93 KHS Montana Pro

[benjabbi]

I bought this frame as it was relatively cheap and more importantly I had everything to build it lurking around already, left over from other builds. Gareth @Gruff dropped it off this morning and I got it built, LX/XT with Suntour thumbies and Dia-Compe brakes, Mag 21.
I shall take it out later for a spin, quite looking forward to it as I hear good things about these frames.

 

[Double-E F]

Nice! Quick build..
Looks compact and fast!

 

[mk one]

never ridden one, but have to agree with above, looks fast and fun to ride.

 

[Prodigal Son]

Great bike for speedy runs on easy terrain. Agile and fast w/ great feel from the tubeset. Once i took it to tricky technical mountain biking, the agility became a liability. Maybe a longer travel marzocchi would tame the geometry down for me but i quickly sold the frame and transferred all the components to something else.

 

[doctor-bond]

nice. Great frames.

 

[benjabbi]

Thanks for the comments.
After a little bout of CBA yesterday, I got out on it this morning. Not enough air in the fork aside, it rides nicely, nice and smooth over stuttery stuff, accelerates well. I think I could do with a slightly higher stem but it's not bad as it is. I think I'll keep it for the time being.
@Prodigal Son that's exactly the sort of riding it'll see, anything technical and I'm more likely to use my modern bike.

 

[Elfman]

Cool seeing a KHS. I remember these as being pretty light frames, correct?

 

[benjabbi]

@Elfman Thanks
The bare frame weighed in at 2136g, which is a bit heavier than I expected to be honest, it's about 140g more than the Privateer or Race frames. Not particularly heavy but not especially light either. Rides nice though.

 

[dirttorpedo]

I test rode a 91 model (I think) BITD. I bought a stumpjumper FS instead - which was a mistake. I hated that bike. I recall them being very light for the time - under 25 lbs and having an excellent component spec. I've toyed with the idea of buying one and cleaning it up.

 

[mk one]

I have to disagree with the above comments, the springy light frame means it will excel on the rough technical terrain, ride it light and it will just skip over roots and rocks, the faster you go the better it will be. They are designed to be ridden hard and fast, any shortcomings will be more down to lack of rider ability than the frames.