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Kona Explosif Steel Mountain Bike Frame
The unloaded complete bike
The 2008 Kona Explosif Frame is a lightweight steel frame offering excellent acceleration and power transfer. The calibre of the design stands out from other frames I’ve used. It is a high end frame and normally retails around the £500 mark.
The 2010 model is described thus on the Kona Website:-
The bike has a short, tucked in rear triangle which gives responsive handling and excellent maneuverability. I got the frame in a British racing green colour which was also good for camouflage in green environments- useful for camping inconspicuously.
Tom riding in Georgia
For touring, steel is the optimal material because it has more ‘give’ compared to aluminium. If steel breaks then it can usually be welded by the local welder in the most far flung village. Model aluminium frames are usually constructed from an aluminium alloy which is difficult to weld without specialist equipment.
About using steel Kona say:-
the slender tubing gives the Explosif an elegant appearance
The frame has sliding, removeable/replaceable aluminium CNC’ed horizontal dropouts. The benefit of this for touring is that the gear hanger is more durable (and replaceable- not usually a feature on steel frames), the bike can be easier botched into a singlespeed if the gears get mangled, and the frame is reinforced around this area with the additional bolted on piece.
Overall the Explosif is a reliable, thoroughbred frame choice. It is excellent for touring, but the frame size does come up a little small so make sure you test the size before going touring.
Here is a link to the information page on Konaworld.
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