Kona Explosif 1997 team edition

[magas]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

great story about your trip to Kitzbühel, and chapeau that you keep the pace with the guys on their modern 29ers. Hope you enjoyed your time in Austria and maybe if you come more east we could meet in person one time

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

great story about your trip to Kitzbühel, and chapeau that you keep the pace with the guys on their modern 29ers. Hope you enjoyed your time in Austria and maybe if you come more east we could meet in person one time

Defo, in fact I should be in Vienna in December...watch this space.

You told me at the time that the (somewhat expensive) case was an investment for the future, and you are definitely true to your word, but it makes my toes curl when I think of what could go wrong with taking such an iconic bike on holiday.

Cheers Pip. If you think that's bad, you might want to sit down when you see this...

My instagram caption to these was "I'm fine, no really I'm fine"

 

[Pipmeister]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

Cheers Pip. If you think that's bad, you might want to sit down when you see this...

:shock: :shock: :facepalm: - OH NO! For F###'# Sake! - :facepalm: :shock: :shock:

Now sitting down!

Pip.

 

[magas]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

great story about your trip to Kitzbühel, and chapeau that you keep the pace with the guys on their modern 29ers. Hope you enjoyed your time in Austria and maybe if you come more east we could meet in person one time

Defo, in fact I should be in Vienna in December...watch this space.

Vienna is enough east for me - let me know when you are there.

I'm sure the Explosif enjoyed the fresh breeze and the view outside of the gondola

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

I was going to write a load of waffle about my riding experiences but looking at these pictures, I think it's pretty clear what they were: pain and pleasure! Immense pleasure!

It really sparked me into riding more. I had so much fun - it's why we do this.

The one thing I will say is this. This is no garage queen - clearly It came to me worn, it'll stay worn and it'll be used for what it was intended for - to be ridden, and ridden hard*

(the highest I've ever been on a bike and ever cycled all the way up - just over 2000m, 1400m'ish of climbing)

(and this is why I had 2 punctures in succession: 20 year old rubber + 25 degree heat + 30-40mph decent over 30 mins long)

(this section was mental but so much fun, going back and trying different lines until I could get down piece by piece)

(after run 2)

(let's go back up!)

(after run 3 - survived )

*as hard as I can ride it at least!

And just a little addition, to do something more sedate, I jumped off one of those mountains. But that's another story ;-)

 

[mk one]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

nice pics, though you cant really go wrong with a backdrop like that

I just noticed looking at these pics how low down the tube the kona decal is. Are they all like this or is it just because of the custom paint? is it even a decal come to mention it or is it paint too?

And what do you mean jumped off the mountain? BASE or paraglider? Intrigued now

Mark

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

I just noticed looking at these pics how low down the tube the kona decal is. Are they all like this or is it just because of the custom paint? is it even a decal come to mention it or is it paint too?

So my theory on this is that due to the late production of these frames, right into knee deep 1998 territory, that the painters were Enigma not Velographics. I don't think they had much time and / or hadn't painted the rasta flames livery before. As a consequence, the attention to the previous design wasn't quite as accurate as it could have been.

Why the change-over? That's a looong story...see the Caldera thread for more

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=337664

That said, the quality of the paint is top draw. The flames have been properly sprayed, layered and stenciled; there are no decals involved unlike the stars and bars A'ha vs. Hot (and the white oval parts).

Also remember the head-tube decal is a 1998 design, the rest 1997. For example, the 1998 down-tube decals have a wider outline, which I don't like as they lose the definition.

And what do you mean jumped off the mountain? BASE or paraglider? Intrigued now

The latter

 

[al-onestare]

Re:

I do love the smell of 20 year old rubber in the morning

(I should add I do have a brand new pair of blackwall XCs for proper riding)

 

[PeteC]

Re: Kona Explosif 1997 team edition: epic bike, epic trails P21

I need to get out of North America more often!

How's the Z2 holding up after the rebuild? Still plush, I hope?

 

[shedobits]

Re:

Hmm,' think I want another Kona.