Kona Explosif 2003 out and about

[al-onestare]

I cant believe they had the tools to correctly fit a cup and cone headset though - and the fork was
the right way round
Which is a giveaway

They were dark times for the brand, not that I think they really knew the extent at that time. It took many years for them to shed that image.

That all said, and as pointed out, this was a frame only option so there's a high chance that someone just put a load of crap on it very badly

 

[novocaine]

I remember winstanleys stocking Kona at the time. we bought a stuff from them for my sisters fella at the time.

 

[bikeworkshop]

They were dark times for the brand, not that I think they really knew the extent at that time. It took many years for them to shed that image.

I thought they were pursuing maximum sales, and thought "teaming up" with halfords would do that.
Corporate Greed. Simple.

Like Boardman - surely he should have known better? -but then again maybe he's proved us wrong.

 

[al-onestare]

I thought they were pursuing maximum sales, and thought "teaming up" with halfords would do that.
Corporate Greed. Simple.

Like Boardman - surely he should have known better? -but then again maybe he's proved us wrong.

A bit of that. Also a small firm taking on the really big boys, to compete internationally on the world cup circuit took and still takes, a tremendous amount of money. This was one way of doing that and it worked, 2003 to 2010 or so were incredibly successful: Tracey, Fabien, and the rest - world cup winners on Kona bikes, and look at the careers they had after that.

It wasn't sustainable or, this is my view, reflective of the roots of the brand. I believe they realised that playing in that space wasn't what they were all about.

Anyway, along with the well documented shifts in the industry and riding styles of the time, the Explosif was "end of life" in this guise. The next iterations came along much later, and in short runs, with more modern geometry and "better" components.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Do you think halfords offered kona a financial incentive, in order to shift the halfords brand upmarket?
Perhaps tied in with their Cycle Surgery "stores"?

Or did kona offer halfords a bigger discount on trade,
(like almost all our suppliers did with WCR)
In order to get volume sales?

 

[novocaine]

Do you think halfords offered kona a financial incentive, in order to shift the halfords brand upmarket?
Perhaps tied in with their Cycle Surgery "stores"?

Or did kona offer halfords a bigger discount on trade,
(like almost all our suppliers did with WCR)
In order to get volume sales?

former over he latter. it's what they did with boardman and carrera as well. for a long time halfords business model was to setup a one stop shop and drive others out of the trade. very true in the car world, just as true in the bike world. they aren't there for those with a bit of brains, but for parents wanting their kids first real bike, or just a BSO to cart to work and back, same with cars, a real car person isn't going to halfords for wiper blades.

to meet this approach they attempted to sell over a range and that paying apollo for BSO, carrera for slightly about, boardman for the next tier and Kona for the final. unlike boardman and carrera though, Kona never went sole source with them.

 

[bikeworkshop]

I thought Halfords set up both Carrera and Apollo in-house, whereas boardman is an exclusive retail distribution contract, and a a separate company - presumably with contractual obligations?
It certainly seemed Halfords were selling retail BoardMen at trade value often enough, I assume to meet contractual sales targets, and explains why they were always asking the bank for more money àla WCR

 

[novocaine]

I thought Halfords set up both Carrera and Apollo in-house, whereas boardman is an exclusive retail distribution contract, and a a separate company - presumably with contractual obligations?
It certainly seemed Halfords were selling retail BoardMen at trade value often enough, I assume to meet contractual sales targets, and explains why they were always asking the bank for more money àla WCR

both Apollo and Carrera existed before Halfords. I suspect it started as a exclusive distro and then they bought the names. boardman to my knowledge approached halfrauds with a very middle of the road idea of a business and they bought in to the name. Hoy tried to do the same but added evans in to the mix (fraser group) and Pendleton was approached to "design" bikes for them both.

 

[al-onestare]

Kona never went sole source with them.

...and thank goodness they didn't!