Kona Explosif 1995 road orientated-rack, slicks etc

[urbanfireblade]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/kona-explosif-mou ... 3ca794cb60


I've shown interest in it, seeing what the seller comes back with. But i have a few others i'm considering :?

 

[Anthony]

I doubt whether anything else you're considering is a better frame than this one! It's quite rare and the frame alone, if in as good a condition as stated, is worth well over £100 of that £200 starting price. The auction could go cheapish, because (a) it's collect, (b) eBayers don't like high start prices, (c) the 'GT ridged fork' will put off those who want to buy a bike that doesn't need any work. All the same, I expect it to fetch a decent price

The frame is a size 19, not 18 as stated. Size 19 is intended for height range 5-9 to 6-3.

 

[oldave]

The Start price is awfully high for a bitsa IMO. With Collect Only I doubt it'd get a bid - other than in London.

 

[urbanfireblade]

Well i've emailed the guy to find out where in london he is, and if any chainsuck etc, and if he'd take an offer, worth a try. I'm lucky in the sense i have an open mind as to what to buy, but it must be half decent condition and original, just nice to have a well looked after one in original paint, more of a personal thing than anything else really as all mine are original paint.
My problem comes in that a few are on ebay and finishing at totally different times, so do i holds out for the 2007 Explosif single speed, this one, or a Lava Dome(although i already have 2 it won't mean its very special to me). Dilemas eh?!? My ideal situation.... a pristine retro explosif frame comes up in 18" size, as i have quality stuff already from a previous high end Spez Epic, mostly XTR, DT Swiss wheels, carbon bars, tompson stem etc etc. I'm not looking to end up with a period correct bike, but a real slick running machine. I already have a lovely original Lava Dome '95 in my loft, and another '94 set up for off-road, a lovely cindercone '90 in the loft too and a Giant OCR road bike with straight bars for the road, this next bike will be for all those years when i couldn't afford a decent top end one, but now i can.
Tho another dilema is i'd like disc mounts :cry: , so that brings me all the way back round to the 2007 ebay explosif :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[Anthony]

I didn't realise you were 5-8 when I wrote this advice. Size 19 is a bit big.

I wrote some stuff about Explosif history on another of your threads, but just to augment that, if size 17 is your ideal size and you want disc tabs, I'm afraid you have a problem. They only made size 17 Explosifs up to 2001 and they only made them with disc tabs from 2003 onwards.

A 2003 frame might be the best one for you, but they don't come up all that often. That 2007 has the merit of being available.

 

[urbanfireblade]

How did you find out its a 19" :?: I have two 18" steel konas that are size wise spot on, my old burnt orange colour koa was 17" and that was a nice fit too, amazingly chuckable :!: was such a blast offroad!
I have tried 19" kona frames but they are too big. So i am steering clear of 19",

 

[urbanfireblade]

actually, enlarging the pics from ebay, it does look more like a 19" than an 18" :cry:

 

[Anthony]

It's especially easy to tell the difference between 18 and 19 with a Columbus Max frame because the bi-ovalised tubes are so deep there's very little room between them on an 11cm head tube and noticeably more on a 13cm like this one.

 

[urbanfireblade]

That pretty much confirms it, def a 19". Looking at his feedback he's a bike dealer anyway so unfortunately probably doesn't know the bike like a proper owner would if you know what i mean.