legec117

I have been thinking, two options.

I was looking at "inexpensive" forks --- around $300, i weigh 160ish, ride a GF tarpon. i ride mostly flat XC and love to jump/drop(open to suggestions). My bike has a crap suntour xct 100mm travel on it. I bottomed it out numerous times this weekend, and have it set pretty tight. If i set it any tighter, then it is almost rigid over roots and logs which serves no purpose... I actually think I hate it. I understand that my bike is entry level, but I'm comfortable with the frame.

Another option I was looking at saving for full-susp, but I've never ridden one and don't know if I would like it. Also if I did go full, would I be able to buy a frame and transfer parts? Utter confusion, sorry for rambling, but would love a random stranger to guide my decisions. I really like the look of "burn notices" khs xc204($365 shipped), would this be a candidate for a possible transplant? I do have a limited budget, but dont know an exact number yet.

Roasted

I too have been eyeing up Burn Notice's build and might snag the KHS 204 myself. I'm looking around as we speak to see if there's any alternative options out there for me. Not that I think the 204 wouldn't work for me, but I hate to only have 1 option and decide... I like to browse, compare, and then decide. But who knows, I may end up with that same frame myself!

Likewise, I'm planning on doing a transplant from my current hardtail. There are some things you have to consider when swapping parts over. First of all, plan on buying new cable housing. The set points for cable housing from frame to frame can be radically different, especially from a hardtail to a full squish bike. Secondly, you need to look at several other things. For example, what travel fork is the frame designed for? You need to make sure your fork will operate within that frame's geometry. I emailed somebody selling KHS frames and said they work great with forks 3-5". A quick number crunch shows 3-5" is 76-127mm forks, which is quite a wide range. You also need to look at the headtube. Is it 1 1/8? 1.5? The thickness needs to match up accordingly. Also, the bottom bracket area is another one that can throw you through a loop. My hardtail uses a 73mm bottom bracket, but the KHS 204 uses a 68mm bottom bracket. So I need to get a new bottom bracket to make the swap. No biggie, JensonUSA has them for 13.99. But still, things to consider.

While I've never done a frame swap, this is at least what *I* have been telling myself due to what I've read already.

legec117

thanks, glad to see someone else has the same ideas as me.. I still have no idea which option i will take yet

Roasted

Well, I can only offer my own experience here. I hate to tell people what to do because while I feel like I've soaked up a good bit of knowledge from various bike forums, there's still a lot I don't know. But anyway, here's what I did. I purchased the KHS XC 204 frame tonight at WheelWorld. I was looking around at other various options, but nothing looked too robust to me. I found some deals, sure, but they were all considerably more expensive. Extensive review reading of the KHS frame informed me that uses who have it spoke very highly. Like Burn Notice, this will be my entry into the full suspension world. I simply wanted a full suspension bike that was not too brutally heavy to lug uphill (taking downhill/freeride bikes out of the equation) but was really good at climbing and decent at pretty much everything else. This left me with a blend of XC (cross country) and AM (all mountain) options. I went with the XC, since it fit the bill, my wants, needs, etc moreso than the all mountain options that I came across.

As a result, what I said above kicks into gear. Matching everything up... Well the KHS uses a 1 1/8" headtube, which is extremely common with today's frames. You won't find much variation in this unless you get into downhill and some freeride frames that use 1.5" headtubes. So I knew in that department I was covered, since my fork uses a 1 1/8" steer tube. Hmm, what else... ahh, the bottom bracket. The KHS uses a 68mm bottom bracket. I do not have a crankset made for external bottom brackets (yet) and the only bottom brackets I have are 73mm, so I went ahead and ordered a 68mm from JensonUSA for like 14 bucks. In particular, I ordered the 68x113 spindle, only because when I emailed WheelWorld, they suggested that. I have *NO* idea if that's the correct one to use - but I'll find out when it gets here.

The only thing is, if you go with the KHS option, you get a suspension frame. Okay, great. But you still have that fork up front that you're not too happy with. If you're willing to dish out some more change, you'll be able to accommodate purchasing a new fork for the bike as well - but like anything else, upgrades stack up quickly. I purchased the 2010 RockShox Tora SL 120mm solo air fork for my bike, and I've been extremely happy with it. It was delivered to my door for about 265 bucks if I remember right.

The big question is how much are you willing to spend to get a bike you want. A frame is one thing, but a frame is only part of the equation. Have you tinkered with bike mechanics before? Do you have the tools to swap parts out? Crank puller, bottom bracket removal tool, torque wrench, etc?

I will admit though, I noticed a huge difference on my hardtail when I bought the Tora fork. It was amazingly better than what I had previously. I felt like the entire ride-ability of the bike was completely turned around after that. I would like to point out that my fork was absolutely horrible that I had before, so while some people may consider the Tora pretty entry level, it was a heckuva change for me. If you're comfortable with your hardtail minus the fork, perhaps that's where you should start. I think I'd rather have a pretty bad ass hardtail w/ a solid frame and decent fork as opposed to a bad ass full suspension bike with a very blah fork.