1990 Kona Explosif

[mk one]

I have always been a fan of Kona's.

And after another Kona came up for sale that was too big and then making enquires with the seller about another one of his frames, i was offered this frameset, which i couldnt say no to

I have a few frames waiting to be built, but this one has seemed to jump the queue.

It could be a slow build but here are some pics for now

Mark

 

[mk one]

Re: 1990 Kona Explosif - build

some more...

 

[TSC.]

Re:

That's a unicorn right there. My favourite Explosif and Track 2 forks.

 

[tintin41]

lovely

 

[romanrinos]

Re:

Very nice indeed and paint looks immaculate!

Interested to hear what rims you’ll go for..?

 

[one_bad_mofo]

I so wanted one of those BITD. Instead, I had to settle for a Lavadome as I simply couldn't justify the cost of the Explosif. On the brightside, I did get one of the plain white limited edition ones rather than the splatter finish. However, having now seen this I'm beginning to have regrets...

 

[mk one]

Thanks for the comments

As for rims and components, thats coming soon...

The good thing about splatter paint is it hides any imperfections well While on the subject of paint, credit has to go to Chris (spanky22b) and its only fair as he does an amazing job of splating, and he has done a very good job on the forks, he also, for those who missed his post, decided to splat the stem, which is shown below and matches the f+f very well

Still not decided if im using this stem but have got some new bolts for the clamp and newer wedge. It will find its way onto the bike eventually but if i find some P2's i will use a different stem for now

Mark

 

[mk one]

I have been trying to decide on the which component group to use. It is going to be either XT or XC Pro.

The deciding factor for now is the wheels! i have a couple of sets of XT built and my XC Pro need new rims so im going the quick/easy/cheaper route

Ideally i would have gone for black XT hubs and cranks, if anyone has any they want to sell please PM me i am after a rear 732 135mm and 175 arms please.

For now, and it might actually look better when together, im going with silver hubs and crank, just because i have them

Also undecided on which brakeset to use! 732 or 734?

 

[caemis]

As for the brakes: 732!
And besides, the Explosif is lovely!

Regards from Berlin

 

[mk one]

Yes, probably will be the 732 and 7spd. I was just thinking of maybe going 8spd then i would have used the 734.

I am using mostly used parts, in good condition, but not all nos as i intend to ride it, i have nos parts i cant even bring myself to use so if i did i would more than likely not want to ride it