Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!"

[al-onestare]

Apologies for the quality of the pics. I'll get some proper ones over the next few weeks, but after 12 months she's finished. I can't wait to take her out for a proper thrash. I gave her a quick spin round the block and she was crazy eager; the front end is really responsive. Full spec to come.

Love the tubing, it's super cool

Kid's appear to like this bike. In non-Saville scenes, two came up to take a look whilst I was taking pic's in the local park

 

[unkleGsif]

LUSH. Love the gold Explosifs

Personal preference dictate that I would prefer a Marzocchi if it were my ride, but thats just down to us all being individuals.

Am now seriously considering some Hope QR's now, in gold, for my black and gold Kilauea


G

 

[al-onestare]

LUSH. Love the gold Explosifs

Personal preference dictate that I would prefer a Marzocchi if it were my ride, but thats just down to us all being individuals.

Am now seriously considering some Hope QR's now, in gold, for my black and gold Kilauea


G

Cheers! The QR's are really nice and it's not often I say that about modern kit They are very light and the silver works with the rest of the build. They are a little long in length and if I had a proper bandsaw then I'd trim them a bit but that's being extra picky.

 

[unkleGsif]

.... They are very light .....

Are the rods the steel ones?

G

 

[al-onestare]

.... They are very light .....

Are the rods the steel ones?

G

No idea if I'm being honest.

 

[magas]

nice bike

is it the camera, or just me, but it seems that the new decals looks more greenish on same pics. instead of blue :?

 

[al-onestare]

nice bike

is it the camera, or just me, but it seems that the new decals looks more greenish on same pics. instead of blue :?

It's the camera; they are more grey and a close match - the headtube decal is a better example. That's new and is a good reflection of the colour. They are of course a little newer than the originals so they'll never be exact.

 

[Anthony]

I'm surprised you have retained the Indy SL. I realise that there is a purist ideal to recreate a bike to as it left the factory state, but on the other hand why not respect the Kona vision of seeing their bikes as upgrade platforms? I'll bet if you asked the designer whether you should stick with the Indy or go to a Bomber or a blue SID, he would wonder why you were even asking.

In this case, I believe the argument is stronger than usual, as with hindsight the decision to spec an Indy for 97 was pretty clearly a mistake. The decision would no doubt have been taken sometime in 95 and based on Rockshox's assurances of what the (new for 97) Indy would be like, rather than on having tested one. It was only after it came out that it gradually dawned on everyone what a bad and hideously over-priced fork it was. You could get them on massive discounts for years afterwards. After this experience, Kona abandoned Rockshox in favour of Marzocchi on their high end bikes for 98.

I believe that the 97 Explosif is probably the stiffest and heaviest of the three Columbus Max Explosifs. It was the only one that had all Columbus tubes, including the stays as well as the front triangle. The stays are visibly chunkier, especially than the very slender seat stay on the 96 Explosif. I imagine this must have added a couple of ounces, but no doubt made for a better and faster bike overall. I think steel designers were gradually upping the stiffness (and weight, but without admitting it) at this time, because they saw a need to compete with the attributes that were making aluminium more popular with the market.

 

[al-onestare]

Many thanks for your post Anthony. I don't think any of us Kona owners can rest easy until you've commented on our builds

Seriously, excellent knowledge and feedback as always. I wasn't aware of this at all, so excuse my next question. What's so bad with the fork in comparsion with the competition? As I'm experiencing right now, it's pretty hard to find an alternative with a long steerer and quite frankly oils and seals and all that stuff equals more potential to go wrong (well in my head anyway).

I'll be taking her out in two weeks to comment on the ride but on the experience I had last year before the re-build she was super rapid on the climbs and now I've shifted my excess timber, I'm expecting her to be even more responsive. She was really stiff though which I loved; it felt unbreakable (touch wood).

 

[al-onestare]

I promised a spec list, here it be. Anything in bold is original or of the era.

Frame: Columbus Max 19"

Fork: Rock Shox Indy SL

Headset: Chris King sliver.
Stem: Kona Tahoma Sonne IV
Handlebar: Curve 2014
Grips: Yeti lock-on's

Brakes Front & Rear: Shimano XT vbrake BR-M739
Brake Pads: Shimano XT
Brake Cables: Shimano XT
Brake Noodles: Avid
Brake Levers: Avid SD-2.0

Shifters: Shimano XT Rapidfire M739
Front Derailleur: Shimano XT front pull FD-M739
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT RD-M739
Derailleur Cables: Shimano XT
Cassette: Shimano XT 8 speed CS-M737-I
Chain: SRAM 7/8 speed PC-850
Cranks & chainrings: Sugino Mighty 900
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN-52
Pedals: Shimano XT

Hub Skewers: Hope
Rims: Mavic 220
Front Hub: Javva the Hub
Rear Hub: Shimano XT FH-M737
Tyres: Kona Scratch and Sniff
Tubes: Specialised

Saddle: Titanium Flite (stamped 1994)
Seatpost: Kona O-Beam

Weight: Catalogue says 23.8lbs. It's got to be there or there abouts, possibly a smidgen lighter with the skewers and saddle changes but I doubt it.

Spec wise the BB, grips, seat, skewers, noodles and chain were replaced along with the cables. Everything else was and remains original to the bike as it was bought all those years ago. It couldn't have been used in anger much since the wear on the chainrings and cassette is non-existant. If only the decals had been in good shape (yep there is a colour difference but that should sort itself out a bit once the elements throw what they can)...oh well!