Submitted by
Drftn280zxt
a Downhiller
from las vegas, NV, USA
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2009
Strengths: Strong frame, great components, good suspension geometry. Very good for being flexible between XC and DH
Weaknesses: Rear Air Shock does not handle DH abuse very well. Schrader valve started leaking just a few months after riding. Replaced with a coil over shock. Marzochhi AM4 fork is too stiff no matter what the air pressure combination you use. Not a good fork for rough terrain.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent bike for a first time full-suspension rider. For a tame all mountain rig this is a bargain for all the high quality components. I modified my bike pretty quickly soon after purchasing. The AVID JUICY 3's with 6" rotors did not have sufficient power capabilities for my riding. This bike is a little on the heavy side for a XC rig. If you plan on occasionally riding downhill trails you can't go wrong with this bike. The six inches of specialized FSR travel is nice and plush and will comfortable soak up small drops and jumps. Ride with your rebound on the fork on the slow side and you will receive a fairly plush ride. This bike does everything its supposed to be able to do, and does it well. For costing about half of what a Santa Cruz Nomad does, you are getting a great bike you just don't get top shelf componentry and really plush suspension.
Submitted by
Rich
a Weekend Warrior
from Oviedo, FL
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2008
Strengths: Tough as nails frame. Wheelset holds up to loads of abuse.
Weaknesses: A little heavy for trail riding. The suspension takes a while to get right.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for hard pounding trail riding. The local trail is full of cypress roots and drops and this takes the punishment. I ride a hardtail sometimes and I keep going back to the KHS for the plush ride. I have yet to test it on some serious downhill, but am confident it would do great. An excellent bike for those looking to get into 6" of travel.
Bike Setup: hydro disc, yeti riser bars, rock shocks tora, wtb speed disc, sram drive train
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Matias
a Weekend Warrior
from Santiago, Chile
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2007
Strengths: Solid welds, 3 different travel settings, price.
Weaknesses: Kinda heavy, paint job (design).
Bottom Line:
Do it all frame. When set to travel 5", behaves almost as a hardtail. Set it to 6" travel, and it'll take anything you throw at it. Entry level FS bike that can handle different riding styles. Can be used as an aggressive XC rig,a hardcore AM bike, or as a light freeriding machine. Great as a first FS bike. I'd recommend this bike to anyone.
Strengths: -price ($400 @ adrenalinebikes.com!!!) -ride quality -adjustable travel -stealthy flat grey and black paint -shock (see review of Pearl 3.1) -suspension design
Weaknesses: -finish -not made on this continent
Bottom Line:
I have 6 rides on it now, on all different terrain everything from steep mountain climbs followed by technical descents to riverside side rollers. It rides as good as frames costing 3 times as much. The adjustable travel is convenient, it’s almost like you have 3 bikes in one. The Pearl 3.1 is a good feeling, highly adjustable shock. The finish is thin in places giving it a slightly blotchy appearance if you look real close, and it chips easily, but hey I ride the thing in the forest, not hang it on the wall and stare at it. At $400 the frame is a steal. At twice the price it's still a good deal. If your looking for a do it all FS frame, the KHS AM is the way to go.
Bike Setup: Manitou minute 1, Rockshox pearl 3.1, Sun single track/hope wheels, Avid Juicy 7’s, Sram X drive train = one sweet 30 lbs (on the shop scale) 6” travel all mountain machine.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rome
a Cross Country Rider
from Everett, WA
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2006
Strengths: 4-6" adjustable travel. nice welds. cartridge bearing rear suspension pivots. gusseted headtube. No annoying bobbing when pedaling!
Weaknesses: Weight. This is a heavy frame.
Bottom Line:
I just built up this bike on Saturday, so I am going to test it out on the trail at Norm's Trails in Astoria OR. Test ridden around my house, and it is plush! Updated review to follow.
Favorite Trail: Whoopsie Woodle-Galbraith Mountain Bellingham WA
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: Bob's bicycles
Similar Products Used: 99 DBR X2 (My first FS bike. The monkey motion was annoying.)
Bike Setup: 05 AM1000 frame, Manitou Sherman Slider fork, Cane Creek headset, Forte carbon riser bar, Kona Clump stem, Tektro brake levers, SRAM Attack Shimano compatible grip shifters, Thomson Elite 31.6x367mm seatpost with Forte Fusion saddle, Raceface SRX 73x113 BB, SRAM X-Gen front derailleur, Shimano XT rear derailleur, SRAM 9spd chain, SRAM 12-34 cassette, Shimano PD-M545 pedals, Supergo Launch FR wheelset with Kenda Kinetics Stick-E 2.3" tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from New Jersey
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2006
Bottom Line:
Updated Review- I am loving this bike. Lots of fun, nice and plush. VERY adjustable. Only indication that it is a cheaper frame is overall weight. Welds are nice and clean. I have a Marzocchi All Mountain SL fork with 130mm of travel and this seems to be a perfect fit. Read my review below for more details, I highly reccomend this bike.
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from New Jersey
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2006
Strengths: inexpensive,great quality for the price,proven 4 bar suspension, changeable rear travel 4,5, or 6 inches,Fox VanillaR coil over rear shock
Weaknesses: A little bit on the heavy side but at this price you can't have everything
Bottom Line:
So far this is a great bike. I bought it as a frame set (It was formerly built up, but not used) from bobs-bicycles.com and they could not have been any more helpful.They are also on E-Bay under the seller name betterbikes with a 99.9% rating. When I got the frame, part of the included headset was missing. One phone call later and a new headset was on it's way.With this proven suspension design you can't go wrong. All in all it cost me $1700 to build this bike as specd here.Bob's installed the cranks and pressed the headset cups at no charge too. You can go to the KHS website and click on the 2005 link to see how this bike was origionally set up. I have upgraded everything except the wheelset here and the bike weighs about 33-35lbs. I collected the parts over about two months and assembled the bike as I got the parts.If you are a biker on a budget, this is the way to go. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.
Similar Products Used: Klein Mantra owned, tested Ellsworth Id
Bike Setup: Marzocchi All Mountain SL fork(Paint matches frame but that is not why I got it), Shimano Deore Hydraulic Disc brakes, Sram X9 derailleurs and trigger shifters,Race Face Deus cranks and stem, Alex DM18 All Mountain Wheelset,thompson seatpost
Looking for an XL All Mountain bike for a 6 foot 4 rider (my dad). I just got a heckler for about 1600 but I´m looking for something maybe a little older and cheaper. I have been l Read More »
So I really want to get into mountain biking, so I'm looking at bikes. I have a pretty hardcore BMX background, and experience with a lot of other similar things like snowboarding Read More »
OK, I need to build an AM hardtail for under 1000 dollars. Im thinking transition transAM frame. I know that this is a pain, but if anyone could get me a decent AM component list Read More »
Hey guys ive searched the web until im blue in the face. What are some suggestions for a burly hardtail xc production bike that is around $1000or less. If you have to say well ya k Read More »
