cptsilver

I just dug my 20 year old KHS Montana Summit out of my garage. I'd like to repurpose the frame as a commuter bike, put some 700c tires on, something like a hybrid. I plan on getting some used road bike parts off of ebay, but the problem is I don't know much about MTB parts, and there's not much info on the web on the bike.

Right now the bike has some kind of rigid threaded fork, I'd like to replace it with a threadless one so I have more options on stem/bars combo. Will I need a new headset? What size of fork do I need? How do I avoid from ruining the geometry too much?

I'd also like to replace the drivetrain with something like a SRAM Rival set. What type of crankset does it take? Do I need a new bottom bracket? What kind?

I need some of that info before I do my searching for parts. Any help or info you may help would be great appreciated. Thanks much!

LesterOfPuppets

This is going to be a pretty expensive unless you get a used bike with Rival for a REALLY good price and have all the tools necessary to move the parts over. Then it would be a whole lot easier just to leave those parts on the used bike, wouldn't it?

1. Put some 700c wheels on and measure distance from brake holes to brake tracks. This will help you determine if the brakes you have will work. Road calipers come in many different reaches. You'll have to drill out the back of your fork and the front of your brake bridge to mount recessed nut brakes. Getting older nutted brakes is my usual method, so much easier.

If your donor bike has the same steerer diameter as your target bike then you can move the fork and headset over. The Montana Summit had 1" steerer in 1993 & 95, but '96 had 1-1/8" according to bikepedia.

If the bike is a 1992 then it's probably designed without suspension in mind, or maybe 45mm of suspension, so geo shouldn't get jacked too bad.

The frame will take English threaded 68 bottom brackets, you want to match the bottom bracket to whatever cranks you want to run.

Make sure you get a clamp on front derailer.

Ummm, that's all I can think of for now.

LesterOfPuppets

Oh, here's a thread with a GT given a 700c wheel transplant, but still all MTB running gear. Much cheaper and easier.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...00c-Conversion

cptsilver

Thank you so much. The frame is actually already drilled for caliper brakes, so it's good to go for that. What are old nutted brakes? The KHS didn't have any suspension originally, so does it mean I can just find a generic 1" road fork and headset? That shouldn't be too bad. Is English threaded 68 different from GXP BB? Or is that something less common/modern?

That other thread is also very helpful. Thanks again!

LesterOfPuppets

Hard telling if the frame was setup for suspension but still had rigid fork or (whatever). My 1997 comp was probably designed for 80mm susp so it gets a little steep, but not too bad.

Most nice brakes since 1980-something have recessed mount, most of the nut goes inside the fork/brake bridge, so you need to drill out the back of the fork and front of the brake bridge to get these in your frame. The drilling out of the rear can be a tad difficult, but the fork is easy.