Kona Explosif Frame Columbus Max OR?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kona-Explosif-Fra ... 240%3A1318

not sure about this. columbus max would make it 95/96/97, but the colour looks like 98, which would be 853. stickers are 96/97 i think so could there have been an end of run columbus explosif in 98?
ive mailed the guy with some q's so see what he says. i will probably be bidding anyway.

It is a Columbus Max Explosif, but with a motley collection of decals. I've never seen that colour before, so most likely it has been resprayed. It looks as though it is a 96, but it could be a 95 (it isn't a 97).

He describes it as a singlespeed, but it looks as though it still has its derailleur hanger, although the pictures are so bad I don't know why he expects anybody to bid top price.

Mmmm...that looks like my next project

W W Biffta":3eq9zh06 said:

columbus max would make it 95/96/97, but the colour looks like 98, which would be 853.

Click to expand...

It's Max. The 853 Explosifs had constant diameter main tubes. These are clearly tapered.

he added my question to the advert but the answer wasnt too helpful. cheers for the info anthony. i guess he just put ss cos he knows people search for that these days.

If you are going for this W W, I'll leave it alone fella, otherwise I will go for this if it doesn't go crazy....need to factor in a respray.
Cheers
Carl

They are very good frames, and the tubeset is classic, but when you think that Little_Bob picked up the 1997 bike below for £195 last year (before the credit crunch too) with a frame as near to perfect condition as you will find, £80 for a frame in desperate need of a repaint doesn't look all that good a bargain. OK, £195 was a very low price, but I still think £80 is at best a full valuation.

i think you right anthony, 80 is a high start, i fully expect the usual 1 bid for a week then 2 or 3 more at the last minute. i will be one of them.
we are in the same boat harry, im not going overboard either. if im honest the columbus is the one im after least, and id rather see it go to someone as a restorer (which is not me )
i have asked him if can get info from the guy who gave it to him. no response yet..

I'm pretty sure it's a 96. It definitely isn't a 97, and if you look at the seat tubes of the two frames below, you'll see the 95 still had a Tange Ultimate tube with the characteristic shape as it joins to the bb, whereas the 96 had a Columbus Max seat tube which is straight all the way down. That's what the eBay one looks like to me, bad pics notwithstanding.

Anthony":o7id1hy7 said:

I'm pretty sure it's a 96. It definitely isn't a 97, and if you look at the seat tubes of the two frames below, you'll see the 95 still had a Tange Ultimate tube with the characteristic shape as it joins to the bb, whereas the 96 had a Columbus Max seat tube which is straight all the way down.

Click to expand...

I've been curious about this for a while.

The Tange seat tubes I've seen that are ovalised at the bottom have a flared butt there, so while the width across the tube increases at the bottom, it's not slimmer there when viewed from the side. The full Max OR tubeset did use an ovalised seat tube though.

http://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/columb ... -tubes.jpg

That suggests that the round tube on the '96 frame may not be Max - and I don't think the '95 tube is typical of Tange.

I've always assumed the adoption of the round seat tube for '96 was to do with the use of top-swing mechs that don't like ovalised tubes.

It looks as though the chainstays changed from '95 to '96 as well, but I wonder if that's just a trick of the photo. Max chainstays were quite distinctive. You can see them, as well as the oval seat tube, on this Merckx track frame:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashae/2484643181/sizes/l/

Do you know how Kona described the tubesets used?