Ok, talk to me about Konas...

[Augustus]

So Kona were quite ahead of their time and put 1&1/8th headtubes on bikes in 1991 right?

So are all the Konas after that year 1&1/8th?

And is there a difference between say Lava Domes and Cinder Cones?

Am I right in thinnking Kilueas and Explosifs are better steel that the afore mentioned models? And are those two the same or is the Explosif betterer?

I'm mainly talking c1993/4/5/6 here, not really pre/post that era.

Thanks in advance to Anthony, who will surely know all the above info. But thanks for any help here.

 

[Huntso]

Not all post 1991 bikes had 1 1/8th steerers. My 93 Fire Mountain was 1 in definitely.

 

[cce]

Explosif > kilauea > cinder cone > lava dome

though for some years at least the cinder cone and lava dome packed the same frames

 

[cce]

oh and 1994 saw the lava dome and up gain 1/2 an inch in the effective top tube length

 

[Augustus]

I should say I'm really only interested in differences in frames. parts not so important.

 

[cce]

the explosif was generally really fancy tubing - the 94 explosif is particularly nice in this respect. the kilauea is also nice tubing. cinder cone/lava dome tended to be "kona double butted tubing"

 

[gump]

The all ride a bit odd and look the same. Overrated and pricey

But have a very loyal and devout following.

 

[Tallpaul]

The all ride a bit odd and look the same. Overrated and pricey

Pretty much

Although bargains are to be had, compared to other steel frames of similar quality they do tend to be a few quid more.

Still, you could say the same about Kleins, but Konas (fortunately for me) don't cost Klein money, so there isn't really much to moan about

 

[Geoff]

The early Kilaueas (ie until 95) were made out of Prestige Concept, which was also used on the even earlier Explosifs.

Generally, Explosifs had the fanciest tubesets, then Kilauea had quite fancy but less so tubesets, then below that was Kona db tubesets (and nowt wrong with that).

Personally the post-lengthened top tube models are what I want, too.

 

[tintin40]

The all ride a bit odd and look the same. Overrated and pricey

But have a very loyal and devout following.

You would make a great politican