Submitted by
thomas leaidicker
a Cross Country Rider
from paducah, ky usa
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2007
Strengths: Light weight, corners like nothing else!, climbs beautifully, this bike wants to go fast!
Weaknesses: No replaceable derailleur hanger
Bottom Line:
A friend of mine gave me the frame after he cracked the top tube in a wreck, I welded it and repainted it, then built it up with mail order parts. Even built my own wheels. Comes to a total weight of 17.7 lbs! This is absolutely the best bike I've ever riden! The bike literally takes off on it's own down the hills. I'm a strong climber in the first place and this bike makes me thus far undefeated in climbing! I have a Giant full suspension which I ride on certain trails that suit it. I still use my Kona on the road, on a local 33 mile trail, and on another trail that's loaded with switchbacks and technical climbs. This bike out rides most any FS bike it's come across. IF YOU FIND ONE GET IT! AT ANY COST! IT'S WORTH IT!!!
Similar Products Used: KHS Alite 2000, Diamondback, Giant NRS, XTC
Bike Setup: SID 100mm fork, Ritchey scuzzy logic pro headset, XTR hubs, mavic 517 rims, Kore and titec stems bar and ends, Magura HS33 olympia rim brakes sram 9.0 rear-xtr front derailleur. '06 LX crank,XT BB, '98 XT cassette, eggbeater pedals
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2007
Bottom Line:
Mine is a 1996 Stars`n Bars model. Sweet Reynolds 853 steel. This is a real jem. A supple, solid, joy to ride frame that I build up with quality components. I've had my fair share of steel frames but nothing beats this baby. The XC geometry is spot on, and this frame will easily take your riding prowess with precision and react to your every movement. Some say the Yo Eddy is the greatest "steel" frame ever made. I've had one... it's the HOT that wins that category.
Bike Setup: XTR dee, RaceFace crank, Syncros post, Proshift Vees, P2, Crossmax, Ritchey stem, Easton bar.
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Submitted by
John Hoath
a Cross Country Rider
from Exeter, UK
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2007
Strengths: Super light, Climb Awesomely, Looks Ace.
Weaknesses: On mine, the brakes.
Bottom Line:
This frames is amazing, I bought the bike pretty much as is for very little, I am trying desperately to afford all the parts in needs to be as good as it can be. This bike climbs brilliantly on and off road, I commuted on it for a while, and i have ridden it on some pretty harsh rides. I'm never going to let this one go.
Similar Products Used: Other Steelys: Tange Merlin Frame & 631 Dawes
Bike Setup: 853 Hot Frame, Rockshox SID XCs, Coda Hubs on Rigida Rims, LX RMech, XTR FMech, Bonty Race Lite Saddle, Easton EA70 Bars, Deore Vs w/Alivio Levers, STX-RC Shifters all 8speed, Maxxis High Rollers
I loved this bike for 5 years. I broke the drive side cs landing smooth roller jump on a crip November morning, a couple of years back. I got a King Kikapu (high Ti frame) from Kona as a warranty replacement but its just not the same and no where near as much fun. If I ever find another one out there for sale I will buy it. If you have one and are looking to move it, let me know. The Kona Hot was the best bike ever made, in my opinion.
Similar Products Used: Kona King Kikapu, Kona King Kahuna, old Cannondales, old special ed M2, and so on.
Bike Setup: xt/xtr mix, bomber, mavic's
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Submitted by
Doug
a Cross Country Rider
from Burnaby, BC
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2002
Strengths: Steel, light weight, very stiff, light weight, nice geometry, light weight, great fit, did I mention light weight?
Weaknesses: Weaknesses? where??... nawwwwww thats just me.
Bottom Line:
This bike is unbelievable. I got it from The Bike Cellar in Kitsilano and they almost gave it to me. I thought, for the price I may as well get it, that was about 6 or 7 years ago. I still have it, I still ride it, and .... I still love it. Nothing will replace it. The bike is light and forgiving, it climbs, it drops, it flies, and it rocks. I put some slicks on it a few years ago and did a century. Now I am beginning to use it as a commuter on week days and XC on week ends. Show me another Mtn bike that can do all that and I will be amazed. The bike is ideal for anyone who likes hard tails, it isn't available any more but if you find a Hot frame in your size, get it. It is an excellent product. Bottom line, Kona made an amazing bike, The Bike Cellar is about an hours drive from my home and there are countless shops between me and the store, I will drive the extra time to deal with them. When I had to replace my shocks (marzocchi xc 500s) they sold me Judy SL's at cost and installed them, AND put on V brakes at N/C. The combination of store and product have me hook line and sinker.
Similar Products Used: Nothing compares that I have ever riden.
Bike Setup: Judy SL, XT/DX.
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Submitted by
Victor noname
a
from Toronto now in Victoria BC
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2002
Strengths: This bike is so ultra light its ammazing how it handled. super fast and cumfee as a couch. It also seems like the steal felexes the energy back to you.
Weaknesses: hmm ! , good question???
Bottom Line:
I rode this bike as a messenger it Toronto for 2years, through 2 punnishing winters on the kona hot, and wow is all that can pretty much describe. the hot is sweet sweet sweet, deffinatly the best ride I ever had. well worth the money. I even bought the frame used, for $400 canadian off a bike machanic that treated it like a fragile piece of glass. Thx kona !
Similar Products Used: marin, KHS, kona racelite, and a few others.
Bike Setup: this bike had Pristige tubing, all steel / 4pound frame and fork,super lite. Rockshox , avid V brake, chris king head set, raceface stem and cranks, deore xt drivetrain, bontregger wheels, i had it set up as a freewheel single speed for awhile, great for Toronto streets. With its original fork, A light lite bike.
Strengths: Fluted down tube, custom made frame specs, hand welded, Ultrastrong, Ultralite Tange frame
Weaknesses: Steel Rusts if you don't care about it.
Bottom Line:
Oh, this bike is just the best thing ever. Perfect geometry, perfect material, Light weight, forgiving, Nimble descender, Monster climber, Go downhill, go uphill, go crazy, do trials, it don't matter. Even ride it in the city with a ti straight fork!
The bike doesn't care, it loves to perform. Also, the inherent care during the manufacturing process saves you from accidents, because the bike develops artificial intelligence.
If you think you have a complaint about a bike like this you are just a materialistic ass, get a job with consumer reports
Similar Products Used: Klein Rascal (aluminum though)
Bike Setup: Judy 100 w/speed springs, xt/xtr dirve train, Bontrager bcx 1,2, double butted, butted wheel lace, Ti handle, stem seatube, seat, bb, aluminum cranks, look pedals (spd large platform, float adjustable) Tiney little topshifters!
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Submitted by
Don
a Racer
from Athens, GA and Victoria, BC
Date Reviewed: March 28, 2001
Strengths: High speed stability combined with good technical handling because of Kona's race bike geometry: long top tube, short rear end. Beautiful custom paint.
Weaknesses: steel frames are not in style, is this a weakness?
Bottom Line:
First of all I'm writing this review because I hate to see too many negative reviews of a great bike. I know a number of people who rode the hell out of their Hots on punishing trails around Victoria, and I never heard of any failures. I have had mine since '96 and although it wasn't raced for all of those years I've ridden it hard and I've had no problems. My only complaint was that the head tube needed to be faced to make the headset function perfectly (this sort of thing is very common and most people never notice).
There may have been some manufacturing problem in the previously reviewed frames. Improper heat treating or welding, I don't know. My steel frame and many others will outlast the current crop of light aluminum frames with their one year warranties.
Regarding frame flex: there are lots of other things on a bike that contribute as much or more to flex. Flex related to handling problems is more likely to be related to steering components in particular the fork. Flex can be a good thing too at the end of a long punishing race on a hardtail!
I guess I sound retro in my support of steel but I think that its a shame to see high quality steel bikes disappear. Even Thomas Frichnicht(sp?) isn't on steel anymore this season. :(
Strengths: Lively steel ride, perfect geometry, quality construction
Weaknesses: Frame cracked where bottom tube meets head tube. Lively can also mean flexy depending on one's point of view. It's a worthwhile trade off for me.
Bottom Line:
I loved this bike until it failed me. I'm also a light weight rider (130lbs) and I guess I never thought I could break a steel frame. In the bikes defense, I used it for my dual slalomn racing machine, and cleand some pretty hairy drops with it too. I honestly don't know what I did to break it though, when it broke I was JRA (just ridin' along) as they say. When my dealer sent it back to kona I was told that kona's lifetime warrenty did not apply to my frame, and was stuck with buying a kula frame for less than it would cost retail, but more than it was worth to me.
Similar Products Used: had a kona cinder cone which I bent (my fault) and upgraded to the hot frame in '96 for $500.
Bike Setup: lx/xt, judy, mavic.
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Submitted by
Ben Hardenbergh
a Cross Country Rider
from Oak Harbor
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2000
Strengths: Flexible on rough downhills, nice look, fast, light
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
This is a very nice bike for a 13 year old kid who weighs under 100 lbs (me). It performs well on techinical sections with my marzocchi bam. It gets a little shaky at speed, but the weight makes up for it. Like that other guy said it is not a bike for huge (200 pounds or more) people because of its flexability. Its more of a beginner/sport ride. I don't know about other people but I sure love this bike.
Similar Products Used: Kona manomano, Kona Caldera
Bike Setup: Xt/Lx componets, marzoc. z-2 bam, mavic x-517 rims, tioga tires, Black Spire cranks, Race rings, Kona riser bar, Syncros post, sdg bel-aire sadlle.
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Submitted by
David Brody
a Cross-Country Rider
from Port Jefferson, NY
Date Reviewed: December 29, 1999
Strengths: Custom Paint, Great Welds, Quick realese seat post clamp that doesn't catch
Weaknesses: Frame Flex
Bottom Line:
The Frame was beautiful nice metalic red paint, Weld were clean. I built the bike and it weighed 23lbs!. However....just after getting the cables on and going for a test ride as I dismounted the frame CRACKED! It cracked by the bottom bracket and by the underside of the down tube. Needless to say I am PISSED OFF! I am in the process of getting Kona to get me another frame. Probably a Hei Hei or Kula. Reynolds 853 is not for people who are 200lbs.. and Flexes way to much. Kona does make great Mountain bike this is their only failure. When I first got the frame it was eye candy though. I have ridden their other bikes and the geometry they use is great so I will give them one more chance to redeem themselves.
Similar Products Used: GT Tequesta, Kona Explisif, Gary Fisher Mt.Tam, Kona Chute
Bike Setup: 17 Kona HOT, Full XT, Mavic 217's w/GT hubs, Easton aluminum post, Specialized team tires and ultra light tubes, Titec 118gr bars, Dean aluminum stem, Chris King Headset, XT BB, Teflon coated cables, Vetta Tri-shock vandainium seat
