KHS XCT-556 ---- Jan 2013 Pg. 5

sanchez89

Hi everyone,

Some of you may have posted in my thread a few months ago in the MTB Buying Advice section.

Well that thread cumulated in a big cardboard box arriving approx 2 weeks ago with a nice shiny new ride inside.

and here she is:



this was the last medium sized bike available from KHS direct, Steve was great to deal with and i got a great deal on what so far is a great bike!

full spec is available from the KHS website but highlights are as follows;

Rockshox Revelation Dual Air 140mm fork with 15mm Maxle
Rockshox Monarch RT3 shock 140mm
SRAM X9/X7 transmission
Avid Elixir 5 brakes

she was bought to replace the faithful 'goose' that was only a year old but i wanted to change to a full susser for no more sore back.




after plastering the vunrable bits in heli tape i took it for its maiden off road voyage over Cannock on the monkey trail, and performed very well, i can defo say there is an advantage riding a full sus over a hard tail, i was able to carry alot more speed through the sections, uphill aswell!, so much extra speed in fact i managed to bin it by overcooking it into a corner iv never had problems with before. well at least the first falls out the way.

The Maxle equipped fork makes a noticable difference compared to a quick release style, the front end feels solid, it just ploughs through the rough stuff just the way i hoped it would.

any comments are welcome good or bad

johnboy183

She looks a beaut! My first bike was a KHS Comp a few yrs back and I've always had a soft spot for them. I believe they "left the country" a while back so it's nice to see them showing their faces again. Then again they were always vastly underrated at the time so I never saw many about..perhaps it should stay that way! Keep the secret eh!?

sanchez89

johnboy183 wrote:

She looks a beaut! My first bike was a KHS Comp a few yrs back and I've always had a soft spot for them. I believe they "left the country" a while back so it's nice to see them showing their faces again. Then again they were always vastly underrated at the time so I never saw many about..perhaps it should stay that way! Keep the secret eh!?

Yep sounds like a plan to me.

Someone spoke to me over the chase and said what a nice bike it was, and that he's only seen photos in a magazine and on the web.

sanchez89

iv got a question that some knowledgeable person may be able to answer.

seeing as my Revelation fork is dual air i have quite a bit of 'tuneability' im led to believe.

iv been messing with the air pressures in the fork, when it was set-up in the workshop (during its PDI at KHS), they added 100psi in both positive and negative chambers, i gave them my weight (84kg) for this purpose.

when i look at the guide on the fork leg it states for my weight pressure should be 120-135.

now that seems very high to me. the fork with 100psi isnt as small bump compliant as i would like. i no it has to go through its bedding in period and will get smoother, hopefully. but it still feels bit firm. it takes the larger hits no problem, so im thinking i may need to lose some pressure and maybe but more in negative for better small movement response?

is it just a game of balancing bit hit strength vs small bump suppleness?

just wondering if anyone with a dual air rockshox fork could shed some light on how they set theirs up. and what pressures they used.

thanks in advance.

johnboy183

errrr no. Sorry

dc71

Post the question in the workshop & tech section, I'm sure nicklouse or supersonic will point you in the right direction from there. There may even be a sticky/faq in that section for setting up dual-air forks.

sanchez89

dc71 wrote:

Post the question in the workshop & tech section, I'm sure nicklouse or supersonic will point you in the right direction from there. There may even be a sticky/faq in that section for setting up dual-air forks.

yeah i had a look at the post in the FAQ section, didnt seem to help that much though.

ill stick a post up in the workshop section.

thanks anyway.

sanchez89

just been for a spin over the chase, monkey trail again, as usual.

what a fantastic ride!! iv been messing with the air pressures in shock and fork, and i think iv got them spot on.

dropped pressure in the shock a tad to about 190-195psi, so its running between 25 and 30% sag according to the marking on shock. and fork has dropped about 10 psi in each chamber with about 5 psi more in negative, so posi is 90, neg is 95.

bit more squishy on the climbs but i can use floodgate lever on shock which helps, and fork has lockout if needed.

but it gave me so much more confidence on the downhill sections, my riding mate who normally leaves me behind, got caught and passed on many occasions.

it just took everything i threw at it and wanted more. i dont think i could go back to the hardtail, and its only my second proper ride!

so to some it up in a few words.............. im lovin it!

pictures of muddy bike may follow soon if anyones interested.

sanchez89

been doing some messing again.

while iv been out riding iv had the feeling the saddle is in the wrong position.

when i want to sit down and really crank up the climbs or along fire road i feel perched right on the back of the seat.

iv adjusted the saddle as far back as i feel safe, its past the max line on the rails, and iv adjusted the height of the post so its comfortable for climbing.

anybody know of either a saddle with longer rails or a post with more 'layback' the current one, which has approx 1 inch.

MountainMonster

Have you gone for a ride with the saddle the way it is now?

mrmonkfinger

That's a tidy rig.


Revs:

I've ended up with about 10psi more in the negative chamber on my revelation dual airs (2010 model).

With them set the same, I could get the sag sorted and bigger hits were great - but small bump stuff was really wooden, just didn't react quickly. The extra pressure in the negative chamber seemed to sort that. I find the rebound speed needs to be about 3/4 of the way to its slowest setting for a nice ride, no issues with the fork packing but slow enough to be plush.

I'm about 90/95kg and run 100psi positive, 110psi negative.

tony620

hey sanchez89

I posted in your thread, Looking great and khs do make nice bikes. Glad you are enjoying the bike and i have a feeling the reason you might have binned it on your first outing might be down to the WTB wolverine tyres they dont have an awful lot of edge grip.

as for the problem with getting the seat back i ran a lay back post but had a shorter stem but never found the bike to short.

what height are you, whats your leg length and what size bike did you get?

Regarding the REVs i have a feeling its the seals bedding in my dad had to run his rebas 20psi under to get full travel then after afew hours riding had to fill them up to recommended once the seals bed in.

sanchez89

tony620 wrote:

hey sanchez89

I posted in your thread, Looking great and khs do make nice bikes. Glad you are enjoying the bike and i have a feeling the reason you might have binned it on your first outing might be down to the WTB wolverine tyres they dont have an awful lot of edge grip.

as for the problem with getting the seat back i ran a lay back post but had a shorter stem but never found the bike to short.

what height are you, whats your leg length and what size bike did you get?

Regarding the REVs i have a feeling its the seals bedding in my dad had to run his rebas 20psi under to get full travel then after afew hours riding had to fill them up to recommended once the seals bed in.

hi tony, thanks for your comments. im not fully decided on the tyres. i ran kenda small block 8's on the hardtail which in the dry were fabulous! the WTB's seem to be a more allrounder. The first ride on them was on a bone dry dusty trail, they seemed ok, had a few slides in the corners but nothing dangerous, but didnt stand out as great tyres, compared to kenda's anyway.

last week it was a slightly damp trail, and the tyres were completely different, no slides, loads of grip, incredible, spun up on some rocks while climbing but every tyre will do that.

i did drop the pressures slightly to be fair as i felt they were too firm. this along with the stickier conditions may have helped them.

i will have to wait and see with the forks but i will keep what you and other have said in mind.

sanchez89

MountainMonster wrote:

Have you gone for a ride with the saddle the way it is now?

ill be honest and say no, but the position is only very slightly different from before. so i cant imagine much change.

saying that small changes sometimes make a big difference.

sanchez89

tony620 wrote:

what height are you, whats your leg length and what size bike did you get?

im 5ft 11, leg length i dont know off top of my head (but did give it when i bought bike) and its a medium bike as recommended by steve at KHS.

stuisnew

Loving looking bike. Let's have some more photos then!

sanchez89

some more photos as requested. will try and get some action shots of her out in the wild today.

stuisnew

That is a really nice looking bike. That's quite a swoopy top tube!

It's an understated bike, which I really like.

sanchez89

stuisnew wrote:

That is a really nice looking bike. That's quite a swoopy top tube!

It's an understated bike, which I really like.

thanks alot matey. alot of hyrdoforming and bending going on with all the frame tubes to be fair. i like it though.

really not liking the tyres at the minute tho. a dry weekend ment very little grip for the rear tyre. and i just dont no why.

same trails as last week, same speed, same technique and it just tried to kill me at least 3 times. back end kicking out totally unexpected. an instant loss of traction, and nearly the loss of my chin.

might put the small block 8's off the mongoose on, at least i no what to expect from them.

but also thinking some Maxxis Advantage, or maybe High Rollers/Nevegals?

my mate runs Nevegals on his giant and he's had them for 2 years and only now are they starting to show signs of wear.

suggestions welcome.

also does anyone know of a small trail pump and maybe big track pump for those stupid presta valves???

sanchez89

took the camera with us yesterday but hardly used it, got some vids of us messing about trying to look good/brave.

got a couple of pics too:

having a well deserved rest.



My buddys Giant. hasnt seen a wash for at least 6 months



my posey white helmet. lovely.




heres some vids of us on a bit of naughty trail thats in plain sight and i cant believe we havn't been down before. its nice and flowy with loads of berms all the way down and a few little jumps thrown in for good measure.

my attempt at looking pro (click to view)



young tom's go (click to view)

sanchez89

ordered couple of things this afternoon. Spesh Eskar Control and Purgatory Control tyres. i think the current WTB's are poor. and a new mini pump thats can be stood on and used as track pump.

should be good.

a days riding in the forest of dean is on the cards for tomorrow so may take camera again.

sanchez89

Saturday was spent in the lovely Forest of Dean, and a good day it was too.

Plenty of peeps using the uplift service, as the car park was full of top notch downhill machinery. i lost count of the all the Orange Five's. and plenty of clicking from Hope rear hubs.

Did 2 laps of the new blue route (Verderers Trial) and it was fantastic. not technical but very fun and very fast.

Also did a lap of the short red route (Freeminer Trail), bit more technical with some good bermy downhill sections but a bit too short and not massively engaging.

Also managed to fall off and scratch the rear brake. grrrr!

sanchez89

That days riding also revealed the fact that the WTB Silverado saddle is the most uncomfortable thing ever to exist.

So it will be going in the bin to be replaced by a Madison Flux, pretty much identical to a Charge Spoon but slightly softer. according to bikeradar review anyway.

new tyres should be here this week also so can get those fitted and test them out over the weekend.

was also thinking about going double and bash with a blackspire stinger lower guide. but after doing some research last night i might not be able to fit 1. i have a 73mm width BB and its a SRAM GXP style which has no spacers between cup and frame.

i may just have to replace outer chainring with a bash and hope i dont drop the chain.

sanchez89

Iv put my old hardtail up for sale on ebay, so if you know anyone thats after a good first bike, send them to the bay.

sanchez89

ok so fitted my fresh set of Spesh rubber tonight. ready for a testing session over the weekend.

i know you've all seen tyres before but hey ho, pics anyway.

Purgatory 2.2 on the front for grip:





Eskar 2.3 on the rear for grip and decent rolling:





having previously only using wire beaded tyres which usually required levering on and off the rims, these were an absolute dream to put on. no aching thumbs and no nearly snapped tyre levers.

the WTB's that came off were also folding bead so they came off nice and are now all folded up ready to be put away.

sanchez89

After the rain the past few weeks, theres been some very muddy horrible rides.

new tyres are performing well but god i hate cleaning muddy bikes!

everyone likes too see a nice muddy bike as it shows it was doing what it was built to do:







mmmm yummy, some of cannock chase's finest grit, dirt and grass. lovely!

top tip for the winter, alwasy rinse off the mud while its still wet!!!!!

after taking these photos 2 weeks ago it took me well over an hour to sort it out, and it still wasnt perfect. this week i rinsed it off as soon as i got home and gave the chain a scrub and re-lube. only took 10 mins and was hasslefree!

sanchez89

also, after removing all the dirt and grime from my drivetrain i had massive problems with the gearing. once in 1st gear i couldnt get the thing to shift down without me pushing the mech. it was fine during the ride but afterwards it all went a bit pete tong.

after many naughty words and reading old copies of MBR and MBUK about reindexing rear mechs i tried over and over again but couldnt get it fully sorted. it was either skipping in the middle set of cogs or not selecting highest and lowest gears (1 and 10).

i then used this video from Pinkbike about setting up SRAM x9 rear mech. although this model is slightly older than mine everything is still the same. so finally this morning after trying this method only once it was sorted perfect. only need to test ride now to make and fine barrel adjustments!

i am pleased with myself! and saved some money from taking it to LBS.

sanchez89

been looking at some new wheels for the bike.

hope hoops wheelset using the Stans Crest rims. got some good prices available at the minute just need to make a final decision to buy.

1 thing i have noticed is they offer a straight pull spoke version, but its slightly more expensive, so whats the advantages over normal spokes?

or in the other case are there any disadvantages that make them a bad choice?

sanchez89

ok after some researching last night i dont think the straight pull spokes are all the better. so just normal spokes it will be. might leave it a while cuz i seem to be spending all the time, not just on the bike.

have also being toying with the idea of doing a massive amount of manning up and running 1x10.

just a single 32t chainring up front with a chainguide.

now with my current setup of SRAM GXP bottom bracket i have no spacers between cup and frame (73mm BB shell), and my frame has no ISCG tabs.

so my only choice would be to change to a Shimano Hollowtech II BB, and Shimano cranks.

it wont look the best, i like running same brand parts, but its the only way.

i would need to run a singlespeed chainring up front with no shift ramps or anything, so what sort of brands should i be looking for?

and is there anywhere you can just buy Shimano SLX or Deore crankarms? dont really want to spend £100+ on a double setup just to take it apart.

sanchez89

decided against the 1x10 idea, would be just too hard for me, must get fitter!

will be looking for a new 2x10 setup in the new year, probably using Sram X9 or X7 doubles.

however, xmas has come early for me when on Tuesday this arrived..........................



hmmmm, wonder whats in here???

lets have a butchers....













very nice indeed.

this was followed by the rear wheel which arrived today.





so a Hope Hoops wheelset, Stans NoTubes Crest rims on black Hope Pro 2 Evo hubs, with black DT Competetion spokes.

and for a very reasonable price from Winstanleys too!

also the front wheel came with the necessary adaptor for 15mm thru axle. which took all of 2 mins to change. pull off QR end caps, transfer the bit of nice blue grease that was on them onto the 15mm adaptors and push back in.

job done. sweet!

buzz1

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