smorris 

Hi gang. This is my first foray into mountain biking, other than riding my daughter's too small for me GT. But even that was enough fun to get me interested in one my size. So today I picked up a KHS Summit from the local Craigslist.

I thought I had it identified as a 1997 Summit X based on the shock and components. But now I'm not so sure. There's enough different that I'd like y'all to take a peek at the photos and see if you can help out.

Here's a photo gallery. Click on a thumbnail for a larger photo, and on that larger photo for an even larger version.



What I do know:

KHS Summit 17" frame
True Temper AVR ChroMoly double butted tube set with "DeltaLinear Downtube"
Rock Shock Indy C suspension fork
Dia-Compe VersaControl 737 V-brakes
Dia-Compe 7EXA PowerControl brake levers
DiaTech headset
Un-marked stem (with DiaTech plug), handlebars, seatpost and seatpost clamp.
"Brooks" Taiwanese padded saddle
Shimano STX-rc rear derailleur
Shimano "A" front derailleur
Sachs twist shifters
STX-rc 8 rear hub
Un-marked front hub
SR Powerflo Front PF-F crankset
Alex AL-MP 19 rims with Panaracer Duster II R 26X2.10 tires
Un-marked pedals

So that kinda matches up with the BikePedia listing for the Summit-X. Can anyone who knows about KHS bikes look through these and confirm my guess or suggest something different?

This bike looks practically brand new, with the mold marks still on the tire lugs and barely any markings on the rim sidewalls. The guy said all he did with it was use it for ridign around his neighborhood with the kids. Whatever it is, it is a lot more fun than the heavy, too-small GT!

Thanks guys!
Steve

bikinfool

Welcome to the madness.

What is it you want to know...just what specific year/model of frame you have, or how stock it is? Sorry, am not going to dig into it for ya...it really doesn't matter much, does it?

Does look pretty clean and all but my first thought is...does it fit well? How much did you pay for it?

That saddle doesn't look so good...

jjbod1

Sweet vintage rig Now take it out ride the crap out of it. And upgrade the parts as they break.

smorris 

No, the saddle doesn't look so good. I have the Selle San Marco Regal I took off of the RB-T when I put on the Brooks. I'll probably move that over to this bike, or a B-17.

It fits great! I'd tried my buddy's two 16.5" and 17.5" Merlins, a 17" Rockhopper, an 18" Gary Fisher, a 19" Diamondback, and the small GT prior to this, so I sorta knew what size I needed. I paid $250; probably too much, but I'd been looking for a month or more now, and was getting tired of not finding what I wanted or missing ones that went on CL while I was at work. I was after a lightweight lugged steel bike with a reasonably level top tube, with no suspension. I got all but the lugs and rigid fork. I can change the fork or decide to stay with this.

No, I don't really need to know, but I'm kinda anal about details, so I'd like to narrow down the year/model. I already know that the guy hadn't changed anything, so it is stock as far as when he bought it. He thought mid-90s or later, and $800. The Summit X was '97 and $700, so that could be as close as I'll get, although there's no indication of an "X" model on the bike. More curious than anything. I can't find much about KHS bikes.

During the week I'll tear it down and clean and lube everything. The chain has been over-lubed and it, the derailleur, and the cassette are pretty grungy. The rest needs a good cleaning. Then I gotta find a rank beginner trail to re-learn the nuances of off-road riding. The last time I rode a bike on anything rougher than a gravel road was probably 40 years ago in the woods on our farm! That would have been a probably 40# 24" singlespeed no-name bike.

Thanks,
Steve

bikinfool

Well, if bikepedia can't narrow it down, maybe try shooting an email off to KHS? Maybe you'd get an answer...

Have fun reacquainting yourself with dirt!

kenhill3

If it's in near-mint condition, $250 is just fine. You can't get a NEW bike that good for the money. Have fun.

Smokinapankake

Reviving a zombie thread, I know.

I just picked one of these up yesterday. Drove almost 200 miles round trip to harvest it. It had been sitting in a local online listing service for several weeks, and I tried to resist due to the distance involved, but just couldn't stomach the thought of some other doofus getting it, so I caved in. The price was certainly a motivator. I worked at a shop that sold KHS back in the mid-late 90's (Bicycle World, 4800 south Redwood Road in Taylorsville, Utah) and I remember thinking they were pretty cool frames. I thought the "Deltalinear" down tubes were kind of cool. KHS always was a pretty good value. I have a KHS tandem from 2000 that we've thoroughly enjoyed. Anyway, I don't really know what I'll do with it. I certainly don't need another mid 90's mountain bike. Maybe I'll save it for the annual Clunker Challenge they do over in the C&V forums. And because we all like pics:



I'm kind of intrigued to try the Sachs shifters. I think they're called "Wavey" or something like that....


And the brakes look interesting, although I don't think they're the greatest innovation in V brake technology. The spring tension adjustment looks interesting, and the requirement for regular cantilever post mount pads is kind of funky:

And a Rock Shox Indy C?! Lets hope those elastomers haven't turned to sticky glop!

Overall it looks to be in decent shape, and I'm confident it will clean up nicely.