just got finished checking out the new lineup for 2005, and was intrigued by the lack of true temper ox platinum this year. it seems kona went for dedacciai cro-moly instead (unit). so my question is, are there any advantages to the dedacciai, or was it just cheaper? i thought true temper was a pretty high end steel, stronger when torched and relatively light-weight. what's the deal with the dedacciai? i know they make good steel, but it seems like kona is using their lowest grade. just wondering.

the_dude

Without knowing the exact tubeset Kona is using from Dedacciai, it's hard to compare to OX Platinum. However, Dedacciai is a very high end tube maker in Italy. I'm ridin a road frame with their EOM 16.5 steel tubing and it's an incredible riding frame. Best steel frame I've ridden. Dedacciai and True Temper are essentially equivalent sources for steel tubing. If Kona switched, I'm sure the reason is very good. Some of the world's best road frames are made with Dedacciai tubing.

 

thanks for the response mike. i've seen more than a handful of beautiful road frames made from dedacciai tubes, and i know they make excellent quality steel. i just wasn't sure where the tubesets they're using now stack up against other types of steel. you're rigth though, i'm sure kona had a good reason to switch. thanks again.

the_dude

 

It looks like Dedacciai has three steel tube grades EOM 16.5, SAT 14.5 & COM 12.5. The Unit is SAT 14.5 the middle grade. In comparison the Bianchi SASS is the value grade COM 12.5.

Here is a site that will explain more: http://www.bringheli.com/dedacciai.html

 

Aren't the Bianchi SS frames almost 1 pound lighter?

I'm trying to choose a SS frame right now and I like the Units but can't decide if I should get a 2004 or 2005 frame. Apparently the only differences are the steel and color. The color doesn't matter since I'll probably repaint it anyway. Weight matters to me and so does ride quality. Joe mentioned that the SAT tubing is easier to bend and he said something about ride quality but stopped short of saying it is better than OX. If the ride quality was the same but one weighed less than the other, this would help in my decision. Does anybody have any info?

 

Have you checked to see if a 2004 Unit is available in your size? I was told by the LBS I dealt with there weren't any in my size so the choice was simple. I liked the blacked out components on the 05 anyway and the Radar Green has a bold look! Now as far as ride is concerned either one is an excellent grade steel. I have the OX Platinum in a road bike and it is great - however so is the Dedacciai SAT 14.5 on the Unit!

I didn't have a problem going to the Deda even though I was not able to ride a Unit before I bought it. I had rode a Bianchi SISS the dealer had, which is made out of the COM 12.5 that is under the SAT 14.5. The rear triangle and I do believe that includes the seat post is Kona proprietary chromoly for strength and price purposes.

Let me say this, the LBS was very impressed with the design of the frame as I was. The shape of the down tube and the surface area for the attachment to the BB is robust! The seat stays and chain stays are manipulated which helps with shock absorbing along with the natural qualities of steel as with the triple butting of the front fork. This bike comes together very well!

Hope this helps - good luck!

 

I'm trying to choose a SS frame right now and I like the Units but can't decide if I should get a 2004 or 2005 frame. Apparently the only differences are the steel and color. The color doesn't matter since I'll probably repaint it anyway. Weight matters to me and so does ride quality. Joe mentioned that the SAT tubing is easier to bend and he said something about ride quality but stopped short of saying it is better than OX. If the ride quality was the same but one weighed less than the other, this would help in my decision. Does anybody have any info?

I did stop short of saying it was better than the OX -- that's because i'm not sure if it is or not. The TrueTemper stuff was very nice, and i loved my '04 Unit. I have not yet ridden an '05 Unit, so i don't want to state an uneducated opinion as fact.
The shaping of hte tubes is very cool, and based on my limited knowledge of steel, should create a slightly more compliant ride vertically. The frames weight the same, so that's not an issue either way.
All in all, i'd imagine them to be very similar, and the same weight. The ones we got in sold out extremely quickly, so shops don't seem to be concerned, and we are getting more in as soon as we can.
Hopefully this helped, but as always, if you have more questions, feel free to ask or post them on here.
Thanks again, guys!
Joe.

 

I thought this thread was interesting. I wonder if anybody has started riding their Deda. Units yet? How is it?

 

I am absolutely intrigued at this question and although there is plenty of priase for the True Temper OX Platinum tubing, I haven't seen any specifically for "Dedacciai Cro-Mo" tubing sets. Any input? Pricing differences between the two for the tubing sets for the framebuilder - are we really talking just a couple dollars or hundreds?

 

I think one thing to bear in mind is that Kona standards have changed over the years. If you look at the spec for a 97 Explosif, it states quite clearly that the entire frame was made of Columbus Max Nivacrom, including the stays. If you look at the spec for a 2004 Explosif, the headline news 'True Temper OX Platinum' actually refers only to the top and down tubes, the rest of the frame was proprietory 4130 cromoly. TTBOMK, they haven't ever published the specs of the Dedecciai frames, but it wouldn't surprise me if they similarly used only two Deda tubes. They also fluctuated from one year to the next as to whether the Deda tubes used were SAT14.5 or the cheaper COM12.5.

As was stated in the thread, Dedacciai is a superb tube maker, equal to True Temper. In each case, SAT14.5 and OX Platinum were their highest mtb tubesets, and I would say so nearly equal in quality that you wouldn't be able to notice any difference.

Of course, the Explosif appears to have been phased out for 2009 and while the Unit survives, it is now made with Kona tubing not Dedacciai.