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KHS witchdoctor

3810 Views 16 Replies 15 Participants Last post by mmmbutters, Jun 5, 2013

XJimmyTheSaintX

Discussion Starter · Jan 16, 2010

Hey all, my apologies if this is in the wrong place, i didnt see a KHS specific forum... so if this is completely annoying, my bad!

Anyways, im looking to do a lot more downhill riding, not anything crazy by any means, but i feel like i would benefit greatly from having a bike designed for such an endeavor. My old specialized p2 just doesnt fit the bill...

I found a 2001 KHS witchdoctor on craigslist for $200. Anyone have any opinions as to whether or not this would make a decent entry bike to the downhill scene?

i didnt see a KHS specific forum here.... so that threw up some flags allready!

thanks for the thoughts

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

08nwsula

· #2 · Jan 16, 2010

are you talking about one of these?:

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BostonStrangler

· #3 · Jan 16, 2010

wow the nicest thing on the bike is the tires...

bullcrew

· #4 · Jan 16, 2010 (Edited)

08nwsula said:
are you talking about one of these?:

Looks like a retarded KONA! and thats hard to do, Kona pretty well coined that look!.

SHIVER ME TIMBERS

· #5 · Jan 16, 2010

sometimes you have to learn to say....

NO

but don't tell the chicks that:thumbsup:

iridemtb

· #6 · Jan 17, 2010

If you want to get into some downhill riding, it will never be "cheap". It will cost you at least $1000 for a bike that is rideable, and won't break all the time. And that is for a used bike.

If you want to get into riding, for cheaper, I would suggest bmx. You are just not going to enjoy it as much either on something like a which doctor. I got the wrong downhill bike my first time around, and it made things a lot less fun.

BostonStrangler

· #7 · Jan 17, 2010

look for a older stinky....do not buy a KHS...its rubbish and you'll look like a fool as far as i'm concerned.

Jim311

· #8 · Jan 17, 2010

Yeah I bet you could get an older stinky for 700 bucks or less.

PrincipalRider

· #9 · Jan 17, 2010

BostonStrangler said:
look for a older stinky....do not buy a KHS...its rubbish and you'll look like a fool as far as i'm concerned.

I would say, don't buy that particular KHS, but KHS makes a decent bike. Their DH-200 is a very good bike for downhill as is their Lucky 7. Those bikes cost 3-5 grand or more depending on the model.

As others have stated though, you have to pay to play in the DH game. I bought my DH bike used and it cost over a grand.

SHIVER ME TIMBERS

· #10 · Jan 17, 2010

BostonStrangler said:
look for a older stinky....do not buy a KHS...its rubbish and you'll look like a fool as far as i'm concerned.

true

dropmachine.com

· #11 · Jan 17, 2010

You know whats good about that KHS?

Yeah, me neither.

essenmeinstuff

· #12 · Jan 17, 2010

you can get a nice pair of high rollers at CRC for about half that. :thumbsup:

norbar

· #13 · Jan 17, 2010

NMPhi767 said:
I would say, don't buy that particular KHS, but KHS makes a decent bike. Their DH-200 is a very good bike for downhill as is their Lucky 7. Those bikes cost 3-5 grand or more depending on the model.

As others have stated though, you have to pay to play in the DH game. I bought my DH bike used and it cost over a grand.

They never made any bikes if I remember right

And 3-5 grand for a catalog bike is a lot. There are some nice discounts on them but msrp on newer khs is still silly.

Dave_

· #14 · Mar 29, 2013

Reserecting an old question with a different answer:

I was curious about this frame. I'm looking for a DH frame to build. It's clear the comments in here haven't seen any reviews on this bike. It gets great reviews, lots of pro's and very few cons. Common statement is how great it is on large drops.
"You have to pay to play DH"? "If you don't want to spend the money get a BMX bike"?
What arrogance. Sounds like rich guys who don't think any one else deserves to have fun.
Most people don't have thousands to spend on a bike. Most people are not rich, wealthy, or even well off. Most people have to do what they can with what they have. DH, free ride, all mountain, and mountain biking in general is not a rich guy sport. This is an activity any one can enjoy.
That witch doctor frame sounds like (based on actual reviews from owners) a great frame, especially for entry level riders. Frame is better than entry level with entry level parts attached to it. Retails at $1700 but can be had used for just a couple hundred bucks. What a deal!
As you advance in riding skills, and save money you can change the parts one at a time and upgrade the whole bike eventually. Not every one has the cash to buy a $3k bike to start with. But you could have the equlivent in no time.

Personally, I buy frames and then build them. Buy the frame you want for a couple hundred, and buy the parts as you can afford them. Design it exactly how you want it, and in the end, you have a bike worth a couple thousand, and spent less then 1k.

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bengxe

· #15 · Mar 29, 2013

Dave_ said:
.. Common statement is how great it is on large drops..

Translation: awkward geometry and a stupidly high bb.

cerebroside

· #16 · Mar 29, 2013

Dave_ said:
Reserecting an old question with a different answer:

I was curious about this frame. I'm looking for a DH frame to build. It's clear the comments in here haven't seen any reviews on this bike. It gets great reviews, lots of pro's and very few cons. Common statement is how great it is on large drops.
"You have to pay to play DH"? "If you don't want to spend the money get a BMX bike"?
What arrogance. Sounds like rich guys who don't think any one else deserves to have fun.
Most people don't have thousands to spend on a bike. Most people are not rich, wealthy, or even well off. Most people have to do what they can with what they have. DH, free ride, all mountain, and mountain biking in general is not a rich guy sport. This is an activity any one can enjoy.
That witch doctor frame sounds like (based on actual reviews from owners) a great frame, especially for entry level riders. Frame is better than entry level with entry level parts attached to it. Retails at $1700 but can be had used for just a couple hundred bucks. What a deal!
As you advance in riding skills, and save money you can change the parts one at a time and upgrade the whole bike eventually. Not every one has the cash to buy a $3k bike to start with. But you could have the equlivent in no time.

Personally, I buy frames and then build them. Buy the frame you want for a couple hundred, and buy the parts as you can afford them. Design it exactly how you want it, and in the end, you have a bike worth a couple thousand, and spent less then 1k.

I imagine you could also buy a 386 or Motorola Startac quite cheaply, and I'm sure they got excellent reviews when they were introduced.

This isn't to say that I disagree with your point in general. A hardtail from 2001 is still going to be a great bike with a bit of TLC. But FS bikes have moved on so much since then that it is hard to recommend buying something that old for any price unless you specifically want a vintage bike. New parts that you buy are likely not going to be compatible. And that isn't even mentioning the potential maintenance issues.

mmmbutters

· #17 · Jun 5, 2013

Came across this thread on Google... I had to reply..

I own this bike, and have had it since brand new. I have kept it routinely serviced, and continue to upgrade parts on it every year. I can honestly say this bike is easily the best bike I've ridden so far for me. Yes it is freakin' ugly.. not going to deny that, but I've been through half a dozen or so bikes since buying this one and I always end up coming back to this bike, and I will probably ride it until I break the frame one day.

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

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