Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - KHS Solo-One

Ok, so those of you who know me, know that I have the coaster brake road bike Schwinn type thing. It's my only (practical to ride) bike right now. I am looking for a graduation gift for myself from me, and am considering this bike.

http://www.khsbicycles.com/04-solo-one-web.jpg

I generally tend to prefer building my own freaks, but sort of want to not go through that much trouble this time. What I have in mind as a final result is sort of a cyclocross single/fixed bike that will do everything ok. My bike now is lovingly referred to as "Meijer" (does everything, but nothing too well...)

So it's this bike, swap a few things around maybe, maybe flip/flop wheel (or bolt a cog to the disc brake side), maybe different bars, rack, etc.

My other choice is to find some old school freak of a mountain bike with horizontal drops, like an old Schwinn Mesa Runner or an old Fuji Sandblaster or something, and work on that.

Any input about the KHS? I'm not too sure about the softtail thing, I prefer things simple.

Thanks guys!

Oh, by the way, my bike shop is a KHS dealer, but they don't have any in stock, so no testing before ordering.

i dig that bike....

ALOT!!!

reynolds DB cromo, rigid fork, lightweight softail design, decent brakes and crankset for price point... and stealthy black.. what else could ya ask for?!?

if i had to buy a bike all over again i probably would have gotten that. another consideration is the Kona Unit but it cost more and im not too big of a fan of kona geometry

Bummer, JensonUSA had the '03 model for around $350 until just recently.

I was thinking about picking one up for singlespeeding but I;d have to up the chainring. The softtail is really nothing more than a slightly compliant rubber slug. Enough to absorb the road rattle.

redline makes something.

redline makes something.
That'd be the Redline Monocog...only thing is it has BMX rear spacing, limiting your rear hub choices.

Awesome bike!

I love that rigid, straight fork. Early this year I bought a 2001(or 2002?) Kona Hahana (not a SS) with the same type of fork (Kona Project 2) and I think it rides like a Cadillac (I haven't had a newer bike in awhile!). Haven't had it offroad yet but it's seen plenty of curbs and potholes. I don't think it needs suspension.

A good friend of mine picked up a solo-one recently... GREAT BIKE. GO FOR IT!

That'd be the Redline Monocog...only thing is it has BMX rear spacing, limiting your rear hub choices.


...to BMX hubs....which there are a ton of, and most of them pretty much rule!


(chris king makes a BMX hub)

I think I am going to go for it. Have to wait maybe another month or so, but I'll keep you guys updated. I'll be swapping out the chainring, too, for commuting purposes. I'm running 39x16 on 26" rims, and it's a little too low. Maybe I'll go for a 42...I'm excited, especially since I can get it from my bike shop. The only thing that bums me out a little is that I have a bunch of retro parts that won't look quite right on it...oh, well.

Here is the link I meant to put up first, so you could see the specs:

http://www.khsbicycles.com/04solo.html

As for the Monocog, it's a bit too beefy and BMXish for what I need, otherwise it'd be in the running as well (however, no 110 fixed offroad hub choices other than king?)

Thanks for your input, guys!

Jessica

Awesome bike!

I love that rigid, straight fork. Early this year I bought a 2001(or 2002?) Kona Hahana (not a SS) with the same type of fork (Kona Project 2) and I think it rides like a Cadillac (I haven't had a newer bike in awhile!). Haven't had it offroad yet but it's seen plenty of curbs and potholes. I don't think it needs suspension.

Smurfy, my ex has the same bike, so I'm very familiar. That project one fork is what really got me paying attention to and appreciating rigid forks! Great bike! Congrats.

I was looking at the monocog and the solo-one for a while. As for the monocog, I couldn't find ANY fixed BMX spaced hubs. About the Solo-One, I asked KHS a few months ago about fixing it. They said that it wasn't designed for it and the stress of backpedaling would destroy the rear shock. Its a damn good looking bike, but I couldn't get a bike that couldn't get fixed.
I decided on the IRO highlander. It comes with a flip/flop as standard and looks pretty nice too.

tim

About the Solo-One, I asked KHS a few months ago about fixing it. They said that it wasn't designed for it and the stress of backpedaling would destroy the rear shock.

tim[/QUOTE]


Hmmm, definitely something to think about. That never occured to me, and I was planning on having a flip flop rear wheel built for it....Nothing can ever be easy, can it?

yeah, I was upset when they told me that it couldn't be fixed. If I was just going to go single speed, I'd have gotten a solo-one in a second. Have you looked at the IRO Highlander yet? It comes with a fixed/fixed rear hub that can take a cog or a freewheel on either side. And since they are a small company, you could probably get them to swap the chainring and throw on a fixed cog for cheap.
www.irocycle.com (http://www.irocycle.com)
I've heard good things about their other bikes, but not much on the highlander.

tim

there are atleast a dozen 'cassette' bmx hubs out there, some under the $75 dollar range new.....and even in a more desireable 36h pattern as well.....

may I suggest the odyssey hazard cassette hub......not entirely sure if its available with a 3/8th axle but its an incredible and fairly indestructable hub that is really popular in the bmx community right now....

so much for no hub options....hehe....

you could even run any, and I mean ANY hub off of your typical bmx bike with a freewheel....just an idea

as for fixed options.....I can't think of anything off the top of my head....