[minor swing]

I picked up what I guess is a '97 '98 KHS steel frame. I have been aching to go back to an older style hardtail and also wanting to build something upf myself.

I have a couple questions about measuring some stuff.

I know the seat tube is quite a bit smaller than my most recent Fisher. So to get a seat post and a fr der. I need to find the right sise. Is the seat post measurement the inside diameter and the front' deraillur the outside diameter? I think the post size is 26.2. Does that sound right?

The rear dropout spacing is also smallerr than my recent fisher. How do you meaure that to determine the hub size? Insid to inside of the dropouts?

What size hub would I expect to need on this era bike?

I hope I can pull this together because I am selling my full suspension rig to go this route!

 

[tl1]

I have a '98 KHS Team frame

I picked up what I guess is a '97 '98 KHS steel frame. I have been aching to go back to an older style hardtail and also wanting to build something upf myself.

I have a couple questions about measuring some stuff.

I know the seat tube is quite a bit smaller than my most recent Fisher. So to get a seat post and a fr der. I need to find the right sise. Is the seat post measurement the inside diameter and the front' deraillur the outside diameter? I think the post size is 26.2. Does that sound right?

The rear dropout spacing is also smallerr than my recent fisher. How do you meaure that to determine the hub size? Insid to inside of the dropouts?

What size hub would I expect to need on this era bike?

I hope I can pull this together because I am selling my full suspension rig to go this route!

Seatpost size is 26.8 mm, rear spacing is standard MTB 135 mm, I don't remember the front derailler clamp size.. Do you have a picture of your frame?

 

[robinmiller]

If your rear dropout spacing is different, theres' a chance the frame has gotten bent or somtehing... should be the same.

 

[Zanetti]

Yep, 135mm spacing was introduced in 1989. The odds of your bike being anything less in slim to none.

 

[DeeEight]

Its not guaranteed that the post size is 26.8. I've had KHS frames and they've been all over the map for seatpost sizes. The higher the quality of steel, the thinner the likely seattube wall and larger the post diameter. In the older days it was all wet paints (we see powdercoats more today because they're more environmentally friendly and they're thicker too) so you could pretty accurately determine the wall thickness from the outside diameter used for the front derailleur and inside diameters used for the seatpost.You'd get a high end frame using some sort of heat-treated chromoly with a 28.6mm outside diameter and 27.2 inside diameter and you'd know the wall thickness is only 0.7mm, and the paint wouldn't be more than a tenth of a mm of extra thickness added to that outside diameter.

If however you got a 26.2mm I.D. in the same 28.6mm O.D. and you suddenlly think...its not that fancy a steel being used. Without some more details on the frame, like telling us the model, we're not gonna be help you anymore on what the real diameter is likely to be. Incidently, if the dropout spacing is narrower... it could mean its either a damaged frame, its actually a hybrid frame (which would likely use the 130mm road spacing), or its a much older than 97 frame (some manufacturers were still using 130mm spacing for MTB's for several years AFTER the 1989 adoption of 135mm spacing). Just because a new spacing is available doesn't mean every manufacturer is gonna adopt it right away. 1989 also was the debut year for the 1 1/8" oversize headset size and Ritchey didn't adopt it till what? 2000 ?

 

[minor swing]

Thanks: and some more info

The frame is a KHS Crest... It is made from True Temper AVR Cro-mo, double butted.

I don't (yet)have a set of calipers so measuring the diameters has been tough but it looks as though the seatpost is likely a 26.8 and but the OD on the seat tube sees more like 30.2. And the rear hub spacing is really small. Everything looks straight and it is only measuring out to be around 110. Is that even possible. I mean I just remeasured it and it is only 4 and 3/8 inches. Maybe I am missung something or it is out of whack but it sure looks straight

 

[DeeEight]

Montana Crest, was last in the lineup in 1993 as far as I can determine. Colours that year were Teal, Knottsberry. The 1991 version was royal blue or neon green. They were basically $350-400 range fully rigid bikes with low end (alivio-ish) parts. 110mm would be BMX rear hub spacing, so its possible someone had the thing cold-set to fit a BMX hub to use it as a singlespeed. Its entirely possible it was only 126mm spaced originally as it probably only had an 18 or 21speed drivetrain, and many manufacturers were still using that spacing for lower end models. I had a 1990 Norco bigfoot that still had 126mm dropout spacing and it was a 7 speed rear end.