Can anyone help me ID this older Kona road bike model?
06-20-23, 05:45 PM
#1
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Can anyone help me ID this older Kona road bike model?
I've been digging through catalogues all day and I can't seem to nail down which model this bike is. My best guess (and prayer) at this point is a *****, because the rear dropouts have a window cut out that I haven't seen on any Kapu models.
I have a picture of the drive side, non-drive side, and the bottom bracket. The format of the serial number is also a bit strange. it reads "TET R001". I would really appreciate any help I can get with this. Thanks!
I have a picture of the drive side, non-drive side, and the bottom bracket. The format of the serial number is also a bit strange. it reads "TET R001". I would really appreciate any help I can get with this. Thanks!
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06-21-23, 12:24 AM
#2
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Carbon fiber fork? Probably a 1999 Kona H@0le (looks like bike forums word filter won't allow conventional spelling of *****, the common Hawaiian slang term for non-natives).
You may already have seen this site with Kona catalogs.
Reminds me, I'm still kicking myself for missing out on a beautiful green mid-1990s Lava Dome. Saw it in a pawn shop in early 2020, overpriced, and decided to wait a month or so to make a reasonable offer. But it was gone by the time I went back.
You may already have seen this site with Kona catalogs.
Reminds me, I'm still kicking myself for missing out on a beautiful green mid-1990s Lava Dome. Saw it in a pawn shop in early 2020, overpriced, and decided to wait a month or so to make a reasonable offer. But it was gone by the time I went back.
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06-21-23, 04:04 AM
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I've been digging through catalogues all day and I can't seem to nail down which model this bike is. My best guess (and prayer) at this point is a *****, because the rear dropouts have a window cut out that I haven't seen on any Kapu models.
I have a picture of the drive side, non-drive side, and the bottom bracket. The format of the serial number is also a bit strange. it reads "TET R001". I would really appreciate any help I can get with this. Thanks!
I have a picture of the drive side, non-drive side, and the bottom bracket. The format of the serial number is also a bit strange. it reads "TET R001". I would really appreciate any help I can get with this. Thanks!
I've seen TET associated with frames made by Tom Teesdale..could be one of his, maybe? John
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06-21-23, 11:34 AM
#4
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I thought it might be from 99, but upon further inspection, it looks like it could be the 95? I can't find a single picture of one online, but that year did have the braze-ons for the rear brake cable on the bottom half of the tubing, at least on the Kapu. I'll take many more pictures once I've returned from picking it up.
06-21-23, 11:35 AM
#5
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I think you're right. I'm hoping this one is a titanium *****, but I don't think Tom ever worked with titanium while at Kona. I'm bringing a magnet along to make sure!
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06-21-23, 03:42 PM
#6
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Alright, so I've gotten the bike back home and I've poked around a bit. There are a few clues that lead me to believe it's a 1995 Kona Ha0le. The Ha0les in this year were painted blue and made with Columbus MiniMax, as you can see in the catalogue page here:
They also had their braze-ons for the rear brake cable guides, and the rear derailleur cable guide on the bottom part of their respective tubes. The bike is also definitely steel, as confirmed by the surface rust and a cheeky magnetic experiment.
The specifications page (seen below) for the '95 ***** indicates that the bike was available in custom colors, which may explain the difference in decal color, although the blue paint may be the same color pictured in the catalog.
I took a few close-ups of different parts of the bike for posterity, and to document some neat details on the bike, like the Columbus dropouts. I especially like the water bottle reinforcing boss that was used around the slot for the seat tube. The welds and brazing are also absolutely gorgeous.
I don't have any grand plans for the bike at the moment, but I'd like to throw on some parts to replace the ones that aren't working and take it for a spin around the block in the coming days. Thanks for all your help so far, and please let me know if there's anything else you would like me to photograph or investigate.
Spoiler
They also had their braze-ons for the rear brake cable guides, and the rear derailleur cable guide on the bottom part of their respective tubes. The bike is also definitely steel, as confirmed by the surface rust and a cheeky magnetic experiment.
The specifications page (seen below) for the '95 ***** indicates that the bike was available in custom colors, which may explain the difference in decal color, although the blue paint may be the same color pictured in the catalog.
Spoiler
I took a few close-ups of different parts of the bike for posterity, and to document some neat details on the bike, like the Columbus dropouts. I especially like the water bottle reinforcing boss that was used around the slot for the seat tube. The welds and brazing are also absolutely gorgeous.
Spoiler
I don't have any grand plans for the bike at the moment, but I'd like to throw on some parts to replace the ones that aren't working and take it for a spin around the block in the coming days. Thanks for all your help so far, and please let me know if there's anything else you would like me to photograph or investigate.
06-21-23, 04:14 PM
#7
Steel is real
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It is a bike worthy to be upgraded with Ultegra or Dura Ace either 10 speed or 11speed, Minimax is high end quality tubing and this bike is something rare and not common. I would use rustol and apply it in the seat tube , head tube and bottom bracket to prevent rust. Kona road bikes aren't often seen, in mycountry I haven't seen one since 25 years.
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06-22-23, 11:13 AM
#8
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I'm hoping I can get my hands on some Dura-Ace 7700/7800 to really make the build sparkle. That may take years and hundreds of dollars though, haha.
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06-23-23, 11:10 AM
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Thats cool it was made by Teesdale.
Crazy that in the mid-90s, an established brand was contracting work to a single person working in a glorified garage.
Crazy that in the mid-90s, an established brand was contracting work to a single person working in a glorified garage.
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06-23-23, 11:26 AM
#11
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I communicated with someone from Kona over email and they sent me more interesting information, which I'll quote below:
Hi, that does look like a 1994-95 ***** to me also. Unfortunately all that info was never online and mostly lost due to software changes or cleanup of old file cabinets. I’m thinking 1994 due to the silver decal and no model name. Back then the bikes would only show up in the catalog, the catalog would be shot just about now to make sure they were printed in time for the fall trade shows. The custom bikes would change and evolve between the photo shoots so there can be models that completely missed being publicized.
The steel and Ti ***** frames were part of our custom program then. Tom E Teesdale was building Hot frames for us already, so he took on he ***** too (the Ti ***** came from Sandvik). There for sure were not many of those made. I’ve only ever seen 2 of the steel version in Canada. That was in the mid-90s.
The steel and Ti ***** frames were part of our custom program then. Tom E Teesdale was building Hot frames for us already, so he took on he ***** too (the Ti ***** came from Sandvik). There for sure were not many of those made. I’ve only ever seen 2 of the steel version in Canada. That was in the mid-90s.
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