was taking some pics of my old explosif to send to the guy who’s buying it yesterday and i started wondering about the tubing..

How do they form the top tube? Its ovalised vertically at the head tube, but ovalised horizontally at the seat tube end. I was always impressed by this when i got it in 97.

hydroforming possibly????

They hit it from the side at one end and from above at the other.

whats hydroforming. If i google it will i get a simple answer or something i wont understand??? And did they use that in ’97 as i never heard it mentioned in brochures until last few years..

Magic.

Hydroforming is where metal is shaped by applying water pressure. It’s used for softer metals like aluminium. It wasn’t used for your Explosif – conventional tube ovalisation is simply a case of taking a round tube and belting it one.

Erm the ’97 explosif was steel and did not use hydroformed tubes …