Retro Kona names resurrected

[Anthony]

Indeed, had noticed that. Somebody in the other thread was bemoaning the Explosif being turned into a sliding dropout beefcake thingy, and I agree.

Plastic comment was tongue in cheek, but I stand by it...always liked the fact that the Kil was never remade into alu/scan versions like the Caldera, Explosif (at one point), Hei Hei and so on. Kilauea meant (good) steel. Now it doesn't, necessarily.

The Explosif has had sliding dropouts since 2004, and I guess with a marginal model in an area where there's quite a lot of SS interest, it's unrealistic to think it wouldn't have. How much that adds to the weight I don't know, but it must contribute something to the Explosif having grown to around 5lbs by 2007.

Steel I like, but a 5lb all-rounder doesn't really live up to the meaning of the Explosif name IMO. When the Explosif first came out, it was a race bike, as fast as anything on the course, and that justified the name. But really since the 1997 Columbus Max frames, the scandium Explosifs of 2000/01 are the only ones that have passed the 'it does what it says on the tin' test.

Now they have a 2.4lb carbon race frame, and I would say that lives up to the name Explosif, but they've decided to call it Kilauea. BITD, Kilaueas were essentially the same quality as Explosifs and essentially the same weight, but less racy, less stiff, more compliant. You pays your money and you takes your choice, but I was just highlighting the reversal of roles.

Now would I prefer a 2.4lb Kilauea or a 5lb Explosif? Hmmm, unfortunately I shall never know, as I can't afford to find out whether I like the ride of a carbon frame. All I can afford is retro, and I'll continue to enjoy that but (unlike you perhaps Mr Rymer), I wouldn't say no if someone offered me one of those reborn Kilaueas.

 

[Geoff]

The Explosif has had sliding dropouts since 2004, and I guess with a marginal model in an area where there's quite a lot of SS interest, it's unrealistic to think it wouldn't have. How much that adds to the weight I don't know, but it must contribute something to the Explosif having grown to around 5lbs by 2007.

They used to have the Unit for SS duties, then the Explosif ended up being the same frame with different stickers (funnily enough, over here I recall some SS guys being annoyed their warranty replacements for Unit frames were Explosifs in a colour they didn't like)!

Now would I prefer a 2.4lb Kilauea or a 5lb Explosif? Hmmm, unfortunately I shall never know, as I can't afford to find out whether I like the ride of a carbon frame. All I can afford is retro, and I'll continue to enjoy that but (unlike you perhaps Mr Rymer), I wouldn't say no if someone offered me one of those reborn Kilaueas.

If somebody gave me one, name and general fuglyness aside I imagine I'd be very happy to ride it for a year or two. You can bet I wouldn't be confident riding it in 15 years time though... :?

 

[Anthony]

Now would I prefer a 2.4lb Kilauea or a 5lb Explosif? Hmmm, unfortunately I shall never know, as I can't afford to find out whether I like the ride of a carbon frame. All I can afford is retro, and I'll continue to enjoy that but (unlike you perhaps Mr Rymer), I wouldn't say no if someone offered me one of those reborn Kilaueas.

If somebody gave me one, name and general fuglyness aside I imagine I'd be very happy to ride it for a year or two. You can bet I wouldn't be confident riding it in 15 years time though... :?

I hate to mention this Geoff. I really do, honestly, but um, well, err, how's your 14 year old steel seat tube these days?

 

[Geoff]

Structually? Absolutely fine thanks for asking.

A bit ugly until I sort it out, but completely rideable. You've often mentioned yourself how little nice chromoly tubesets seem to corrode. Mine basically had a bit of surface rust on it, but no more.

 

[Anthony]

Oh, I apologise Geoff. From the picture you did, I thought it had a hole in it that had been lurking unsuspected under the fm clamp. Silly me.

Incidentally I did my bits of repair with a mixture of white and yellow (just a little) gloss modelling paint, over Kurust then primer - it came out quite close to pearl white, didn't cost more than a few pennies and didn't take long either.

I do agree that carbon fibre is liable to fail in a lot less than 15 years and steel can last a lifetime, but that's an issue for another forum.

 

[konafan.com]

2004 Unit

Anyone got a 16" 2004 Unit frame that they want to sell? I wanted one of those when they came out. Someone once described that colour to me as "John Major grey"....but I prefer to think of it as battleship grey