Tech@konaworld disses retro!

[Anthony]

check out this query on konaworld:

Q. Can you tell me what year this frame is from - 51-29 F9509 2621
Tech. I read that as 1995.
Q. Can you confirm what frame it is - it's advertised as a Kula?
Tech. It could be a Kula, Muni Mula, or an AA. To be honest though at the price you should be paying for a 13 year old bike it almost doesn't matter. It's like buying a 13 year old laptop.

So there you have it officially from Kona - a retro mountain bike is such cr*p it doesn't matter what it is! Mind you, Tech does like to have a bit of fun while he's 'working'.

 

[tintin40]

To be honest though at the price you should be paying for a 13 year old bike it almost doesn't matter. It's like buying a 13 year old laptop.

.

I think he is looking for a reaction to that silly statement. Old computers can't be compared to retro bikes/frames
I have a 13 yr old Mac

 

[scant]

they obviously want to push sales of new bikes & not spend their time discussing old bikes

 

[kaiser]

Just to balance out, I have had in the past responses from Cannondale and GT, though they couldn't resolve my query they did respond and politley too. Have emailed Specialized in the past and drew a blank.

 

[clockworkgazz]

Needed info from Gary Fisher about my Prometheus and they were great. Very helpfull and the guy even complimented me on finding a Prometheus, apparently he has been looking to get one for years.

Nice to see a company with a bit of respect for it's history

 

[letmetalktomark]

I emailed Joe @ konaworld about the authenticity of a frame and the answer i got back was fantastic!

They couldn't confirm the model but could the year (Paligap confirmed both! ) but the response was very polite even go as far as saying:

its good seeing a old bike restored

Might just have caught the tech guys on a bad day :?

M

 

[Anthony]

I emailed Joe @ konaworld about the authenticity of a frame and the answer i got back was fantastic!
They couldn't confirm the model but could the year (Paligap confirmed both! ) but the response was very polite even go as far as saying:

its good seeing a old bike restored

Might just have caught the tech guys on a bad day :?
M

When I emailed Joe I got no reply at all. Tech always replies IME, but is apt to be laconic. Which I like.

e.g., somebody asked him the difference between a Kula and a Kula DeLuxe and he said that the deluxe was half a pound lighter and three times more expensive. I don't think he meant that literally, but I expect the guy got the right message.

 

[Kona Paul]

I've always had a good response from tech, and gotten an answer to my queries within a matter of hours. A dry sense of humour is good. I'm sure he gets plenty of idiotic questions on a daily basis (not about retro builds), and that would make just about anybody sardonic. This is a company with a sense of humour after all. I particularly like the response about the Kula and Kula Deluxe The answer is obvious enough if you read the specs sheet.

I've also received a comment from one of the Kona guys in Europe that he was jealous of my Score (the picture is in the owner's area gallery), and tech was once eyeing an old 1990 Kona on ebay that I had a question about and was bidding on, so obviously some guys at Kona like old bikes.

 

[scant]

when specialized were producing their anniversary book they had a stand @ SSMM with a few older specialized, original s-works FSR etc. my mate asked if they had a specialized ultimate & the rep had never heard of it...

 

[Anthony]

And to be fair to Joe@konaworld, he did have the good taste to post in to mtbr with a message along the lines of 'hey that is some Explosif!' when somebody showed this little honey: