Submitted by
david dobson
a Downhiller
from charlotte, nc. usa
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2006
Strengths: great for dual slalom type riding stiff front okay in the rear. this is a great all round bike
Weaknesses: i got one of those romic leakers but they fixed it. i have had to replace the reducer cups because the rer was sloppy. i am a meticulas mech who has been riding for 20 + years the slop is in the eylets on the rocker arm im pissed. gettin a kona stinky next week....
Bottom Line:
except for the slop in the rear end this is a perfect bike for the way i ride. put the seat down and weeeee.. freeride, trail ride, jumps, and urban it can take if set up right. rocker arms $60.00, shock hard ware$30.00. send romic back for rebuild $15.00 cost of being confident on ground of in the air priceless.....
Bike Setup: mavic dee max ust, conti tyres ust, marzocchi all mtn 3, avid juicy 5, truvativ dh bar and stem, grip shift w/shimno drivetrain
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Bill
a Weekend Warrior
from Silverthorne, CO
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2005
Strengths: Burley frame, Well spec'd with the Marz Z1 fork, Romic shock, Hayes brakes, Sun Singltrack rims, Truvativ cranks/BB & XT throughout. 4/5/6" Adjustable travel is a good feature. Makes bike versatile enough to ride trails and lift service bike parks. A couple small details I appreciatted were the thick DH tubes and the QR adjustable seatpost clamp. Oh yeah, PRICE!!
Weaknesses: Stock seatpost, stem, pedals, grips will all need to be replaced. I have had a few problems with chain suck when riding really technical rocky sections at high speeds while at downhill ski areas.
Bottom Line:
KHS makes great bikes for a great price. I highly recomend this bike to anyone who rides trails and downhill resorts and dont want to own 2 seperate bikes!
Bike Setup: Immediately switched to Thomson seatpost and stem, Sun ringle ZuZu pedals, ODI lock-on grips. Added MRP LRP chain guide to help stop chain suck and slap.
Strengths: Super stable at speed, burley, adjustable travel.
Weaknesses: None yet
Bottom Line:
This is an under appreciated frame. This thing rocks! I like to ride this over my other 6 inch bike - AC1 mainly because it feels a bit less "squirrely" on the downs. Not that the AC is bad but this feels more at home. Rear suspension is plush and works without problems. So far, no chainstay breakage problems like 2 of my other bikes have had. This thing takes a beating and comes back for more!
Similar Products Used: AC1, Dakar XLT, TARA wolf ridge
Bike Setup: Stock
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Submitted by
Brown_Teeth
a Cross Country Rider
from Morro Bay CA
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2004
Strengths: Burley frame, very stiff laterally and well suited for cydes or as a first freeride frame. Came with a 750# sprung romic d on the large frame, I'm running 6 inch mode cause my 210# bearly moves the shock if set under 6" mode
Weaknesses: Rear mounting tabs for the disc brakes are not square to the rotor so some work with the file is needed unless you take it to a shop that has the special grinding tool. Its also a heavy frame so you will feel it going uphill but the suspension is very supple and works well with the romic. Actually been able to clear some technical sections I could not with my idrive. Momentum is your friend and the suspension really handles the rocky sections well!
Bottom Line:
Great frame for trail riding, really handles well and hard to knock it off line in the rock gardens. Get some good disc brakes for it cause you will need them, this frame like to plow downhill This frame loves to go 25mph++ and works well with 125mm forks, price was great and the romic has been a pleasent surprise, hope it holds up, I know the frame will its overbuilt and that's GOOOOOD!
Similar Products Used: idrive, single pivot marin, HTs
Bike Setup: '04 XT build, fox vanilla R for in 125mm mode
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Submitted by
John Ulrich
a Weekend Warrior
from hyde park, vt
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2004
Strengths: good brakes, fork, drivetrain...
Weaknesses: not to much
Bottom Line:
awesome bike with plenty travel. nothing really sucks about it. i wouldnt pay more than $1800 for it. the bike is a little on the heavy side but not to bad. steep hills are tough with the suspension and weight so a strictly xc rider might not like it much. jumps really nice and lands perfect.
Submitted by
Albert
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2004
Strengths: For the price, the bike is Spec'd amazingly well. I Also really like the Marz Z1 FR w/ETA.
Weaknesses: Not really sure why the top tube is bent up. It would seem if you are going to bend the top tube at all, it should be bent down, not up. Also, I'm not a big fan of the Hayes HFX 9's that come stock. They are really difficult to get dialed in and are constantly needing adjustment. Keep an eye on the hardware. The head of the screw that inserts into the main pivot linkage broke off on the third ride after taking a small 2-3 foot drop. KHS sent me a new one overnight, so it wasnt a big deal. But, it Could have been dangerous if I didnt notice it right away. Lastly, Romic sent out approx. 200 defective shocks in 03 and some of them found their way onto the KHS FR line. So if you go to adjust the compression and oil leaks out, congrats, you are one of the lucky ones. Send it back to Romic right away, they have great customer service.
Bottom Line:
The geometry allows for a fairly upright, sturdy feeling ride. The bike is fairly heavy compared to a bullit or an AC2, but lighter than the Ironhorse sgs line. So I guess it's middle of the road as far as weight. There was a little more pedal induced bob than I had hoped for when set up with 6" travel, but that decreases if you adjust the travel down to 5 or 4 inches. Thankfully, there is little to NO lateral flex. So don't be affraid to go big. If you buy a KHS FR2000 you are obviously on a budget, like I was, and for what you pay, you get a pretty good deal. Basically, you get a sweet parts package and a descent frame. If your more concerned with overall function and value than you are with flash and perfection this is a great choice!
Similar Products Used: IronHorse SGS pro, ridden but not owned bullits, AC2's, slayers and screams.
Bike Setup: Replaced stem with an AZONIC shorty look-a-like($25 at jenson). Replaced seatpost with a Titec hellbent.(1.5" setback) Replaced large chain ring with an E13 supercharger bashring. Replaced wheelset with Mavic 521's laced to XT hubs. Replaced grips with ODI ruffian lock-ons. Everything else is stock.
Strengths: I'm liking the Romic in the rear, looks great. Z1's rule.
Weaknesses: XT shifters broke. I snapped the fork in 4 months, but maybe it was those 8 foot drops?
Bottom Line:
Great bang for the buck. If you're going big time, upgrade the fork. Anyways, Keep the rear at six inches. If your a rider looking to step it up another level, this is the bike for you.
Strengths: Ok Stregnths are simple for me Cause Im a Bigger rider and this bad boy Came with a heavy Fat size spring to start so that made me happy, solid frame not much flex to it. Bought frame of internet and Put all the aprts off my old ride on it, Adjustabvle rear travel and this Bike can be Lightened up Really quickly for a Beeffy cc set up climbs like mad and takes a beating im a 250 plus guy and i Nailed a 5-6 footer and didnt use all the 6 in the back
Weaknesses: Hmmmmm Prolly the four inch setting in the rear..... anyone who will really like this is going to leave it in the six anyways pretty stiff in the six and might as well be ridig in the four even for as large as i am
Bottom Line:
Boittom line if you want a really decent freeride bike this is most defenetly the way to go i was atually tossing up between this and the Kona stinky when i compared teh frames this one just looked beefier and for a larger rider thats a good thing. Your not going to find something this tough for this Price Specially if you Buy the whole bike component pakage is great only reason i didnt buy whole bike was i got frame for 300 online and liked what i had for components already cept i will be going to a Marz z150 soon just running pyslo cause its what i had
Bike Setup: 1500 framext front and rear derailers xt hubs rhynolite xl Rims 14guage straight spokesRace face Prodigy cranks and bb egg beater Mallot Pedals Psylo xc front fork that i have tuned to fit me with a heavy spring and a 7 wt oil
Strengths: Strength, agility, handling, great components, awesome price
Weaknesses: Poor paint - scratches easily. Plastic XT shifter cracked, but that's nothing to do with KHS.
Bottom Line:
I couldn't believe how inexpensive this bike was when I bought it, and I still can't. It rides better every time I get on it. I ride cross country and downhill, and it is great for both.
38 lbs took some getting used to, and at first I was changing the rear travel a lot. Now I am used to it, I leave it in 6" mode all the time. And I don't notice the weight at all.
Similar Products Used: Giant A/C, BigHit, Dakkar Comp, DirtBag
Bike Setup: Basically stock, but added Azonic Shorty stem, mavic 721/XT rear, rynolite/XT front, WTB MotoRaptors, Easton MonkeyLite handlebar
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Wayd
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney,NSW,Australia
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2003
Strengths: Bike runs well with junior-t's. Good solid design. The romic on the back rocks. Wont bottom out on a 10 foot near flat landing. Feels good in the air.
Weaknesses: the head angle is a little steep. It has a high stand over height which would suck if you were short. The WTB seat doesnt have enough adjustment and is weak. I have busted it already.
Bottom Line:
This bike with all the upgrades was still so much cheaper than a bullit or ASX and goes just as hard. Bike is good to ride and has held up to beatings so far. Its a great freeride bike. Anyone that like riding shore and taking solid drops will be impressed.
Strengths: I ride mostly Hucking areas and fast downhills. The bike is rock solid from 15 foot run off drops to blazing fast steep rock garden filled downhill runs. It soaks up all of the obove with ridicules ease.
Weaknesses: Its a little heavy if your not used to a 35 lbs plus bike.
Bottom Line:
Every bit as good as the above mentioned bikes if not better.Climbs great, drops great, downhills great,and best of all is 1000 to 500 dollars less then the above bikes. Great bike!
Similar Products Used: Bullit,Enduro,5 spot,switch,ac1.
Bike Setup: z1freeride,romic double d,singletrack,xt kona klump,Hays
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Submitted by
Ron
a Cross Country Rider
from Ithaca,NY,USA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2003
Strengths: Romic Shock, Z1 Bomber,real beefy frame, nice group set
Weaknesses: 36lb stock, 2.5 tires ng for long trail rides,Hays Disc Brakes
Bottom Line:
if you are looking for a good long travel bike check this out, it climbs nicey for a 34lb bike flows over every thing, it is faster than my suger 1(26lbs) all around.the frame will take a lot of abuse,
Similar Products Used: AC1/AC2/NRS/Suger 1/profex 957/KHS DH100
Bike Setup: Romic rear shock/Z1 Bomber FR/ XTR group set/ Thopmson/Kore/Advid Disk 8",6",IRC Myth 2.1/34lb with this setup/60mm0derg. stem
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Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Glendora, CA ,USA
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2003
Strengths: I was very happy with the Romic shock. The Fox/Romic combo on this bike was very nice. I hit up a few drop off's and I could not get the suspension to bottom out.
Weaknesses: Frame is heavy and kind-of ugly (if it matters to you that your bike looks prety) I do however like the streight seat tube that allows the seatpost to move freely.
Bottom Line:
This bike preformed very well. It was a very stiff ride and the 4 bar linkage allowed it to ride very smooth with minimal bob. I felt very confident on this bike and I felt it could take whatever I had to dish out. It is a good bike and it can be used for XC riding as well as free riding. The bottom line is that this bike is a workhorse and it never stops preforming.
Similar Products Used: Schwinn straight 6, Giant AC Air Lite, Giant AC1, Giant VT1, Marin Wild Cat Trail, Cannondale Gemini 2000, Santa Cruz Bulit
Bike Setup: Fork: Fox Vanilla RCL 5", Rims: Sun Singletrack, Derailleur (F) LX (R) XT, Shifters XT, Brakes: Hayes HFXD-HD 8", TruVativ Hussefelt. For a full component highlight cheeck out http://www.khsbicycles.com/page87.html
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