'Correct' P2 Disc forks for 1997 Kona Explosif

[parma_ham]

Hi there,

I hope some of you gurus can help!

I have a 1997 17" Explosif which I absolutely love but I really want to run a disc brake up front. Alas my current p2s only have canti tabs. There seem to be so many different P2s out there, I'm not sure which would be the best / lightest and most suitable for my particular frame...

> Can anyone tell me when Kona started making threadless P2s with disc tabs? Were they available triple butted?

> My understanding is that 410mm is the correct AC length for this year of Kona, is that right?

Thanks so much

Ben

Ps. I've searched but could find limited info about the specs of disc p2s / years made

 

[JRGSXR]

You are correct, 410 AC is the suspension corrected fork used from 94 onwards. I’m not sure you get TB with disk mounts though. Could be wrong but I’ve never seen a set.

 

[parma_ham]

Brilliant, thanks so much for the quick reply JRGSXR.

Oh what a shame if they don't exist. I wonder if anyone has ever seen a pair?

Do you know when Kona started offering the p2s with a disc tab? Were they ever designed to be put on the Explosif or frames from the same era?

 

[JRGSXR]

As far as I’m aware, the Explosif didn’t run disks till around 2001. Your frame and the 853 model after it ran V brakes. I think the P2s with disk tabs started around the early 000s also, but by that time the Explosif was hardtail with bounce at the front. I could be wrong but I think the disk tabbed P2s were then found on lower end bikes in the range, hence no TB option. I’m kinda hoping someone else will chime in and either back me up? Or shoot me down in flames .

 

[parma_ham]

That's great info and seems to tie in with the sorts of forks I've been seeing for sale so far. Like you, I would love to know for sure if there was ever a TB disc fork...

I must weigh my current forks to see if they are TB. If not, then no great loss as the bike rides really nice as it is. I read somewhere a rare titanium P2 was even made but no idea if it had a disc tab and let's not complicate matters further

 

[JRGSXR]

If you look just above the crown race the forks will have either… CM/CM (plain gauge) or CM/TB (triple butted) stamped on the steerer tube. The Explosif should have TB forks and if you change to plain gauge they may feel a bit dead. The TB forks are a bit more lively.

Ti P2s are super rare! And when they do turn up they are VERY! pricey. Again I’ve never seen or heard of a set with disk tabs.

 

[BerthaPog]

From memory, Ti P2s only came in 390 a2c, not the later 410 a2c. The price (£800 in 1991/2), meant that tolerable, and lower priced, suspension forks made them somewhat superfluous. Would still like a pair as they are as cool as. Held a pair owned by a member on here many years ago (I was collecting an Explosif frame and TB P2s from them) - they were to go with the Hei Hei, Ti Velocity stem & Ti OBeam seatpost he had.

I also bought a set of P2s (410a2c) ~2002, triple butted wasn’t an option by then and I don’t remember if disk mounts were, I only needed canti/v mounts.

 

[parma_ham]

See you're making me really want a pair of TB forks either way JRGSXR. Maybe I'll have to look into getting a disc tab braized onto some TB forks . Twisting might be an issue...maybe why they were always built heavier

Thanks Bertha. That's the Ti forks ruled out then. It's sounding less and less likely that TBs were offered with disc tabs

 

[TAnh]

I was lucky enough to collect this last month from a cyclist in the US. just by chance. good luck

 

[hamster]

I think that the extra loading from the brake means that the fork has to be beefed up towards the tip - so no triple butting for discs.

IIRC the fork like the one pictured above is longer (440mm perhaps?)