Time for another one of one,this time a 1989 Kona Explosif tribute build

[Spanky22b]

So for over a month or so i've felt a bit flat about building my bikes but Spring is here and a 93 Kilauea frame turned up at the Kona sanctuary and that reignited the flame again to be creative to get my Konas built up.
So whilst hunting for Project Two forks for the Kilauea i kept stopping and having a look at the other 93 Explosif frame and forks hanging up pondering how to build it as a one of one.
There's no point building it catalogue spec because i already have one like that and i've already done a 90 Explosif tribute with the other one,mmm mmm what to do what to do
Bingo! I know,i'll do one of these

 

[Splatter Paint]

That frame looks too good for a re-paint.

Pistachio with splatter would look cool though.

 

[Spanky22b]

Yep that'll be the paint scheme for it to mimic the iconic 89 Explosif colours

The paint and decals are in excellent condition in fact better than my other one and for a brief second thought about swapping the parts over. But it's completely original and there's no way i want to lose that so on the plus side with this one i'm working with a perfect base to build a one off.
The brake mounts going on it might not be for the purists either

 

[Spanky22b]

What's the plans then for this Explosif, well basically its a lot like the 90 Explosif tribute i did but i'm going to go one step further with this one.
After doing the other Explosif i thought wouldn't it be great to have a 89 Explosif tribute to go with it using my favourite the 93 Explosif and that's when the plan was hatched, all i needed was another 19" 93 Explosif to do it.
Luckily Dan_McG1 responded to my wanted page and a deal was done.
Part of the idea came about from having those Deore ll hubbed wheels and the fact there's hardly any wear on the rims,which as you know the 89 Explosif had full Deore ll groupset.
So what's the plans,if your going to do a 89 Tribute then it has to look like one, so the frame will be sent off to have the cantilever bosses changed to U brake bosses. Then have the brake noodle added and finally have the seat clamp changed to how it was in 89 so it's for a old school quick release like the original Explosif.
This will be a true one of one of a Kona

 

[Spanky22b]

Well that's pretty much all the parts bar a U Brake found for the build,there's gonna be alot of cleaning and polishing to get them looking good again but that's part of the satisfaction of doing a build.
Next stage will be pricing up how much it will be to have the rear mounts changed to suit a U Brake have a brake noodle welded on and have seatclamp bosses welded on.

 

[Spanky22b]

So this popped up for sale to save the 93 Explosif to an extent because i still have plans for that
I'm sure it's the abandoned 91 Explosif what was on here a few years ago and it's perfect to do the 89 Explosif tribute build.
As you can see it's well passed it's glory days when it was actually purple and not a Tange Prestige looking Firemountain but i believe there's life left in it.
So far until i get to see it with my own eyes what i'm working with is the seller said the BB threads are damaged.
But on the plus side it will be going to a frame builders and if there not to bad they may be able to recut them,we'll see.
Enough of the bad bits though let's talk about the positives what make this the better guinea pig for the build.
It's beat up so perfect for a repaint, it already has the seatclamp mounts,although facing the wrong way so only needs the brake noodle doodle welded on and have the rear brake mounts changed to u brake ones.
I think the only thing what may stop me would be if they say the threads are completely toast and only a frame saver bb can be used, i'm not sure i'm willing spend all that money to only be able to use it like that,in which case it would just be a respray with new 91 decals.
All ifs and buts though at the moment.

So what you going to do with the 93 Explosif then, i hear some ask
Well after looking through the 1993 and 1994 Kona catalogues and checking all the numbers the 93 and 94 Kona Explosifs are basically the same frame. I already knew they shared the same tubing i was curious if there was any real geometry changes and bar two i think they're basically identical.
So saying i don't have a 94 Explosif i'm going to make my own using this 93 frameset,i may swap the P2's for 94 P2's. Obviously because of the serial number it won't be a real 94 Explosif if you get what i mean but saying the likelihood of me selling it is nil i'm not arsed about that trivial bit