1990 Kona Explosif - restoring the love of my biking life

[al-onestare]

Two things.

1. I reckon this should be moved to the Reader 97 sub-forum.
2. I can't help but :facepalm: that you removed the decals and the splatter on top; the very essence of it's original visual appeal. It's your bike, so I know my view is pointless

 

[Singletrack74]

Sorry; must have posted it into the wrong area by mistake...

And the decals (especially the top tube) were knackered which is why I’m replacing them, and re-splattering them as I mentioned...

 

[raidan73]

I hadn’t noticed, now moved to the right place

 

[al-onestare]

Sorry; must have posted it into the wrong area by mistake...

And the decals (especially the top tube) were knackered which is why I’m replacing them, and re-splattering them as I mentioned...

No worries - it's a personal thing of mine :facepalm:

 

[Singletrack74]

The paint was really good, but the graphics were buggered, and I’m doing this bike for highly personal reasons, and trying to get it as close to new as I can manage. I spent a loooong time debating whether to take them off, trust me! But once the splattering is reapplied it will hopefully look awesome and very closely matched!

There’s a direct correlation between this bike and my career and life nearly 30 years later - it wasn’t my first MTB, but it was genuinely the formative moment of my adult life to come...

 

[manitou916]

Re:

I'm really enjoying this project and your dedication to it. It will be interesting to see how the splats work out for you. Not so much the colour matching (which shouldn't be too difficult), but achieving similar splats to the originals - it's not as easy as it looks and will take some practice!

I would definitely clear coat to lock in those new frame decals/splats and give the whole frame a 'like new' lustre... which will compliment all of those NOS and minty components.

Annoyingly, I only have one NOS Suntour cable hanger of the type you were looking for - the other disappeared a long time ago and has never surfaced. As seen in my thread here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=126112
Let me know if you want it for your built and I'll send it to you FOC. They were made by Dia-Compe and are physically identical apart from the logo, so you chose the perfect alternatives

 

[Singletrack74]

I actually got super lucky; Adrian (Raidan73) very kindly donated some hangers recently; so I have a lovely shiny pair of Suntour ones now!

Thanks so much for the kind words - really cool to know other people understand the personal meaning these things can have to each of us - and I’ll keep things updated as I go!

 

[M-Power]

Re:

Beautiful bike and great write up. £500 for NOS XC Pro pedals :shock: Its getting silly. I had the version before. Such a fantastic rider from the classic golden era of Kona.

 

[Singletrack74]

Re: Re:

Beautiful bike and great write up. £500 for NOS XC Pro pedals :shock: Its getting silly. I had the version before. Such a fantastic rider from the classic golden era of Kona.

They aren't entirely as new condition - but very clsoe to it - they cost me a hell of a lot less than that though :shock:

 

[M-Power]

Re: Re:

Beautiful bike and great write up. £500 for NOS XC Pro pedals :shock: Its getting silly. I had the version before. Such a fantastic rider from the classic golden era of Kona.

They aren't entirely as new condition - but very clsoe to it - they cost me a hell of a lot less than that though :shock:

On the plus side the bearings last forever