Well, I ain't ever gon' find me anything that rare in my size. Soooo.... I'm gonna just steal me that colour scheme for a future modern hardtail build I'm planning. So there.
Cheers dude, yep, I have to agree it's come out really well, even better than expected. For me, the black rims and spokes really look the part. I didn't mention just how good they feel. They cost a fortune back in the day and still command a strong price and for once, the hype matches the performance. The weight difference is remarkable and as result it really did "feel" like I was bombing around more easily and quickly. I'm very fortunate to have 2 wonderful racing pedigree machines
Alasdair’s Retro Builds on Kona Cog makes for some excellent reading - and there is more to come yet! We love Kona for having the Dream Builds section on their site. Does any other bike manufacturer have a web site section that tips a hat to their own history and the bikes that we admire on RB?
I've been privileged to a preview of all of this, but I'm sure you can all guess by now the final installment for the week
So I had an absolute blast last week back in the Forest Of Dean. I spent 3 mornings at the bike park in Cannop ( https://www.fodmtb.com/trails ), spending the first 2 on the blue runs and the last on the reds. I won't spoil it if you haven't been so all I'll say is, you need to go. It's ace!
To the bike, I realise why the Hot's, to a point, were the race bike of choice. Last year I rode the Explosif there so this was as close a comparison I can give so far. The fundamental difference between the two is the rolling abilities. The Hot beats the Explosif, just. The rear - whatever it's made of - has more give and with the CrossMaxs, it's has a little more rolling speed. Where it's down is the power to driver transfer, presumably where the stiffer stays mean absolutely nothing it lost when I turn the pedals.
What does this mean in reality? I'm blessed with 2 incredible riding bikes that push me to the absolute limits as the following pictures show. You might remember I had some similar body shots 2 summers back on the Explosif so it was only right the Hot did the same. Looking back on it, the speed I came into the berm was representative of how comfortable I was feeling. Again, it's relative on an older bike, compared to a 29er I'm sure it's nothing. Anyway, in this case, the berm was an entry point into the next downhill section. It crosses a fire-road. So imagine the banked berm flattening, then going into another angled berm. Standard stuff except the flat part is dry and loose gravel. So I washed out as soon as I hit it. And yes, no damage to the bike....
...apart from the once NOS Smokes which look like they've been eaten into. Proof (again) that 20 year old rubber after 3 days of riding is for garage queens only. Anyway, here's me about to drop in on a red (check out the new Kona Hand-Up gloves which are ACE), then a bit later on nearing the end of the (Freeminers) red loop...man that was good, can I go back please?
