Kona Explosif 1991

[Samdrog]

Here is my 1991 Kona Explosif.
This bike was given to me on the condition I don’t sell it. (Thats fine by me)
Its a one owner bike and came with a set of pace rc30 forks as a warranty upgrade on the original track2 forks. It was used as a commuter for the last 4 years without seeing a bucket. Everything was covered in black oily dirt. 2 cans of degreaser later all the components move freely and are in reasonable condition given the parts look to be original.
To get the bike working again I have had to replace the original grease port bb to a shimano un55 bb. Replace all the inner and outer cables with jagwire cables. Replace the heavy wire bead commuter tyres with repro panaracer smoke tyres. Finally swap out the original seat with my preferred seat (a £20 chinese carbon Jobby). I also replaced the pace fork to a triple butted project2 fork.

Its maiden voyage under me was along the canal manchester to lymm where I found a little woodland that I could test out its off road ability.
IT'S ALIVE.
Kona by Sam Rogers, on Flickr

 

[Pipmeister]

Can’t figure out how to make the pictures work

You will need to either reduce the picture file size to add it to a post, or link your photos to a Picture Hosting Site.

There's a thread on this subject where PeachyPM has documented the maximum pixels width as 1080.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=396222&hilit

Pip.

 

[Samdrog]

Can’t figure out how to make the pictures work

You will need to either reduce the picture file size to add it to a post, or link your photos to a Picture Hosting Site.

There's a thread on this subject where PeachyPM has documented the maximum pixels width as 1080.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=396222&hilit

Pip.

Thank you. Managed after your link.

 

[rogerzilla]

Konas from 1991-93 are my favourite-looking. I'd have the dork disc off, especially since it's cracked, but otherwise it looks great.

 

[Samdrog]

Re:

The dork disc going soon as I'm looking to build a pair of wheels for it. The current ones are old and past it. The front is original I believe. The rear has a BOS sticker and an American flag on it. Im unsure of the brand.

The paint is rough and bare steel is visible in areas. There are no dents anywhere so its a very good starting point. I know from looking at the 1991 catalogue that the frame should be a purple/blue colour. Does anyone know of the paint colour for it?

 

[mk one]

Looks great, would be nice to see some more pics.

The RC30 are great forks but i think you made the right choice putting P2's on

Those woods look really nice too.

Mark

 

[Samdrog]

Small update to this.
Spec has changed a little.
Removed the triple Shimano crankset and replaced with a modified Suntour XC pro. This is for ease of use as I hate front derailleurs plus it has saved some weight. The front chainring is a 42t and perfect for the flat canals and singletrack around Manchester. I have a 36t that I can swap out for hillier days.
Upgraded the rear derailleur from Shimano DX to XT and a new 11t-28t cassette. A good condition XT shifter is on its way.
The front wheel had a couple bent spokes so picked up a good condition Mavic 231 rim on unknown hub (think its a DX hub).
Fitted a set of NOS Gonzo mud slinger Ti skewers. These are bolt through so should hopefully stop the wheels from going missing.
New Thompson Elite seatpost as the old original was in poor condition.
Last but not least some new Ritchey ergo foam grips.

Now it weighs 24.4lbs and rides superbly.
Im on the lookout for a rear 36h Mavic 231 wheel in good condition to match the front.
The rear hub is currently 135mm but the dropout spacing looks to be 130mm. Will this damage the frame?

A picture speaks a thousand words.
IMG_1729 by Sam Rogers, on Flickr

 

[Graham_hkr]

Re:

Cracking job, looks awesome..

 

[minor_LEGEND]

Prefer it with a triple up front,but thanks for keeping it alive. It looks well.

 

[Wight]

Re:

Lovely bike, great job.