2017 Kona Big Honzo…
…and the 1994 Kona Explosif.
Dave tells us, “Whilst building the Explosif and in-between bike I needed a modern bike that I could use daily and enjoy, so the Big Honzo came about and went for the same color and decal style as the Explosif.”
Having ridden a ’94 Kona Kula in the early days of mountain biking – Dave recently flicked through an original 1994 Kona catalogue and decided to start the hunt for the Explosif frame and period parts that he couldn’t afford back then.
On the Explosif, he went with the Answer Atac stem, and Kona Control Centre headset…
USE handlebars, along with classic Bull Horn bar ends, and Suntour XC Pro thumbies.
We don’t know what what’s better, this classic Manitou 3 fork, or these wheels…
…DT Swiss Hugi hubs laced with twisted spoes to Mavic M231 CD rims.
Panaracer Smoke & Dart tires…
And these beautiful Tektro cantilever brakes.
Shimano XT M737 (left) and, 20 years of development later Shimano XT M8100 (right).
Hope Titanium bottom bracket and Middleburn RS3 chainset complete the drivetrain.
Same, but different…
The attention to detail is remarkable Dave.
Brakes look a bit different these days, these Magura MT Trail SL brakes are quite a bit more powerful.
The Kona Big Honzo sports a RockShox Pike Ultimate at 150mm.
The bike sports a Mavic XA 35 Pro Carbon wheelset, and Teravail Coronado 27.5 x 3 tires.
The stem got a lot shorter, OneUp Components stem, handlebar, and grips round out the cockpit.
Dropper posts are pretty neat as well, Dave went with a classic 180mm Oneup dropper for the Honzo.
Thank you for sharing your dream builds with us and the world Dave!
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