[Vmax911]

I picked up a KHS XC-204 frame on Black Friday. This will be my first full suspension bike, and first build. I'm taking the budget route, grabbing used parts of eBay and the like. I figure I would try to document the build, for others trying to build a budget FS bike.

I'm not a weight weenie, but I will be weighing the bike at various stages of the build. Unfortunately I don't have an accurate scale, so I will be using my Wii fit scale. So don't assume the weights are very accurate.

Anyhow, this is how the frame came from Wheel World. It's a large size frame, came with the seatpost collar, headset, and derailleur hanger. Plus it comes with a low end Rockshox bar 2.1 shock. The Wii tells me the frame weighs 7.3 lbs.

And yes, my workstand is the kitchen table.

 

[the-one1]

If there were more post of this kind (KHS threads) then we might have enough for our own forum.

 

[wyatt79m]

sharp lookin frame

 

[Vmax911]

I got my Tora 318 Solo-Air, Ritchey Stem, and Shimano External Bottom Bracket installed. Current Wii weight is 12.7lbs.

 

[kyrus]

Looking good! I wish I would have done the same thing in documenting the build as you have done. Just waiting on bottom bracket wrench i ordered and I can complete things. I'm curious to see what the total weight will be when I'm finished. Looks like our set ups are very similiar. My bike has a cousin. I got the frame in an XL. I've installed the shimano bottom bracket and solo air tora as well. I went with the OEM seat post (seems these are a good bit lighter than others), MJ Xlite stem, easton EA50 handle bars. I also bought a shimano Deore LX front derailleur. I considered the shimano SLX crankset as my splurge. Read a lot of good things about it and ultimately felt like a new frame deserved some new upgraded parts. The remaining parts are transfers from my Forge Sawback hardtail. Decent components: Deore shifters, Hayes MX-2 brakes (may elect to leave these off and upgrade to hydro), Tektro levers, deore rear derailleur, cables, WTB pure v seat, WTB speed disc wheels, Kenda krusher tires. The Forge served me well, but I wanted to venture towards FS. It will be re-done for my son later and was really too small for my frame. In the end, I feel like I will be very happy with the XC-204. My only concern would be the rear shock for my clyde weight (300lbs). I'll post pics once you've completed yours. I don't want to confuse others or hijack your thread. Looks like you've got a great start. Anxious to see and hear more.

 

[Vmax911]

Looking good! I wish I would have done the same thing in documenting the build as you have done. Just waiting on bottom bracket wrench i ordered and I can complete things. I'm curious to see what the total weight will be when I'm finished. Looks like our set ups are very similiar. My bike has a cousin. I got the frame in an XL. I've installed the shimano bottom bracket and solo air tora as well. I went with the OEM seat post (seems these are a good bit lighter than others), MJ Xlite stem, easton EA50 handle bars. I also bought a shimano Deore LX front derailleur. I considered the shimano SLX crankset as my splurge. Read a lot of good things about it and ultimately felt like a new frame deserved some new upgraded parts. The remaining parts are transfers from my Forge Sawback hardtail. Decent components: Deore shifters, Hayes MX-2 brakes (may elect to leave these off and upgrade to hydro), Tektro levers, deore rear derailleur, cables, WTB pure v seat, WTB speed disc wheels, Kenda krusher tires. The Forge served me well, but I wanted to venture towards FS. It will be re-done for my son later and was really too small for my frame. In the end, I feel like I will be very happy with the XC-204. My only concern would be the rear shock for my clyde weight (300lbs). I'll post pics once you've completed yours. I don't want to confuse others or hijack your thread. Looks like you've got a great start. Anxious to see and hear more.

Our bikes are definitely cousins. I think the SLX Crankset would be a great splurge. I wa wondering if I could afford them in my build. But I found a set of Shimano M542 cranks with Deore shifters and derailleurs for a screaming deal on eBay, so I will be using those. I'm used to Sram drivetrain, but figured I'd give the Shimano a try since the price was so good.

My next step is to install the crankset, which means it won't fit so nicely on the kitchen table. I'll have to move out to the cold garage and my ghetto trunk-rack-mounted-to-the-wall workstand.

 

[mnigro]

vmax, I have a 604. I think you'll like the bike. I am running a reba at 115mm now but have not ridden it since I had the fork extended. It does slaken the bike up a bit and only raises the BB a tad. FWIW, my bike is right around 30lb with LX cranks, X9/X7 DT and Mavic 719 with XT CL hubs.
The frame is nice and stout with a geometry very similar to the Titus Moto. The rear triangle is pretty much identical in geo.

 

[Vmax911]

Added Ritchey Comp Handlebar, Shimano M542 Crankset, and Thomson Elite Seatpost. 16.0 lbs according to the Wii.

 

[kyrus]

Looks like I may have messed up on my front derailleur purchase. I just installed my crankset and it appears the derailleur needs to be bottom clamp capable due to shock mount on the seat tube. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Vmax911]

Yes, you need a bottom clamp, top pull front derailleur (at least that's what I used). What crankset did you end up getting?

 

[kyrus]

Thanks for the quick response... I did end up with the SLX crankset. I just installed today after I got my bracket tool from pricepoint. Hmmm, I guess its time to shop some more. Any reccomendations?

 

[mnigro]

My X7 was like $26 at performance. XT was about $40. Demends on your preference.

 

[Vmax911]

It seems that most here like Shimano front derailleurs. That LX would have been great if you had it in low-clamp. I'll be using a Deore, which should be pretty cheap. I'm using an x.7 on my hardtail, and it works fine, though I don't have anything to compare it with. (Though it does shift nicer than my 18 year old 200GS derailleur.)

 

[Vmax911]

Added Deore Shifters and Derailleurs, Elixir R SL Brakeset, WTB Pure V Seat. I'm now up to 19.5lbs. Almost done!

 

[Vmax911]

She's Finished!

Finished up my build. WTB Laserdisc XC rims on Shimano M775 XT hubs, XT rotors and XT cassette. WTB Weirwolf tires, 2.3 Race up front, 2.1 Comp in back. KMC X9sl Chain. Final weight of the build (without pedals) = 30.0 lbs! Pretty darn good buy my book. I could get sub 30lbs by getting lighter tires and ditching the slime if I wanted to, but I'm pretty satisfied with the build.

Now I want to build another!

 

[kyrus]

Outstanding. Looks great! With it shining like that makes me feel bad that I installed dirty tires on mine

 

[Vmax911]

Lol! The front tire is new, but the rear on is used. I actually cleaned the rear tire with a toothbrush, since I was moving the bike in and out of the house to weigh it. Tire marks across the carped would not go over well with the wife!

 

[vrclowncar]

Lol! The front tire is new, but the rear on is used. I actually cleaned the rear tire with a toothbrush, since I was moving the bike in and out of the house to weigh it. Tire marks across the carped would not go over well with the wife!

happy wife happy life :thumbsup: granted, I'm not married, but that's what I hear haha. anywho, have you had a chance to get out and ride it yet? Turns out the GT i-drive frame I picked up might be a nice paper weight due to a crack at one of the welds, I've been looking at the KHS 604 frame to replace it.

 

[Vmax911]

I haven't gotten to ride yet, except up and down the street. I'm hoping to sneak out this afternoon for a short ride.

Not sure where you are looking for the frame, but it seems the only difference in the xc-x04 lineup is color and shock.

 

[Vmax911]

I did get a ride in this afternoon. I think the bike rides great! For some reason the bike feels faster (acceleration wise) than my hardtail. Proably just new bike excitement. I did notice a clunking noise on really rough terrain. Turns out my rear derailleur is hutting the rear pivot at time. It's probably just a b-screw adjustment, but I'll leave that for the drivetrain forum. But it did make me wonder if anyone knows the torque specs for the pivots or shock mounting hardware. It may be something I want to check every now and then. Here's a pic from today (better than in the garage).