Titanium Explosif

[Anthony]

I don't see the problem with using the Ti Explosif name. The last couple of Explosifs they made were much less true to the older ones, even though they were steel. Heavy generic non-heat-treated steel is further away in its ride characteristics from Columbus Max than titanium is, but they weren't criticised then for putting the Explosif name on a Lava Dome-standard frame (and charging an Explosif price for it).

The problem I have with this is the five degree difference between the head and seat angles. I don't see how you can build a good bike with that mix. And 27.5 inch is expensive to build wheels for and could easily be a passing fad.

I think the design reason for bent down tubes like that stems from integrated headsets and the consequent danger of some designs of fork crown hitting the tube.

 

[jonnyboy666]

fair point about more recent explosif bikes/frames

what i like to see as a brand develops is something understandable as a change for a particular model.

BITD it seemed to go lighter each year till they hit a point where there was a limit, then it was suspension, then it was discs but each time they did this with good reason as technology developed but the aim for the bike remained pretty much the same, an XC bike

in this case, they have taken a name which has been attached predominantly to a steel top end XC based frame, changed the material it's known for, changed the wheel size (it's gonna stick i think), changed the geometry from XC to a more abuse orientated style, added ISCG tabs, then been indecisive as to who it's aimed at by giving a sliding rear end with rear mech mount so it covers all potential bases which i think they did as they don't know who wants to buy it!

i just think it's too much change in one go on a particular model/known name

in all honesty i'm not bothered as such, i'm not in the market for this type of frame for many reasons, the only reason i'm typing about it is it just seems weird to me for them to have done this again with a well known name. i could understand it more if they had an explosif available in steel, had never used the name hei hei, and then called the titanium model "explosif ti" right from the word go but only if they were the exactly the same other than material.

 

[tintin40]

Not really a proper one though is it.. It just a name now with no relation to what it used to be and what it meant.

agree.

 

[haggis]

I think the essence of the Explosif is still there. A bike that you can comfortably rag about the hills all day? Check.

 

[Anthony]

in all honesty i'm not bothered as such, i'm not in the market for this type of frame for many reasons, the only reason i'm typing about it is it just seems weird to me for them to have done this again with a well known name. i could understand it more if they had an explosif available in steel, had never used the name hei hei, and then called the titanium model "explosif ti" right from the word go but only if they were the exactly the same other than material.

I think you can get too hung up on the frame material. This bike couldn't properly be called a Hei Hei because Hei Hei means 'race' and this is in no way a race bike. The first-generation Hei Hei was their top race bike and the current-generation Hei Hei is one of their top race bikes now, so that's a good use of the Hei Hei name.

The Explosif started out as a race bike, but gradually migrated from 98 onwards into a general purpose xc bike and more recently into a heavy-duty role like a P7. This seems like a superior form of that, although again I would guess nobody contributing here knows what kind of ti bike it is. You can build a ti frame light and compliant, or you can build it for strength and as stiff as hell. I would guess this is more towards the latter end of the spectrum, which again would make the Ti Explosif name quite appropriate, and hugely more so than calling it Hei Hei.

 

[Grannygrinder]

£1700 frame only seems a little excessive!!!

 

[Barneyballbags]

what does surprise me though is the ISCG mounts on the BB shell, which suggests a more abuse orientated bike, but titanium tends to be bought by more XC orientated people, also by people who can afford titanium, meaning not usually younger people, younger people who might want the ISCG mount might not beable to afford titanium so to me the ISCG mounts seem pointless.

Not necessarily. Lots of XC/trail riders run 1x9/1x10 and run a bashguard and chain tensioner up front. Lots of lightweight chain tensioners use an ISCG mount.

 

[haggis]

£1700 frame only seems a little excessive!!!

King Kahuna frame was £1600 14 years ago so i wouldnt say it was expensive. Theyre obviously using a better tubeset and with better detailing than with the Raijin at around £1200.

Same as what they did with the Hei Hei and KK BITD

 

[yo-eddy]

aesthetically i tend to agree, i think it looks rubbish. advantages, stiffness and fork clearance are 2 things i can think of.

Stiffness doesn't increase with a bend downtube, fork clearance can be achieved in an easier and cleaner way too (just make the headtube a tiny bit longer at the bottom).... so why the bends? ...... I dunno
This is how I prefer it:

 

[al-onestare]

Interesting thread. Linked to this, the press are going crazy for the Process bikes and from what I'm seeing and reading, there seems to be a turn-around in perception on the Kona brand today.

I'm pleased that there're getting some credit and that some of the mistakes of the past are being corrected. To be honest, I don't care if the Explosif is Ti or steel; the fact you can still buy either is cool in my book. What I do find odd are the variances in wheel size but that's a much bigger issue and not restricted to Kona!

Has anyone ridden the Process? Is it any good? I can't quite believe the prices of them - and that goes for all bikes in this space - how can anyone justify that much for a new bike? For £3-4k I'd want something that would cook my dinner, read my mind and get me out of bed, along with such a flawless ride I could enter the world championships and come 1st without peddling. Kinda puts my budget and wish list of old Hot's and Hei Hei's into perspective!

My LBS were approached by Kona to be a stockist from 2014 and luckily for my wallet they said no as they don't have the room. I did get to browse through the 2014 brochure which is made into the style of an old skool 1980's football annual; hard backed, big glossy pictures, nice quality paper. The Explosif was the first one I turned to