Submitted by
Jason Vallery
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX. Date Reviewed: February 9, 2001
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$700.00
Purchased At:
Bike shop
Weaknesses:
Componets. Bar ends short, and slippery. Petals break when you twist out wrong. Handle bars bend after hard fall. Front shock sucks. Seat does not like pelvic area.
Similar Products Used:
Serval BMX bikes
Bike Setup:
00 Mars C, Time atac standard,and soon I will get new Handlebar,and seat.
Bottom Line:
High end mtb's are a lot more $ than good BMX. For the money the KHS is a reasonable deal. Hovever rember you get what you pay for so if you plan on hard,tec.,abuseive rideing plan on a lot of up grades.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bruce Henry
a Cross Country Rider
from Danville,Va Date Reviewed: November 8, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Local Gravel Roads
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$449.00
Purchased At:
LOCAL/REGIONAL SPORTING CHAIN
Strengths:
Excellent workmanship, no creaks, extreme light weight, rims(Sun Rims)
Weaknesses:
Chain suck, but installed Jump Stop Chain Guide and cured that.No other faults noticed.
Similar Products Used:
N/A
Bike Setup:
Stock with exception of removal of bar ends.
Bottom Line:
What a great bike! I intended to purchase a Diamondback Topanga Comp , but when I saw the KHS 99/Comp instead I quickly changed my mind! The KHS Comp was $100 cheaper, and about 2 1/2 lbs lighter too!
I love this bike, and the more I ride it, think I really made a great choice. My riding is mainly trails, and road/gravel roads,and I am considering changing the irc Mythos tires for the Specialized Hemisphere tires more of an all purpose tire.
Some people have complained about the Power Tools components, but I haven't had any trouble at all. Matter of fact I have found out the maintenance on a bike shop bike is much less than any "dept/toy store bike"!
I would advise anyone considering purchasing this particular model/year bike to buy it, based on my knowledge of it! I rated it excellent based too, on the fact I DONT HAVE TO WORK ON IT ALL THE TIME LIKE ON SOME DEPT STORE BIKE!
I took the bar ends off as soon as I got the bike home, not due to quality, but the fact that I just don't prefer bar ends on my bikes. However still haven't figured what "KHS" stands for??
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Bend, Oregon USA Date Reviewed: October 10, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Phil's Trail
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$537.00
Purchased At:
The Bike Company
Strengths:
Light Weight, Steel Frame, Soft Tail Design, Cost (Same frame as a 2000 Pro ST), Good Fork (Spyder R)
Weaknesses:
Crank, Chain (Chain suck), Power Tools Brake Levers
This bike Rocks. It screams downhill and climbs like a Mt. goat. The Soft Tail design is great. Only get 5/8 to 3/4 of an inch of rear travel. It's plenty, I wouldn't really want to bottom out the rear suspension. The bike handles well, light weight, looks good, inexpensive, what more could want... Compare the 99 to the 2000 model. Much better deal
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Poida
a Weekend Warrior
from Melborne, Australia Date Reviewed: August 25, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Lysterfield
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$180.00
Purchased At:
Bought as a frame only at local bike shop, Hampton
Strengths:
Looks cool(bright orange paint), Soft ride - way less tiring than the now standard Aluminium frames which i have tried.
Weaknesses:
What's this I inch stuff? I doubt that I am getting half an inch! except maybe on some really rough stuff.
Similar Products Used:
FSR
Bike Setup:
Built up myself out of stuff off my old heavy steel bike and some new bits - LX derailluers, rapid fire, Shimano HG freewheel, RST 281's(way too bouncy), Araya rims.
Bottom Line:
Good as an all day ride and takes out some of the shock when doing faster downhill stuff. It is also bloody cheap.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Cheong Ben
a Cross Country Rider
from Singapore Date Reviewed: April 21, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Bt.Timah
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Good price for the set up,great suspension,nice colour,once on the move,you don't believe it weighs 27 lbs!even after 4hrs ride still going strong.
Weaknesses:
stock bar end slippery,rim needs frequent adjustment.
Similar Products Used:
specialised fxr,gary fisher
Bike Setup:
all stock part except bar end change to icon graphite.
Bottom Line:
It rides like a bike that is double the price, initially I didn't expect the bike perform well because of it's price, but after a few long rides, I love it so much and start to forget the rest of my bike. the softtail really works well especially when you ride fast on uneven terrian.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary Ab Canada Date Reviewed: March 3, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Nosehill
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Nice ride, great brakes, fairly light, good price making it a good value
Weaknesses:
Lots of chain suck problems with the stock setup. Shifting not as good as I had hoped. A little wippy at high speeds
Similar Products Used:
Fisher Pro Caliber
Bike Setup:
Stock except for riser bars and chain upgrade
Bottom Line:
The softtail makes a big but subtle difference. I find the ride doesn't seem much smoother but I am going a hell of a lot faster than I used to. When decending the frame gets a little twitchy at hight speeds. This might be due to the fact I weigh 250lbs so lighter riders may not notice this. Bike rides lighter than it really is. The shifting is disapointing though. I may migrate my old bikes rear deraileur and thumb shifters over.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mike
a Cross-Country Rider
from bedford Date Reviewed: December 29, 1999
Favorite Trail:
jacks lake
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
excellent componetry for the price. Smooth shifting. beautiful manitou spyder scocks with 3.5 inches of travel
Weaknesses:
I find that the toe clips are too short for my feet, i wear a size 13 sneaker
Similar Products Used:
00000000000
Bike Setup:
i preveously owned a iron man bike by huffy, it was heavy and the parts sucked ( sis ) except the only good thing it had were rapid fire shifters
Bottom Line:
Over all i think this is a great bike for the price and the parts are good lx rear derailer, alievo front, stx-rc rapid fire shifters. I only paid $ 775 canadian for the bike also the weight of the bike is excellent 20-21 pounds
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott Nearing
a Cross-Country Rider
from Fairfax, VA Date Reviewed: November 24, 1999
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Good component mix for price.
Weaknesses:
rear 'shock'
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
stock Soft Tail Comp
Bottom Line:
My rear elastometer compresses to yield only about 1/4 inch of travel then ther unit locked up. The dealer sent the 'shock' to KHS, the same unit returned with a stiffer elastometer. This one then compressed to about 1/4 inch.The bike is back at the dealer. Poor design? Defective shock or frame? 190lbs am I just too heavy? (my guess) The bike performed very good initialy, the few off road rides were great!But it was bought as a commuter and has been broken for as long a period as it has workewd as expected/advertised.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ernie Hetrick
a Cross-Country Rider
from Anchorage, Alaska Date Reviewed: September 13, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Resurrection Trail
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Great compromise between hard tails and mushy or expensive suspended bikes
Weaknesses:
At 145 lbs, I only get 5/8 travel. The damn hard racing seat. It doesn't look as bitchin' cool as my wife's Mrazek.
Okay - I'm a little off base here - I've got the KHS Team ST, which is the same frame as the Comp, but comes with full LX components. I upgraded to a Marzochhi Z2 Alloy shock. Price $1100.
Bottom Line:
This bike does just what I wanted it to. Even 5/8 travel of the rear really changes the ride from a hard tail, especially on a really stiff aluminum frame like the Cannondales. I'm looking forward to bumping it up to an inch by drilling some holes in the elastomer shock. The small, simple travel shakes out the nerve rattling stuff, keeps the back hooked up bettter, but doesn't squat or pogo.It's not a fly-weight bike, but it's dropped at least 10lbs from my old GT. I like the flex of the True Temper OXII frame (read chromoly, not AL).Overall, this is a real soft ride, not just a soft tail, and I can put in 8 hours without getting whipped by the trail.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Clarence
a Weekend Warrior
from Wellington, New Zealand Date Reviewed: July 2, 1999
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
Great components for the money.
Weaknesses:
Slippery bar ends.
Bottom Line:
Great value. Comfortable ride due in part to 3/4 rear shock travel (1 claimed by manufacturer)and plush Manitou Spyder R. Good components for the money eg. LX deraillers. Will give 5 stars for the time being as it is almost ideal and it looks so cool! I have not ridden it much yet so time will tell. The house branded bar ends could do with some threading for better grip.
Overall Rating:
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