1998 Kona Explosif ReversoMod

[Tommy27]

Posting this here since the frame is a 98. But the parts are largely older. I have however made some modern concessions- Wide, if not that wide by modern standards bars and a shortish stem. Top tube is relatively long for me, but doesn't feel it. I also intend to make use of the Wide clearance up front, but tbh will be lucky to run much more than a true 2.1 on the back.

I brought the f & f, with headset and bb from @primo and although I built it up I had local legend JP Quest do the final fettling (cabling, getting brakes, chainline, indexing perfect)

Frame: Kona Explosif, 853 in Electric Blue

Fork: 1997 P2

Headset: FSA
Stem: Thompson 100mm
Handlebar: Nitto B861AAF Slat Bar 685mm wide
Grips: Oury

Brakes: XT 737
Brake Pads: Kool Stop Salmon
Cantilever cable hangers: Diacompe, to be changed soon
Brake Levers: Avid Speed Dial 2.0

Shifters: Suntour XC Pro 8 spd
Front Derailleur: XT 732
Rear Derailleur: XT 739
Cassette: HG 11- 30
Chain: KMC 8 spd
Cranks: Race Face Turbine
Crank Bolts: to Be changed
Chainrings: Raceface
Chainring bolts: Race Face
Bottom Bracket:
Pedals: not the Rob Warners on here for any longer than basic testing!

Hub Skewers: Zipp, but the shortly be changed to some Tune Ti
Rims: Mavic 232 PSP
Hubs: XT Parallax
Tyres: Modern Ritchey Z Max "2.1" (more like 1.95), probably to be changed

Saddle: Brooks Swift (likely to be swapped for a C15), not as tilted up as pictures make it look, but will still be a little
Seatpost: Syncros 27.0
Seatpost Binder: Kona

Weight: not sure, but weighs roughly the same as the missus Pace RC200 which was 24.5 lbs, but that doesn't have the lightest build kit.

 

[W7Ford]

Very nice!

 

[winjohn]

I like this and I much prefer the 98 colour scheme to the 99 on my Explosif.

 

[al-onestare]

An interesting build! Apart from the brakes and saddle, I like it a lot. The 96/97 P2s look real nice with the frame colour.

 

[Tommy27]

Saddle is being changed soon.

I may change the levers since although I like the shape and look, they're not quite as effective as I'd hoped. Possibly cos they're v brake era, though I thought I'd read they'd work well with Cantis? I wanted something non shimano tbh.

 

[moonlite]

I like it too! Sweet riding frame -- great package with the P2s.

Do the Avid levers pull enough cable for canti brakes? Or perhaps they can be adjusted . . .

 

[Tommy27]

They're already pretty much at their limit.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Possibly cos they're v brake era, though I thought I'd read they'd work well with Cantis? I wanted something non shimano tbh.

The levers for v brakes have a different pull length than cantilevers. You can't mix and match. I know that Problem Solvers makes a pulley that makes canti levers work with v brakes, but I don't know of anything that works in the opposite direction

 

[Tommy27]

Post in thread 'Avid Speed Dial Brake Levers - V/Canti?'

Oct 18, 2023

Hi, to my knowledge,
the "Ultimate" lever was the first lever launched from Avid 1995 and has been designed for Cantilever brakes.

Pic from Avid Ultimate presentation on a show End of 1994

(There was a later version for V-Brakes. They do have different so-called chips. Those are even to some extent replaceable).

Ordinary "Speed Dial", "SD" levers, released in 1996, have been still designed for Cantilevers, e.g. used as OEM at the 96 Specialized A1 Comp.

The levers had been long and straight and they had been just called SD 2.0 (without an L).

They got later...

• joglo

This thread had suggested they would work, mine are the SD 2.0, not the SD 2.0 L which were for V Brakes.

However I'm thinking best to look for some dedicated canti levers. They work well enough but not quite as well as I'd managed to get my DX cantis to work or my missus Diacompe SS7/ 987.