it green.
Kona: What shade of green, and do you want a metallic paint.


10 years on the frame has changed hands a few times, the story has been lost and we're all debating the origins of the frame as it doesn't look quite right.

On one hand it doesn't matter too much as it will still build into a nice bike, but on another, it you wanted a Hot that is unquestionably genuine without doubt then it obviously does.

The retrobiking world is also not immune from fakes, and in some cases once a frame has losts its original paint it can be very difficult to spot the real deal from a good copy. If this is a fake then there are obvious pointers, but if I painted my 98 cindercone as an Explosif it would be a lot harder to pick the fake from the real thing...