Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!"

[Gruff]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

That looks Grrrrrreat as Tony the Tiger used to say

Konaben did the decals for my '97 U'hu adjusting the size of the down tube one as they were much bigger than steel tube ones.
He did a great job & even made a "suspension Experience" one as it was the 1st set he'd done for a full sus frame.

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

Yep, he did a grand job. Only thing to look out for is if you choose to lacquer, make sure you use some decent stuff and that it doesn't cause the colour to run.

 

[rollodes]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

That is:
1. Beautiful
2. I bet a complete blast to ride!

Nice work!

Is it an 18" or a 19"?

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

Thank you

She's 19" and goes like stink!

 

[SpaceFlightOrange]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

Lovely bike.

just one question... You mention having RC35's on it, arent they RC36 Evo's (9? they look just like mine

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

Indeed! They are, no idea why I keep calling them that!

 

[andyfloyd82]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 - "look, a golden bike!" - updated on

Me and Goldie had a blast on Saturday at Swinley.

The number of looks and double takes I got was notable. Perhaps it was the sight of my mega-legs or my nice 1998 Kona jersey...or, perhaps, a man on a skinny looking hardtail! I'm pleased to report my 30 something legs and this beast of a bike, cleaned up and rinsed out the youth on show with their modern full suss beasts. For sure they could let loose on the downhill stuff and I did struggle to keep up with them then, but as soon as we hit the flats and especially when the climbs kicked in, they went backwards.

This thing is a fucking rocket on climbs. I can't understate how eager she feels. She might be a bit twitchy but she keeps you on edge and so you really pay attention to the lines. Around the berms she was a lot of fun; peddling out and letting rip left me with grin after grin. Once again, a big thanks to Anthony for prodding me to get rid of the Indys. The RC35's are fantastic. Light, responsive and with just the right amount of travel. They were super smooth and the rebound was perfect (for me anyway).

She was faultless all day, only the owner and rider let her down with one fall into a ditch when he took the wrong line and clipped a stump :facepalm:

This was the only shot I could be bothered win just before we went down the Red run.

Token clean up shots back at HQ:

Final note: on the train down to Martins Heron, another little boy couldn't resist the golden allure and said to his Dad "look, it's gold!!" before coming over and having a good gander.

This bike looks amazing. I bet its nice and light, I too know how you feel when you say its a little TWITCHY, and climbs like a BEAST. I have a Univega hardtail thats circa 1994 and its sub 23 lbs, has a low travel AMP front fork and is similar in geometry to your Kona. Like you said on the downhill its a little difficult as it bumps you around and bends and flexes, but on climbs and flats LOOK OUT because it will take off on people. I too gets lots of looks because people probably wonder why the tubing is so thin, what is that front fork, and why is it so fast! LOL. Keep up the good work sir.

 

[al-onestare]

Pretty much spent most of yesterday in the saddle and once again she didn't disappoint. The new boots are excellent and have eliminated the skittish issues. She was planted and solid and only came a croper when we faced full on slippery stones at Gravel Hill. Smoke and Dart combo - perfect! (The stem is a bit tidier as well).

Much as I love the Manomano for the chuckable grin factor, this is a proper racer (feels like it anywhere) and eats up the climbs. BIG FUN!

 

[al-onestare]

Have I mentioned that this is my favourite bike? Well it is!

The original wheelset was beginning to niggle me; the rims were well worn and maybe good for one more season at best. The rear hub bearing were shot. So adding those two together meant it was time for something "new". Of course that ended up in some trawling through RB For Sale and a lucky find. Thanks to Jacque Lucque I managed to source a '96 set of Mavic 220's on another Javva the Hub (F) and XT (R) in great nick (they just needed a clean and light lube).

I took her for a blast around North Kent and Surrey and she was an absolute joy once again. She's so agile and ever so slightly twitchy. It means I get a good balance between speed and feeling good when you nail the lines. She's like a rabbit up the climbs and with the Smoke/Dart combination, ploughs through the gunk and doesn't slip around the loose stuff.

 

[al-onestare]

Proof that we sometimes ride in the mud, here is the aftermath from one hell of a ride last Thursday; the one gap last week when it wasn't raining. Underneath all that is the golden bike.

She performed extremely well, we hardly got out of the granny ring all day but she kept it planted with very little slipping in some terrible conditions. The flat was caught just less than a mile from home thank goodness. Still my favourite bike by a long way.