NOS 1992 Kona Explosif from Switzerland

bruce.of.zurich

Old School Hero
Hello,
I want to share some pics I took of the '92 Explosif (Pro?) I recently found. She was hiding behind some nice old road bikes in a shop in Zurich.

I'll post the exact specs as soon as I can. And I want to take more close up photos.
enjoy!
b


muaq0n.jpg

izs64z.jpg

acgbye.jpg

xepn9x.jpg

2mcipp4.jpg

mboimr.jpg

oix0eg.jpg

xmtnox.jpg

5d11sx.jpg

17g47a.jpg

2d1hcm.jpg

t9jy41.jpg
 
ekkkkk, lovely, dont ride in the winter or dirt, lol. :D

The build seems odd? dx group and track 2 forks?
 
you are lucky indeed :cool:

went around shops in Geneva in the same hunt and the only word "steel" seemed like a "swear word" there. :cry:
 
I think it's a 1991, when full DX was an option for the build and Track 2's were standard for the high end bikes.. The colour is not in the UK catalogue but I'm sure I've seen it before. It's possibly the nicest solid colour I've seen a Kona in :)
 
Although it doesn't say so anywhere on it, I believe this may well be the model called an Explosif Pro in the 1992 catalogue. I don't know how much more they cost than the standard Explosif, but they came with a custom paint job in any Imron colour you nominated (although in fact yours is the third that I've seen in that nice shade of green). The catalogue also says they came with a Suntour XC Pro groupset, but yours seems to have the Deore DX of the standard Explosif, which was an option for the Pro.

The braze-on seat clamp makes it look as though it is a 1991 frame, as 1992 frames had removable clamps, but every 1992 Explosif Pro that I have seen has the 1991 clamp. It seems possible that the Explosif Pro frames were a batch of 1991 Explosifs left over from that model year. It doesn't make much difference either way, as the tubesets were the same in each year, Tange Prestige Concept with the tapered and ovalised top and down tubes.

However we might be able to tell for sure if you give us the serial number of the frame (on the bottom bracket shell) and the lengths of the seat tube (centre of bb to top of seat tube), top tube (c-c) and head tube (i.e., the geometry changed slightly between 91 and 92)

The other extraordinary thing about your bike is that it has a Track Two fork, which isn't mentioned in the 1992 catalogue and I didn't know it was available in 1992. Indeed although it is in the 1991 catalogue, I have never seen even a 1991 Kona with a Track Two fork either, let alone a 92 - only 1990 Explosifs. In that respect, the bike is certainly very rare if not unique.

It must be very unusual for there to be a NOS 1992 bike, but I guess it is quite a nice colour to have as an ornament around the shop all that time!
 
I wonder if it was a frameset built from earlier parts as the stem and forks are from 1990.
Also the front brake is from 1990, where as the rear low profiles came out in '91.
Wonderfull find anyway :D
 
WOW! thanks for all the information and the comments.
I'm off to the bikes shed now to retrieve the frame n° and measure the geometry. I might take a couple more photos, I'd like to show the greaser plug under the BB and the fork which seems to be the superstar here.

B
 

Latest posts

Back
Top