Frame Question: Kona Explosif, Joe Murray?
Chris
with the name Joe Murray on them are hand made? Is this considered a good
frame?
Thanks in advance, Chris.
Graham Pollock
The Kona Explosif used to be Kona's top-of-the-line steel hardtail frame. I
haven't looked at their products in the last couple of years so this may no
longer be true.
I'm not sure what you mean by "hand made" - do you mean is it a custom frame
? Kona makes frames in stock sizes, not (to my knowledge) custom ones.
I have a 1993 Kona Explosif and I love the sloping top tube - it provides
lots of room for manouvering around. The frame has lasted me well, and I've
no complaints with the frame itself. The original parts wore out many years
ago - the only original components that remain are the stem and Suntour
thumbshifters...
This was my first expensive mountain bike and I still regard the frame as
one of the best I have ever ridden.
regards,
Graham
Chris
<graham_...@agilent.com> wrote:
> Chris wrote:
>
> > Can anyone tell me if Kona Explosifs made with Tange Prestige tubing and
> > with the name Joe Murray on them are hand made? Is this considered a good
> > frame?
> >
> > Thanks in advance, Chris.
>
> The Kona Explosif used to be Kona's top-of-the-line steel hardtail frame. I
> haven't looked at their products in the last couple of years so this may no
> longer be true.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by "hand made" - do you mean is it a custom frame
> ? Kona makes frames in stock sizes, not (to my knowledge) custom ones.
> Graham
I was out riding the other day and mentioned the bike, which is my
brothers, to this guy riding a Kona Hot. He was the one that said that it
may be one of the hand built ones. Are all Konas welded by hand or by
machine?
My brother is thinking of getting a slightly larger frame and I was
thinking of buying the Kona from him.
Thanks again, Chris
Darren Wadden
I may be wrong, but I believe the Hot was the top-of-the-line steel
frame. It was hand welded in the US and custom painted. The Explosif was
the next-to-top-of-the-line model and was made in Asia somewhere.
I really liked the Joe Murray Explosif (my friend has one), so in '95 I
bought an Explosif as well (Columbas Max tubing, after Joe Murray left
Kona). The only difference I really noticed was the effective top tube
length is 3/4" longer on my bike than on my friends. (23.5" on '95
Explosif and 22.75" on Joe Murray Explosif).
Both are nice bikes.
--
Darren Wadden
Semiconductor Test Engineering
MOSAID Technologies Inc.
(613) 599-9539 x1435 'wad...@mosaid.com'
Graham Pollock
> I was out riding the other day and mentioned the bike, which is my
> brothers, to this guy riding a Kona Hot. He was the one that said that it
> may be one of the hand built ones. Are all Konas welded by hand or by
> machine?
> My brother is thinking of getting a slightly larger frame and I was
> thinking of buying the Kona from him.
>
> Thanks again, Chris
My 1993 Explosif wasn't manufactured in the US, it was built in Taiwan - but
don't let that put you off, it is an extremely well-made frame. I rode it for 3
race seasons and crashed heavily on it many times ( I never said I was any good
!) - the top tube has the usual dings where the brake levers hit in a crash and
I've bent the rear derallier out of true twice, both times it was fixable with a
bit of heat treatment at the LBS.
I've heard of problems with later Explosifs ( around1997-98 if my fading memory
serves me right) - cracking bottom brackets was the problem there.
I haven't heard of the Kona Hot - is it a recent model ? - I can't find it on
Kona's web site. I'm originally from the UK (now living in California) and I
don't remember such a model being available there.
BTW, according to Kona's web site the 2001 Explosif is no longer made from
steel...
regards,
Graham
bourned
number. Very nice indeed. It was the top of the line steel frame for Kona at
the time. I think mine is a 94, according to Kona. Not sure when they
stopped producing the hot but it's definitely not in their lineup any
longer.
I've not been able to find a web reference for the Kona model lineup earlier
than about 98, if anyone knows of one or has a catalogue with the hot in it
I'd be interested to hear from them.
Duncan Bourne
Thomas Letherby
<graham_...@agilent.com> writes
>I haven't heard of the Kona Hot - is it a recent model ? - I can't find it on
>Kona's web site. I'm originally from the UK (now living in California) and I
>don't remember such a model being available there.
>
>BTW, according to Kona's web site the 2001 Explosif is no longer made from
>steel...
In 99 it was 853 steel, moving to Scandium in 2000 and 2001. There is
going to be a Special Edition steel Explosif frame made though, to be
sold only as a frame, And possibly in a limited run.
I'm nowhere near work though so I can't double check it.
--
Thomas Letherby
www.cyclesurgery.com
Abscess
belive I forgot when I purchased it). Mine has a trick paint job. The bike is
painted 2 different colors, split (one side a shade of blue, the other a shade
of green).