What is a Kula worth?

[Anthony]

A nice red 97 Kula, size 18, with a dent and a fairly good but non-original assortment of kit made £148
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

A nice orange 98 Kula, size 18, with no dent and original kit except where new replacement, made £340, even though collect-only
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

That’s a big difference and the first one looks cheap and better value. They are both surprisingly rare considering quite a few were sold, but I think equally so, so that doesn’t explain the difference. I suppose it depends on your feeling about the dent, but it looks reasonably stable to me.

Or does it just prove that's better to photo your bike in a nice sunny garden?

 

[oldave]

The higher price one had near 200 quids worth of new/recent parts fitted! That alone surely accounts for most of the difference. Add in fact that not many bikes of any decent quality come up on the 'bay in its locality and that two bidders clearly very keen and the reasons I think are plain.

Internet usage is (or was when I was involved in sub-regional deprivation issues and indicators!) relatively low in N Notts and S Derbys.

 

[Anthony]

'New rear wheel and cassette, new chain, new inner and middle chain rings, recent new tyres, new brake shoes, new bb, recent new head set' (all unspecified) beats 'LX hubs on Mavic 517 SUP rims no wear to rims and very smooth + Panaracer Fire XC tyres 26x2.1 as new' by nearly £200?

If I agreed, I'd be pretty stupid to have started the thread. The only important advantages of the 98 bike are the lack of dent and the Z2 (value £50) being better than the Judy (value £40). Kona wheels are rubbish and the LX/517s are way better, and a cassette, chain, two rings, a bb and a headset (all unspecified) wouldn't excite me much.

I don't understand though why you think low net usage in Notts should help the price of a collect-only bike in Chesterfield. Normally collect-only reduces price by a third or more, surely?

 

[oldave]

Not necessarily when there are very few from which to choose. When I do an ALL bikes nearest first search it is rare that I find ANYTHING - racer, tourer, mtb....- worth buying within <30 miles. Except stacks of new ones - a legacy of Raleigh is that a lot of wholesalers/semi-private traders in this neck of the woods.

And yes I think that a long list of NEW parts does beat a small amount of original/better quality components for MOST buyers. What may be highly valued on here by a small number of cognescenti is of little interest to most bike riders. Just look at the "lowly" price of the Marin F&F that's just gone on ebay.

 

[Jones]

The dent put me off, 97 Kula is my favourite colour scheme of any Kona ( anyone know the RAL code :?: )

I'm not sure how many others are like me but I won't touch any frame that has a dent :? I just know it would bug me and I'd end up selling it fairly quickly otherwise it would have been mine

The other one was pick up only and I'd get a nose bleed if I went that far north :shock:

 

[andrewl]

The 98 has a proper functional suspension fork on it too

 

[Anthony]

The dent put me off, 97 Kula is my favourite colour scheme of any Kona ( anyone know the RAL code :?: )

I'm not sure how many others are like me but I won't touch any frame that has a dent :? I just know it would bug me and I'd end up selling it fairly quickly otherwise it would have been mine

Yes but you like everything to be absolutely perfect or it's not good enough for you. Most of us happily tolerate worse!

I don't know about RAL code, but on the 97 Kula shown below, both the paint and the decals are OrangeRetro's own work. Surely close enough to perfect even for your exacting standards, Steve?

 

[Jones]

The dent put me off, 97 Kula is my favourite colour scheme of any Kona ( anyone know the RAL code :?: )

I'm not sure how many others are like me but I won't touch any frame that has a dent :? I just know it would bug me and I'd end up selling it fairly quickly otherwise it would have been mine

Yes but you like everything to be absolutely perfect or it's not good enough for you. Most of us happily tolerate worse!

I don't know about RAL code, but on the 97 Kula shown below, both the paint and the decals are OrangeRetro's own work. Surely close enough to perfect even for your exacting standards, Steve?

I'm not that bad honest I do have scruffy bikes I just don't post pictures of them on here

There's something about a dent though that just ruins a bike for me you can have a lovely bike but if its got a ding I'll guarantee you its the first thing you notice when you walk up to your bike :?