Another steed and this one is a keeper! Everyone knows 1997 was the best year for Kona's 
(see the thread on the chat forum). I love the colour schemes and graphics used for that year. As described in other threads, I had a 1997 Cinder Cone in the lovely deep blue colour which ultimately led me to this site back in 2009.
Que a couple of restorations of older models, I decided last year that along with my daily commute (1996 Cinder Cone in white) what I really wanted was a proper off-road machine. Out of the blue an ad went on the for sale section for a 1997 Explosif in my size. I was very surprised it didn't get any bites considering the price tag (£250 - check out the one that sold last week on ebay for over £400) and after a flurry of emails and a short wait, she arrived. She was 100% original except the saddle, grips and tyres.
Last autumn I took her for a spin on the single track at Bedgebury forest. This was the first time I'd been off road in over 10 years and I had an absolute blast; I cycle everyday on the commute so I'm not unfit
She was crazy quick and very nimble.
After the ride I knew I had to make her perfect or as perfect as I could make her. As you can see the decals were tatty and it needed a little bit of TLC.
So since the spring I've been slowly getting her in shape. She's had the full strip down, service and mega-polish.
New BB, new CK headset, a couple of carefully removed and newly applied decals from Gil_M (if I'm being really picky the down-tube sticker isn't an exact replica, the N and A aren't right and the outline is too wide), new skewers, old flite (date stamped 96 if I recall, another ebay steal), scratch & sniff tyres and new grips have got me to this stage.
I'm at a slight pause to mask up and apply some laquer to the decals, before I complete the re-build including some nice new cables. I won't bother with Indy SL decals as I prefer them without. I'm aiming for completion this month so she's ready for a good thrashing in August and the remaining "summer" months.
Apologies for the poor picture quality, when she's built I'll get some proper shots with a full spec list. I won't lie when I say that I think the ovalised tubing is the nuts
Feedback good or bad is welcome!!
(see the thread on the chat forum). I love the colour schemes and graphics used for that year. As described in other threads, I had a 1997 Cinder Cone in the lovely deep blue colour which ultimately led me to this site back in 2009.
Que a couple of restorations of older models, I decided last year that along with my daily commute (1996 Cinder Cone in white) what I really wanted was a proper off-road machine. Out of the blue an ad went on the for sale section for a 1997 Explosif in my size. I was very surprised it didn't get any bites considering the price tag (£250 - check out the one that sold last week on ebay for over £400) and after a flurry of emails and a short wait, she arrived. She was 100% original except the saddle, grips and tyres.
Last autumn I took her for a spin on the single track at Bedgebury forest. This was the first time I'd been off road in over 10 years and I had an absolute blast; I cycle everyday on the commute so I'm not unfit
She was crazy quick and very nimble.
After the ride I knew I had to make her perfect or as perfect as I could make her. As you can see the decals were tatty and it needed a little bit of TLC.
So since the spring I've been slowly getting her in shape. She's had the full strip down, service and mega-polish.
New BB, new CK headset, a couple of carefully removed and newly applied decals from Gil_M (if I'm being really picky the down-tube sticker isn't an exact replica, the N and A aren't right and the outline is too wide), new skewers, old flite (date stamped 96 if I recall, another ebay steal), scratch & sniff tyres and new grips have got me to this stage.
I'm at a slight pause to mask up and apply some laquer to the decals, before I complete the re-build including some nice new cables. I won't bother with Indy SL decals as I prefer them without. I'm aiming for completion this month so she's ready for a good thrashing in August and the remaining "summer" months.
Apologies for the poor picture quality, when she's built I'll get some proper shots with a full spec list. I won't lie when I say that I think the ovalised tubing is the nuts
Feedback good or bad is welcome!!
