Help identifying Frame

[kohna]

Hi All,
I'm looking for some help identifying this frame. The seller claimed it was a 1997 Kona Hot, but I'm skeptical. Its definitely been re-sprayed, and the decals re-applied somewhat haphazardly. Also, this frame has the f + r der cables routed along the downtube, whereas the catalog shows the cables running across the top tube from at least 1997 and on. I guess I can't even be sure its a Kona! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

p.s. I posted over at konaworld and tech support's best guess was a "mid-90's Explosif or Kilauea"

 

[kohna]

Here are a few pics:

 

[Will Palmer]

I'd say it's definately a Kona - gotta love that geometry!

Cable routing places it 1996 or earlier IIRC and the lugged dropouts I think put it after 1994 and around the top end Tange Prestige frames like the Kilauea and the Explosif. Not quite as top end as the Hei Hei tho

Of course, I could be completely wrong though

 

[Anthony]

It's difficult to tell without more pictures, but I would guess it could well be a Hot from 1995 or earlier. I've never seen dropouts like that on a lower-level Kona. There's nothing wrong with getting a frame repainted - Hot owners weren't exactly poor and this one has taken the opportunity to have a V-brake cable stop brazed on while he was about it. If the repaint was around 1997 then he wouldn't have been able to get his hands on the original decals and that 97 one might have been all he could find.

Tom Teesdale built the Hots until 1995 before Altitude Cycles took over the contract, so why don't you send him the pics and ask him if he built it?
http://www.tetcycles.com/index.html

 

[cce]

a 1995 or earlier hot will have a TET serial number - those are a dead giveaway to start with

 

[kohna]

Thanks for all the great responses! I'd thought about contacting Teesdale, but I was under the impression that all the frames he built had serial numbers that started with "TET", whereas this frame's number is something close to H09606955 (difficult to read). I'll shoot him an email anyhow...

Are there any other parts of the frame that are particularly helpful for identification purposes?

 

[Anthony]

Personally if I had a frame with a serial number starting HO96, I'd be inclined to think it was a Hot built in 1996, but then I always was one for jumping to conclusions, some of which tend to subsequently be proved wrong!

Shoot us a sideways-on pic to eliminate perspective and we might be able to see what size tubes it's got. Or you could just measure them (carefully!) with an adjustable wrench.

 

[kohna]

Here ya' go:

And I also took some measurements using calipers (measured at approx center of each tube):

top tube = 29.0mm
down tube = 35.7mm
seat tube = 29.5mm
head tube = 37.6mm

And if it isn't obvious from the pics already, I should also mention that it doesn't have the 'fluted' tubes seen in some model years...

 

[Anthony]

This picture adds to my perception that this is a Hot. A 95-96 Explosif would have bi-ovalised top and down tubes. A 93-94 Explosif would have a fluted downtube. A 94-95 Kilauea would have tapered and ovalised top and down tube. A 96 Kilauea would have a 31.8 down tube.

The Teesdale Hots up to 95 were made out of Tange Prestige, and you might have seen some sign of fluting or ovalising/tapering in the top-end prestige tubes. But I believe that the 96 Hots made by Altitude were Reynolds 853 right from the start (which would make them among the earliest mtbs made from 853) and 853 was always round. That big down tube is evidence of a size-specific tubing selection, which you don’t get in Giant-built production line Konas, and makes me think it’s some kind of Hot.

So you can’t rule out that it’s a Teesdale Hot, but the serial number does seem to argue against it. Maybe an early Altitude Hot is more likely, but I still say those dropouts look odd – neither of these 96 Hots seems to have them. Incidentally the little one shows an extreme example of size-specific tubing - that’s a road bike top tube I think!

 

[cce]

[email protected] can usually confirm from serial numbers