The Kona Explosif was the edgy steel hardtail before it was edgy to ride steel hardtails. It has evolved into a 650b trail bike, but it’s still a hardtail, still single-speed-ready, and of course still steel.
It makes sense that most
rigid bikes we’ve seen over the last decade have been 29ers. They offer some
much-needed plushness in rocky or rough terrain. But the trails of our dreams
and of our Instagram feeds are usually glassy waves of hard-packed earth that
ask more of a bike’s handling than of its plushness. Thankfully, this is a
post-650b world, and we hardtail owners can once again choose the bike that
best suits our conditions.
The Explosif has a
smart, straightforward spec, though I quickly swapped out the relatively narrow
730-millimeter bar. The wheels come tubeless ready, and the frame provides for
internal or external dropper post cable routing. It even comes with Shimano SPD
pedals. The rest of the mostly SLX parts are about normal for a $2,200
hardtail, but this bike seemed anything but normal.
The short but sweet
undulating clay traverses just out my back door took on a unique personality on
this machine. On terrain that I had once reserved for feathery carbon 29ers,
the 31-pound Explosif felt surprisingly light under foot. Its lively
acceleration and tight geometry begged for steez as though it were on a
pumptrack.
The adjustable
dropouts were aimed at single-speeders, but they can also tighten that geometry
even further. With the dropouts slammed to 16.5 inches, there’s still ample
clearance for a fat tire and front derailleur. And with the snug rear end, the
bike was even more playful and the steeps were even more comfortable.
This Explosif logged
some of its finest moments navigating loose, rutted slopes that many trail
advocates would dare call unsustainable. It’s refreshingly easy to whip the
frame through tight, hairy sections. For better or worse, modern standards like
the 142x12 rear axle and tapered headtube mute some of that classic steel
springiness. What’s left is a predictable front and rear end but a subtle,
bouncy yield when diving into corners. On the right trail, this bike embodies
what we used to love about our hardtails. They’re quick, responsive and
now totally edgy.
PRICE 2200$
