KHS SixFifty 7200, 4 Season 1000 fat bike, BNT 29
KHS had several of their 2015 bicycles on display at the Winter Bike Press Camp event this week including mountain bikes, road bikes, kids bikes and more. In addition to the KHS brand, they also produce bikes under the Free Agent BMX brand as well as Manhattan cruisers. They have also been one of the early adopters of the 650b wheel size for mountain bikes.
We chatted with KHS Marketing Manager, Flick who explained, “We released our first 650b wheeled bike in 2009 and we have sold more 650b bikes than anyone else, across 19 different models.” With such equity built up in the 650b nomenclature, it’s easy to see why they would not want to drop it for the now more commonly used “27.5” designation.
160mm rear travel, enduro, 27.5 wheels.
KHS SixFifty 7200 – 160mm enduro with 27.5 wheels
The first bike is the 2015 SixFifty 7200, an enduro bike with 160mm of rear travel and 650b/27.5″ wheels and tires. The main frame is 6061 aluminum and the rear swingarms are made from 7005 aluminum. It features a 2×10 Shimano XT/SLX drivetrain and for those looking for a 1x option, the next model up in the lineup (the SixFifty 7500) has a 1×11 drivetrain. Suspension duties are handled by a Rock Shox Pike fork and a Monarch shock. KHS calls their suspension design F.A.S.T. which stands for floating arc suspension technology and it is a four-bar style linkage suspension that creates a virtual pivot. F.A.S.T. is also designed to be anti-squat in order to reduce lost energy during pedaling. The suspension design was developed with input from KHS’s successful downhill team which features ProGRT Champions Logan Binggeli and Kevin Aiello.
The SixFifty 7200 also comes with a KS E-Ten dropper post with remote and all KHS mountain bikes come with tubeless ready wheels and tires. The bike is availble in 4 sizes (S, M, L, XL) and comes in the matte black/green color shown. The MSRP of the KHS SixFifty 7200 is $3699.
Alloy 6061 frame with custom shaped top tube.
4 Season 1000 – alloy fat bike also available in carbon
One thing we learned is that KHS now makes four models of fat bikes, 3 alloy models and one carbon model (4 Season 5000). We took a close-up look at the KHS 4 Season 1000 made with 6061 aluminum for the frame and a steel, straight blade fork. It features a 2×10 SRAM drivetrain, Hayes Dyno hydraulic disc brakes, 26×4.00 tires with 190mm spacing in the rear.
The 4 Season 1000 comes with VP alloy platform pedals. The name refers to the fact that this bike can be ridden year round, one of the things that make fat bikes popular beyond just a winter time sport for the snow. The bike is available in 4 sizes (15, 17, 19, 21) and comes in two colors: the black finish shown here as well as a matte red option. The MSRP of the KHS 4 Season 10000 is $1399.
For Big and Tall riders with a Zinn designed frame.
BNT 29 – for big and tall riders
Lastly, we take a look at the BNT 29, a big bike for big people. The frame of the BNT 29 is designed by renowned expert Lennard Zinn, who also happens to be the forum sponsor of our Clydesdale/Tall Rider forum right here on Mtbr. The BNT frame is Reynolds 520 double butted chromoly steel and features a 2×10 Shimano Deore/XT drivetrain, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, Manitou Marvel Comp 120mm fork and Stan’s Rapid wheelset with Maxxis Ikon tires are tubeless wheels. The cranks are extra long at 200mm. The bike is available in two sizes: the XXL (shown) and XXXL. The MSRP of the KHS BNT 29 is $1969.
What made KHS decide to build big and tall bikes? Flick responds, “We received a lot of phone calls from our customers looking for bigger bikes for bigger people. These are customers that didn’t need or want to go the full custom route and wanted a more cost effective option. So KHS is responding to customer requests with this bike.”
For more information visit: khsbicycles.com
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