Kona Explosif back from the painters! 24/03/11

[MikeD]

+1 for the gold/black forks. No gold components, though.

 

[jonnyboy666]

Y'know....... maybe it's just me, but I can see that frame in a bright very metallic lime green.

i like that idea but i have my lime crosswork in guess what, lime green!! and i have my ST4 in neon green and i have my retro clockwork in british racing green, i think i am greened out!! even though i like the idea!

i am leaning towards the gold . . . . but . . . not sure . . . . no rush i suppose.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

Damn I forgot about your Lime crosswork.....

Well that aside, neons are proving popular.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

Ooooooh, just had an idea, perhaps, just perhaps, you could do it in the two colour deco style of the old cruisers and add a 'bathing beauty' on either side a'la WW2 bombers?

 

[Anthony]

In 1991 and 92, all Konas were available in black as well as the 'standard' colour. This seems to have been quite popular, as at least half of the 91/92 Konas you will see are black.

Previously all Konas had been spatter-painted, but Kona had to find a new idea when they lost Paul Brodie, the artist who had been responsible for their 'look' up to that time, and for actually applying the spatter. So they must have been all the more pleased that their black idea proved to be cool in the marketplace.

To my eye, your version of the black with the yellow-spoked wheels is the most successful of the designs you show there, although it would be better still if those 93 P2s were painted black like a 92 P2.

Incidentally, I don't think your bike is an Explosif Pro. I realise that the Explosif Pro in the 92 catalogue was black, but I think that was just to illustrate what the black option looked like. An Explosif Pro could be painted in any colour, so if anything it is less likely that an Explosif Pro would be black than any other model. All of the Explosif Pros I have seen had 1991 frames and 1992 everything else, so my theory is that they made an extra batch of 91 frames for that purpose, or they were unsold 91 frames. Your frame is a 92.

 

[jonnyboy666]

i know it is a 92, i believe that the explosif pro came with xc pro, this one was a built bike that had been stripped of xc pro and hung in the shop for 2 years before i bought it in 94, also, it isn't just black, it has the glitter finish aswel but it doesn't show to well in the pics. the black option was just that, black.

i don't really mind if it isn't, makes no difference, i still like it

 

[mousemat]

i know it is a 92, i believe that the explosif pro came with xc pro, this one was a built bike that had been stripped of xc pro and hung in the shop for 2 years before i bought it in 94, also, it isn't just black, it has the glitter finish aswel but it doesn't show to well in the pics. the black option was just that, black.

i don't really mind if it isn't, makes no difference, i still like it

I had a 1992 Explosif Pro a few years back, it had the full XC Pro groupset and the black paint with the glitter finish. Yours could well be the Explosif Pro. Maybe if you wanted the black option it was a more special black for the Pro?

 

[Anthony]

Up to the 1990 range, Konas were welded in Taiwan and sent to Paul Brodie for final alignment, braze-ons and paint. I don't know who built them into bikes. From the 1991 range onwards, the final alignment, braze-ons and paint was done by Giant. This wouldn't be feasible for an any-colour option, so I assume that the Explosif Pros were shipped in the metal and painted in the USA. I have no idea by whom, but not by Tom Teasdale - he said he had no involvement with Explosifs. So black paint different from standard black (possibly more fragile) is evidence for it being US-painted. I think a T serial number can also be evidence of a 91/2 Explosif Pro.

 

[CTK]

Black with a bit of glitter in it sounds good to me.

Gold could look good but its a bit risky I reckon as it could easily look really really bad.

 

[jonnyboy666]

Up to the 1990 range, Konas were welded in Taiwan and sent to Paul Brodie for final alignment, braze-ons and paint. I don't know who built them into bikes. From the 1991 range onwards, the final alignment, braze-ons and paint was done by Giant. This wouldn't be feasible for an any-colour option, so I assume that the Explosif Pros were shipped in the metal and painted in the USA. I have no idea by whom, but not by Tom Teasdale - he said he had no involvement with Explosifs. So black paint different from standard black (possibly more fragile) is evidence for it being US-painted. I think a T serial number can also be evidence of a 91/2 Explosif Pro.

i was told that the paint on this one is the dupont stuff which suggests america doesn't it, i was told it was one of the last as iirc dupont paint at that time was quite toxic for the sprayers and stopped being used.