KHS Tucson First Impressions

KHS Tucson

The first thing you notice about the KHS Tucson is that the picture on the website does not do the Flat Gray Brown justice. The paint job on the bike is subtle and beautiful at the same time. Take a look for yourself. All the other pictures I took with flash, because it was late and I’m in my dimly lit garage, but this one is handheld without flash and it only begins to capture how beautiful the brown is.

KHS Tucson Top Tube

Secondly, I noticed that the tubes are much thinner than an aluminum bike. Maybe half or 2/3 the thickness of my Gary Fisher X-caliber (aluminum). I’m not a frame material expert, so if you know better please clue me in. I believe why this is so is because steel is stronger & heavier than aluminum, you can use less steel to get aluminum’s strength and still stay near a total aluminum frame weight.

KHS Tucson Headtube Junction

The last thing I noticed about the frame is that the down tube’s tubing is in the shape of a triangle, a well rounded triangle. They say that the strongest shape is a triangle and KHS took that and used it well in the downtube. I’m sorry, but I just could not get a picture that clearly showed the downtube to be in the shape of a triangle. I’ll consult my photographer friend in the morning and try to get a picture up of that as well.

The Kenda Karma’s 1.9 seem to be a legit 1.9 as compared to my Bontrager XR Jones 2.0. Although there is plenty of clearance for this tire, the rear stays won’t be holding a WTB Weirwolf (2.55 inches) anytime soon.

KHS Tucson Rear Stays

Similarly, the clearance between the front derailleur and the rear tire is pretty small, but this seems to be a consistent issue with most all 29ers.

KHS Tucson Front Derailleur clearance to Rear Tire

Here are the rest of the pictures of the KHS Tucson. Enjoy.

Shimano Rear Hub

Deore shifters, Hayes MX-4 brakes, WTB grips

WTB Grip, nice touch

KHS Tucson Headtube

To find out more about the bike, check it out here. I’ll be spending some time on the bike, testing it out. Keep checking back for the full review.