Submitted by
cris gaston
a Weekend Warrior
from philippines
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2007
Strengths: terribly simple, with its single pivot design. Can't feel any significant bob, but that didn't matter when i changed the shock to a float RL, durable, bearings seem a lot bigger than the one sta cruz uses. The bottom bracket is 73 mm which gives a little more space to reinforce the shell with bracings. Very rugged tubings and swingarm. Low maintenance-- i hardly tinker with it.
Weaknesses: heavy; tubes are somewhat bigger than standard- 34.9 seat tube, 73mm BB shell which are somewhat rare in my country; the stratos rear shock blew out after a year of light use. CAble housing rubs the head tube paint raw.
Bottom Line:
despite its weight, this bike gives you a feeling of indestructibility. The tubes are bigger than average, and the swingarm is really beefy. Even the bearings are oversized; there's less flex due to the single pivot design. If durability is your main criteria, not weight or bling, and have little time for maintenance, this is a good bike for you.
Similar Products Used: giant nrs, specialized fsr xc
Bike Setup: manitou black platinum fork, fox float AVA RL shock, lx/xt derailleurs, deore shifters, araya 810 rims, juju 32 hole hubs, specialized pedals and tires, shimano 440 cranks, hg 73 chain
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
WIll
a Weekend Warrior
from Layton, Utah
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2006
Strengths: The bike fits my riding style and budget perfectly. The frame design feels solid and is equipped with adequate components.
Weaknesses: The fork is rather stiff, but for the price I paid I can't complain. A new fork would cost almost as much as the bike. I don't like the placement of the cables across the top tube. I am getting a lot of cable rub where the cables run. Disk brakes work great, but require a lot of maintenance to keep them true.
Bottom Line:
I am having a blast riding this bike. It is a great entry level bike that won't break the bank. I enjoy riding singletrack at the local ski resorts and the XC trails throught Utah. So far the bike has held up extremely well. As my skills grow I will probably want to move on to a more advanced rig, but for now I am enjoying the ride.
Bike Setup: Stock setup other than XT rear derailleur.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jeremy C
a Cross Country Rider
from Seneca, SC
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2006
Strengths: Soo much better than the commuter bike I used to ride around. I'm 6'4" and around 250 and with the exception of the rims seems to handle my weight quite nicely. Really seemed good for the price I paid.
Weaknesses: Rims could be better. I bent the stock rims within maybe 3 rides. Buy some Rhynolites. (keep in mind my weight and that my bike's a 2004 version, could be different now). Also had some problems shifting at first. Replaced the shifter cables with a Flak Jacket set and this made a huge improvement. The seatpost bent. Also, the fork that comes with the bike is kind of weak and doesn't travel as far as claimed.
Bottom Line:
Ok, it may seem like I whine about this bike a lot and have replaced a lot of parts. Seriously though, I really love this bike. With the upgrades that I thought I really needed (excluding pedals) I'd say it was around $700, still a bargain. If you want something to get you into a more serious bike but don'want to spend TOO much money this would be a good bike. I give this 5 for value, and 3 for overall simply because I haven't ridden a lot of other bikes. This bike seems great to me, but if you're spending 5X I'm sure there's something better out there.
Strengths: Very strong, proven design (SC Superlight etc)
Weaknesses: Relatively heavy, No rear rim brake capability.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike. For the money I think it's one of the best bikes available, especially for the frame. You could buy a Santacruz Superlight frame for this design and save some weight but you could spend as much or more for the frame than you would for this entire bike.
I upgraded the components on this bike to shave some weight but it's still heavier than my old Giant ATX 990.
I believe KHS has now gone to the NRS style shock on all of their XC frames but you can still find 2004 models for a good price.
Similar Products Used: KHS XC 304 (2003), Giant ATX 990
Bike Setup: Mavic Disc 223's, XT front and rear derailleurs, Monkeylite EC70 riserbar, Raceface Stem and Post, WTB Laser V Saddle, Panaracer Trailblasters, Shimano m580 LX Crankset.
Strengths: Super strong, takes big hits, corners nicely. Good acceleration. Great for high-speed sinle track.
Weaknesses: Fron fork is pretty good, but I would have preferred a manitou black. U-turn feature is quite nice.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike, amazing value. Pretty much does it all from single track to downhill condiditions. For the price, the overall value cannot be beat. I ride it on a local downhill course and as well single track with killer hills. Would highly recommend it to anyone!!!
Similar Products Used: santa cruz, cannondale jekyll
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Submitted by
Peter Graham
a Cross Country Rider
from Brisbane Qld. Australia
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2004
Strengths: Amazingly strong rear suspension setup.. and excellent all around XC bike that does well on the street rides as well. The feel of the ride is comparable to that of its specialiazed and kona counter parts.
Weaknesses: Could have a better front fork.
Bottom Line:
A great bike for the money .. and capable of much more then just XC riding. You could easily pay 4 to 5 hundred more for a bike of with the same fittings. After riding alot specialized and Kona bikes I found the KHS to be an amazingly awesome all around ride. Two thumbs up!
Submitted by
andrew
a Weekend Warrior
from Fullerton
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2004
Strengths: Solid Welds, large quality Tubes, smooth suspension, very nice downhill plushness. good braking system. comes with a 8" front hayes Rotor and 6" in rear.
Weaknesses: weight, weak choice of frork its a RockShox Judy SL u-turn. at least a Psylo would have been better..
Bottom Line:
This bike is by far the best deal for the price and is capable of handling almost anything you can dish out from cross county and single track riding improve the fork and you'll be good to ride flat out downhill terrain! This is the perfect bike for the weekend warrior who is into all different types of riding!
Since I dont have a lot of money to spend, I have to choose between these 2 frames. Jamis dakar xc pro 2004 or KHS xc 304 2003. Both used of course, but no damages besides the usua Read More »
Anyone happen to know what size of pivot bearings I need, or what the bearing no. might be? This is the old Superlight-knockoff model, not the new rocker beam one.
I popped off Read More »
Looking to, at the very least, upgrade the spring on my RockShox Deluxe or more preferrably replace it with something (anything) better. Seems it's reached the end of it's adjustab Read More »
