Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - KHS flight 100 for a first time fixie?

hay every one
i was thinking about buying a KHS flight 100 for a first time fixie, i can get last years model for 400$. I want to know if this is a good idea, or if i should spend a little extra and go for a mark V. any ideas are welcom.

Either one'll treat you fine. The wheels on the Mark V are better.

The KHS flite can be had for even less than $400, rebadged as a Mercier Kilo TT on ebay.

general consensus seems to be that IRO comes with better wheelset. but if i recall, the KHS flite is made of Reynolds tubing, whereas the Mark V is generic 4130. not sure how big a difference the brand name tubing makes, but some people swear by it...

mark v is generic 4130
khs is reynolds 520
iro angus is 631 however it is a very nice bike

I have had two kilos and a khs flite and I just love the frame

well so far it looks favarible for the KHS, im, what would be a good, but inexpeinsive wheel set i could find? any other parts that would be recomended to modify?

you can buy just a wheelset from IRO. sell the wheelset you get with your KHS, pick up a wheelset from IRO, and you're still well below the cost of a Mark V, I believe.

also, some people have recommended this:
http://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GDOB&Product_Code=TR01&Category_Code=TR

I have the KHS flite 100. Its a great bike, except I swapped out the wheels, cranks, bb, bars, saddle and pedals immediately (the ones it comes with are pretty junky). I'd at least reccomend changing the wheels and saddle and maybe the cranks and bb if you have an extra set lying around.

Does the one you are looking at have threaded or threadless fork?

you can buy just a wheelset from IRO. sell the wheelset you get with your KHS, pick up a wheelset from IRO, and you're still well below the cost of a Mark V, I believe.

also, some people have recommended this:
http://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GDOB&Product_Code=TR01&Category_Code=TR

I have those wheels in black (looks awesome with the black frame of the flite/Kilo TT). I'm no expert but they are really smooth and nice in my opinion.

Whoa whoa whoa! Get the KHS man! For $400 the wheels will get you rolling, and the cranks will keep spinning! Sure, they are not super high end parts, but geez, you are only spending $400 on a COMPLETE BIKE!

I say go for it, ride the heck out of it, then upgrade down the line. All the parts are good quality, and won't just snap on you or anything. Shoot, for $400, you can't even get a track frame from any frame company!

reynolds 520 IS 4130 (basic cromo) fwiw. the flite is a far nicer bike than the mark v

im no expert on metel work what's so hot about Reynolds 520?

I have the KHS flite 100. Its a great bike, except I swapped out the wheels, cranks, bb, bars, saddle and pedals immediately (the ones it comes with are pretty junky). I'd at least reccomend changing the wheels and saddle and maybe the cranks and bb if you have an extra set lying around.

Does the one you are looking at have threaded or threadless fork?


you have it sir the new flites have 1" threadless after swapping out every single part on my last kilo I just bought a frame and built it <- me mechanic don't try this at home

I bought the khs flite 100 framset from spicer. I like it alot.

reynolds 520 IS 4130 (basic cromo) fwiw. the flite is a far nicer bike than the mark v


520 is butted I know you know that silly kisses

compare the downtube on the khs to a straight gauge no name 4130 tubeset

I bought the khs flite 100 framset from spicer. I like it alot.

yup thats where I got my frame from too it ricks I already wrecked it and put a dent in the top tube but it is good and solid still and nice looking

sweet
so if i were to swop out a few parts what would u guys recomend i get?

wheelset and cranks

get a decent wheelset maybe iro or go all out and get phils on open pros - (I did)

crankset and bb - sugino rd2 messenger on a budget or miche primato pista

pedals - mks sylvan kit with clips and straps or a set of decent spds and some
mountain shoes

cog - eai soma anything but the cheap da 1/8" and a decent lockring too
chain - 1/8" kmc

you can do all of this for around 3 or four hundred ish I would do it incrimentally though like most of us do

The set-up mentioned above was what I ran on mine until I got hit. Now I've got Miche's laced to Velocity Aeroheads.

Though, I bought the frameset from Gene Spicer. It wasn't cheap to build if from the frame up.

yeah my build squeeks in at just under $2000 yeah it is a necessary evil expensive parts when you weigh over 200#
phil wood hubs
fsa cranks and bb
thompson stem and post
selle italia saddle
deda bars
mks pedals
king hs

wow good stuff. i dont know if i want to spend a lode on the phils just yet... but ill get there after a few more pay checks. and Retem are your cranks/bb litterly called sugino rd2 messenger on a budget. you guys have been a lot of help at this point im pritty sold on the KHS, though it will take some time to make it a better build.
anything els you think i should know?

no they are a single sped track crank made by sugino they are called the rd2 messenger and come with a zen chainring really nice stuff too

http://store.somafab.com/paketrackcrank.html - pake cranks pretty nice

http://store.somafab.com/surd2mecr.html - rd2 pretty nice and solide for the price

i missed the kilo tt auctions a few months ago =(
hope they go up again, i need a tiny one for my GF.

they have the windsors up for cheaps too they are equally as nice

i missed the kilo tt auctions a few months ago =(
hope they go up again, i need a tiny one for my GF.

http://tinyurl.com/yangqo

Looks like they're back. I'm considering getting one myself and upgrading components as needed. Any reason not to? I've been looking to convert an old road bike, but by the time I find a frame that's appealing to me aesthetically and consider the price of, say, and IRO build kit, shipping, etc. I'm well over the price of a Mercier.

A couple of questions, if anyone happens to know: First, are the decals clear-coated, or fairly easy to remove? Second, what are we looking at in terms of "urgent" upgrades? Wheelset? Crankset?

Any help here is appreciated. Thanks!

edit: Apologies to Retem who basically answered my second question way ^up there^ Sorry about that.

mostly wheels those quando hubs on those things are janky but you can score a wheel set off ebay for about 140 shipped that is pretty decent

Sadly, ALL of those decals are under the clearcoat. Nothing a little gaff tape won't fix, though.

Sadly, ALL of those decals are under the clearcoat. Nothing a little gaff tape won't fix, though.


Fair enough. Thanks guys.

screw gaffers tape get black reflective diy sheeting and spread it on bee seen at bight stealth durig the day

520 is butted I know you know that silly kisses

compare the downtube on the khs to a straight gauge no name 4130 tubeset


I'm pretty sure you don't know what "butted" means.

not round != butted.

I'm pretty sure you don't know what "butted" means.

not round != butted.

have you looked at the main triangle of either the mercier or the kh flite I mean seriously do a little research and you will see it is clearly butted the downtube has a teardrop crossection and the top tube flares at the ends

and you can get tubing that is butted internally so the id changes rather than the od I know I have worked with lugs quite a bit

please please please do look into things more closely

all butted means is that the thickness of the metal varies over the length that is all it means it doesn't necessarily mean that it is oval shaped at all

the iro angus made of butted reynolds 631 looks like bloody straight gauge from the outside


check out novas selection
http://www.novacycles.com/

uhhh, i ride a KHS.
I know it's butted.

i'm just saying that the profile of the tube doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the wall thickness. You can't tell if a round tube is butted just by looking at it.

The "generic 4130" of the MarkV is also butted
Reynolds 520 is 4130 except it's drawn to Reynold's spec and has a sticker on it.

you'll have to get a very very low end bike nowadays to end up with something with straight gauge tubing (i.e. the SE POS)

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/6950/img7878uk3.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img7878uk3.jpg)
http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/9065/img7879lo1.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img7879lo1.jpg)

yes agreed this is some pics of my ride you can see the profile in them pretty well

the pake is the only gas pipe frame I can think of

Butted means there is a varying wall thickness in the tubing.
Pierced means there are holes where the tubing meets making it lite wate.
Sometimes tubing will be ovalized a tad in an attempt to make a larger tube meet up with a smaller tube (ie top tube to the seat tube) not sure what this is called...ovalized tubing?

it is called flare and miter

thos look like pritty sweet cranks. I think ill have to up grade those when i get the KHS. hay does any one know were i can get last years model, i hear thats going to 100$ less.

nah get the carbon pr cranks these the chainring spider slips on back pressure

ow lame.

Whoa whoa whoa! Get the KHS man! For $400 the wheels will get you rolling, and the cranks will keep spinning! Sure, they are not super high end parts, but geez, you are only spending $400 on a COMPLETE BIKE!

I say go for it, ride the heck out of it, then upgrade down the line. All the parts are good quality, and won't just snap on you or anything. Shoot, for $400, you can't even get a track frame from any frame company!


CtoF is totally right...i picked up a complete flite 100 in 2002 or 03 (whichever year was orange) and i've slowly replaced everything on it except the front wheel (it hasn't broken YET!) and the headset/stem (although i'll likely replace the headset after this winter). but it's a great bike FOR THE MONEY. -and the paintjob is a lot less awful than fuji's low-end track bike.

yeah but if I am not mistaken yours is the old version with the sloping top tube true temper tubeset and a set of sugino 75s standard

i didnt know that they made a KHS flight 100 back in the day with a sloping top tube. does anyone know what year?

it was 2001 and older I looked it up earlier

yeah but if I am not mistaken yours is the old version with the sloping top tube true temper tubeset and a set of sugino 75s standard

no sloping tt, but it did come with sugino 75s....regardless, most 'entry-level' complete bikes are basically the same, and unless you've got a garage full of parts to build something up, a $400 complete bike will get you rolling and you can start upgrading piece-by-piece as things break/wear-out

you'll have to get a very very low end bike nowadays to end up with something with straight gauge tubing (i.e. the SE POS)
Most BMX bikes are straight gauge for stoutness. The SE isn't even Cro-moly, I wouldn't be surprised if it is straight gauge too. As far as the Pake, I believe it is double-butted also, similar to a Mark V.

Most BMX bikes are straight gauge for stoutness. The SE isn't even Cro-moly, I wouldn't be surprised if it is straight gauge too. As far as the Pake, I believe it is double-butted also, similar to a Mark V.


they must have changed it cuz a buddy o mine has one and it is gas pipe but it is also a great pothole buster