PatrickGSR94

I have this KHS Alite 1000 that I bought several years ago, before I really knew what sort of biking I liked. Well now I know that I prefer road biking, and this KHS really makes things slow for me with the knobby tires and front suspension. Also I think the frame is a touch too small for me. I'm 5'11 with 30-32" inseam, and it seems like I have to raise the saddle up pretty high to get a comfortable leg extension on the pedals.

It's a pretty nice bike, as far as I can tell with my *very* limited experience. Heckuva lot better than the old Wal-Mart POS steel frame bike I got for Christmas when I was a kid in the early 90's. It has some nice parts, but I'm looking to see what I can upgrade to make it more road-friendly. I guess that would make it a hybrid?

I'm thinking the following:
- Narrower, smooth tread tires
- Rigid front fork
- Different handle bars?

I'm pretty happy with the gear sets and derailleurs. Brakes seem fine, too. Rims seem like they're nice and light aluminum, Powerbeam brand, 22mm outer width I believe, 571mm diameter, holes for Presta tube valves. Current tires say Mythos XC 26x2.10.

Front forks are RockShox Long Travel IndyXC.

To compensate for the frame size, I was thinking of something to raise the handle bars up. Not sure what's available that would accomplish that, or if I should switch to the road-style bike handlebars. Not sure of the term for that.

Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get back into riding, as I really don't enjoy riding it that much on the road right now.

A few pics:

Rx Rider

slicks will go a long way to improve your speed, I'd go the inverted tread route, that way you won't washout so much if you off-road.

antmuzic

Some bar ends would be a good start for you. That's a real easy upgrade.

mtbikerinpa

Tires are a big one. It doesn't neccesarily have to be slick or semi slick if the tread is setup properly. Some treads such as the Panaracer Trailblaster 1.95 roll almost as well as a slick without losing the benefit of tread. On my daily commuter I have a semislick on the rear and a tread on the front since the tread flex is a rear thing primarily.

Depending on your power output/terrain you could benefit from a larger chainring on the front. If your area is 'hilly' it may be less apparent than if it was flatland.

On the safety side, ALWAYS get a rear flasher. Even in daylight, especially morning and evening they are a major benefit from vehicular visibility(I was tempted to talk to a rider the other morning that was disappearing into glare). Daylight or night, If I am on a road I have a marker light on. Cars do it automatically now, so why shouldn't we?

PatrickGSR94

Sorry folks, but when I say n00b I REALLY mean NEWBIE. Inverted tread? Bar ends? That's greek to me

PatrickGSR94

Larger front chainring, you mean like the front sprockets with the pedals on them? And yeah we have some hills around here. Last time I rode the local newest paved bike trail made from an old railroad line, it took me 1.5 hours to make the 14 mile round trip. And that's pretty much arrow-straight and dead-flat the whole way. Closer to my house there are many more hills and I got worn out from just 3 or 4 miles. Granted it was pretty cold and blustery that day, and I've been pretty out of shape for years now. I've started running the past few months so I'm working on the out-of-shape thing. Hopefully now I'd be a bit better on the endurance.

Rx Rider

the tread looks much like a car tire, it looks smooth but there's stipes cut into the tire. some tires offer knobs on the edges but a smooth center section. those are good for winter riding.
getting tired is par for the course, keep pushing yourself. you'd get tired on a road bike just the same.

Dunbar

I would just do 26" narrow slicks. Changing the fork is going to be costly. The saddle doesn't look that high, from the photo it looks like an 1" or so below the bars. But you can get an adjustable or fixed riser stem to raise the bars up. Whomever chopped off the steerer tube didn't do you any favors as far as raising the bars. Deore XT and LX are very good quality.

PatrickGSR94

Ah yes, I see that now. Car road tire instead of off-road mud tire. Duhh

Also wondering how I could make it so I don't have to lean over so far to reach the handle bar grips. Different handle bars with taller rise? Or those bar ends like were mentioned above?

What about front fork? I've seen some inexpensive fixed forks on eBay, but I'm not sure how to determine what size I need, or which dimensions I need to pay attention to. I know there's a headset thread measurement like 1-1/8" I think, but I'm not sure how to tell what I have.

jbchybridrider 

G'day mate, Firstly your bike looks fantastic and would have been pretty high end when new so for me looking at it it would be a shame to start pulling it to bits modifying.
If the bike is setup as you ride it in the picture then it actually looks the right size for you and if going faster on the road is what you want then you don't want the bars higher but you could put bar ends on for more hand positions, there also good for short standing sprints and a shorter stem if that would feel comfortable to you.
I would also recommend clip in pedals and shoes for more secure foot position but the best thing you can do is change those tires, for outright speed I recommend these.

PatrickGSR94

Here's a more current pic I just took. I changed the saddle to something more arse-friendly, but this is where I have it set right now.

What is the narrowest tire I can fit on 571mm x 22mm rims?

PatrickGSR94

Or here's another thought: is there some way I could "convert" this front fork to be rigid? Maybe some way to fix it in place so that it can't compress at all?

jbchybridrider 

I see were outgunning each other with posts, the Michelin's above are the fastest you'll get from BikeTiresDirect.com or you could buy a new bike and ship the KHS to me.

FrenchFit 

I've converted a few of these hardtails. I think you do it step by step. figure out your needs and priorites as you go along. 1st: tires, I just switched to Continental Travel Contacts and like them, but there are plenty of 26" semi-slick, slick, or multi-use threaded tires to choose from. You want to stay light, not too wide, and get some decent puncture protection. If you think you might wander into the dirt or gravel, then you'll want some thread. You do not want mountain tires, even if they are fast rollers.

Afterwards, let the fit you want dictate how you update the cockpit and seat. If you are going to be riding fairly upright your component choices are going to be different than if you like to be stretched out forward and down. Ease into it. And you might find over time you like that old Indy XC for the street if it's not trashed.

Dunbar

Go to the following link at the bottom under "width considerations." Can't tell much from your second photo since the bike doesn't look level.

https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

Rx Rider

you might want to tip that saddle back a bit, it looks like it wants to throw you over the handlebars. I put a 1'' slicks on a MTB it was very fast and flat all the time.

daredevil

rigid fork and different rubber and you're set. I've done that to two bikes and they make great commuters. I run studs on one of them in the winter.

zerogravity

Lets see:
Narrower bars(Flat Bars)
Bar Ends
Narrower Tires with no knobs
Bigger Crank Gears
Smaller Cassette
Rigid/Carbon Fork

I think that's it.

PatrickGSR94

Thanks for all the help everyone. I am trying to keep costs as low as possible on this. If I look for a different fork, what specs/dimensions do I need to watch for?

As far as pedals and shoes, the bike came with these, I think they're called "clipless" pedals? Is that right?



Since I don't have shoes for them I got regular studded pedals, but would consider getting shoes if I could find some for a decent price that would work with these. I have no idea the brand of these or if only a certain type of shoe would work with these.

Igo

Sell it and buy a road bike. It's one thing to modify a bike. It's another to whip it into submission.

daredevil

yes those are spd style clipless pedals which you will like as you get into cycling more. What would you pay for a pair of shoes? Take a look at the Bike Nashbar site....they have some pretty reasonably priced stuff.

Are you going to replace the fork yourself? If not, your local bike shop should be able to advise you easy enough.

zerogravity

If you are under a budget, the best way to attain parts cheap or FREE is to goto the "Pay It forward" threads on different bike forums. I have gotten free gears, rockshox forks, dropper posts, tires, bars, and stems from different places. Not all are beaten up...some people just have no need for them. WHo would have thought getting over $500 worth of stuff for free was possible?

mtbikerinpa

The pedals should be fine. Clipless are the nicest way to go when you want to stay on your pedals(like hills and seated work), allowing more rpm. The larger chainring would be if you have your endurance built up to drive it. In contrast to a few, I would reccomend leaving the suspension on.

As a person who does lot's of road commuting mixed with potholes and the good ol' IDK in the middle with carpal tunnel hands, suspension is good to take the edge off. Sometimes it can make the diff between a bang or an endo, plus a little bit of traction. Good pedal technique will reduce or eliminate any losses due to suspension movement. If you are sitting(which is the most efficient) it should not move at all, or your damping will likely need adjustment. My RockShox Sid has no lockouts yet I have had no bob problems. If it has air spring you can also add air pressure to stiffen it if led to. That is subtle though since they have a top end pressure limit.

PatrickGSR94

I don't know, seems like when I get on the bike, the shocks just compress all the way and stay there. They might be blown and acting like a rigid fork already.

I guess for shoes I just buy whatever I want and then get cleats that work with the pedals?

Ughh not liking the idea of shoes, as I tend to stay barefoot most of the time, including barefoot running. I would want something as open and breathable as possible.

Rx Rider

+1, it's the rear suspension bikes that suck all the speed.

plus Igo said it well --It's one thing to modify a bike. It's another to whip it into submission.--