large kona frame £30 BIN

[mrkawasaki]

.

Was in no way slating an Explosif! Just a little dubious that this IS an Explosif (for £30!) - what with the respray and various decals... fingers crossed!

BTW can anyone tell me about the various 'Prestige' framesets eg. what might be the difference between Tange Prestige and Ritchey Logic Prestige - from the same tubing manufacturer but to a different specification? Who or what is 'Prestige'??

Mr K

 

[Anthony]

My understanding is that Ritchey worked with Tange to develop a tubeset that had slightly shorter butts than the standard Prestige tubes, thus making it slightly lighter and pingier. If this is true, it seems rather surprising as Tange wouldn't have made the standard butts any longer than they thought they needed to be. And of course if the Ritchey Logic tubeset proved durable, you would have expected Tange to adopt it as a new standard butt length. So I suspect it could just have been badge engineering. Good tubeset though, Specialized used it for a long time and the Merlin WCS from Taiwan via Lancashire is a bit of an unsung classic IMO.

If this was an Explosif, and I agree with Paul that it appears that it isn't, it would be made with the Tange Prestige Concept tubeset used on the Kilauea from 93 to 95. This has distinctive ovalised and tapered top and down tubes, which you sometimes can't spot in photos but you'd know straight away when the frame arrived. I suspect the data sheet below is a bit later than 91, but I believe that the Concept tubeset was the same shape in 91 as it was later.

 

[mrkawasaki]

K Klass

Seller assures me that, as the original owner, it is an Explosif, albeit professionally repainted.... Look forward to the arrival of something of a bargain then!

I fancy doing a black number....

Mr K

 

[Anthony]

I feel sure that if it’s an Explosif, then the shape of the tubes will prove it. But did the seller also explain why in that case was he daft enough to sell it for £30 BIN?

Incidentally, I hope TallPaul will correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that if the head tube of this is 15cm as the seller said, then it’s a size 19, as the 20 had a 17cm head tube back then. The 92 bike in your picture is an 18.

 

[Tallpaul]

Incidentally, I hope TallPaul will correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that if the head tube of this is 15cm as the seller said, then it’s a size 19, as the 20 had a 17cm head tube back then. The 92 bike in your picture is an 18.

Dunno, the headtube looks longer than on my 19" Lava Dome; but as i'm imagining there is a brazed-on seat clamp too, I should be considered a very unreliable source

 

[JeRkY]

Re: K Klass

I fancy doing a black number....

Mr K

Billinjah has (had?) some z-links forsale that could achieve the look of the photo above.