KHS MONTANA PRO.

[matt224]

Hello everyone im new to this site and i dont know much about mountain bikes either? thats why i need your help, about 2 weeks ago my sister left her mountain bike in my garden shed (ive taken it inside today) since then ive took it out a few times and it seems like a decent ride i am tempted to make her an offer or sell it for her as she has no need for it anymore, although i would prefer a hardtail as i like to do a bit of off roading aswell.

Can anyone tell me what year it was made, how much it mite be worth today in reasoable condition and if its a good bike today i understand its a retro bike i think? but is it a good retro bike for todays standards, any other information about it would be great too.

it has XT DEORE GROUPSET
LX CRANK
DOUBLE BUTTED CHROMOLY FRAME
DIA COMPE 987 BRAKES

You may no all this anyway from just looking at the bike but like i said i dont know much about mountain bikes, so any help on this would be much appriciated thankyou.

 

[TheGreenRabbit]

Nice ride try posting here for the value http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29681

and welcome

 

[REKIBorter]

Looks very similar to Neil__J's 1993 KHS Montana Pro

 

[kaiser]

I started a Montana thread not so long ago, have a gander at that. Oh and get some better pics

 

[neil__j]

Without seeing some other views or getting some part numbers off the Shimano bits (probably the best indicator of year) I'd say it was slightly more recent than mine, so probably 94 or 95. The True Temper stickers look the same, but the rest are a different style.

My XT cranks have the older type bolts with covers, not the allen key ones it looks like you have. I don't know anything about Dia Compe brakes. The front mech has a hole in the inside plate like all modern ones do, mine's narrower but solid so probably an older version.

As far as it being a good bike, it depends what you want and the types of trails you normally ride. I really enjoy riding mine, but where I live you don't need suspension to have fun.

 

[Kintore]

KHS Montana Pro

I believe it is a 1993 model. I had one identical to it and wrote it off on the saddle of Lochnegar near Ballater. I was riding to the top of the saddle, hands on the bar ends, endorphin crazed then started to leg it down the other side where there is an eight mile downhill to Balmoral. Fantastic only the going got so rough and I was going so fast that I couldn't get my hands from the bar ends to the brakes. Result? I hit a football sized rock and concertina'd the down tube by the head stock. I loved the bike for the following reasons. Light, agile, comfy.

I bought a Clockwork Orange frame in 95 to replace the Knackered KHS one but the bike was never the same as the geometry of the KHS was unorthadox for the time and the stem was odd. Somehow the Orange felt too short after the KHS, probably more a function that the KHS bits didn't fit the frame as I would have liked. My bike now......still the KHS bits on the Orange frame.
If you are serious about selling I would be interested in buying it.

 

[Kintore]

Details of the bike!

Originally the bike would have had a titanium Bontrager saddle The stem would have been a Zoom but quite short and with a steep incline. Bike came with Panaracer Smoke Lites which were puncture prone in my experience. To elaborate from my last comment the bike frame is very "flexy" which makes it great on the bumps as the frame takes the shock out of the rough stuff. In those days that was as close as you got to suspension! The bike would not work well with a suspension fork for this reason now as the front forks bounced all over the place....alarmingly sometimes!

Downside of this? Bikes were getting too light and this frame is fragile as I found out. Too big an impact on the front fork would torque the frame at the headstock as the top tube and down tube were too close together