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I’ve got to tell you, we’re getting some great weather here in Southern California. A group of us took advantage of the weather and went out riding this morning. We chose the always fun Fullerton Loop.

I rode my X-Cal while a good friend of mine got to try out the new KHS Tucson. He normally rides a 26″ aluminum bike so the Tucson is different for him in that it is a 29er and it has a steel frame. Most of the parts spec on the Tucson is similar to his 26″ mtn bike.

I just wanted to share with you some of his impressions on the bike:

- the bottom bracket is very strong. He felt that the Truvative Blaze crankset and the Truvativ Howitzer Splined outboard cartridge bearing bottom bracket made a very good pairing. It seemed to him that it was solid combination.
- the steel frame exhibited flex that his aluminum bike normally does not have. This seems to be a sought after trait in steel bike frames.
- he likes the 29er wheels. hehe
- he feels faster on the 29er. Maybe it’s the momentum or the ability to roll over small obstacles, but he definitely feels faster on the 29er than on his 26 inch bike.
- if he was in the market for another bike, he’d be willing to pay a bit more for a 29er with the same parts spec as a 26″ bike.

I also went to the LBS after the ride to tune up my X-cal and have some work done to it (you’ll find out soon what was done) and a couple of the mechanics took turns riding the Tucson and commenting on it. One of them, who used to race an X-Cal and just bought a Salsa Dos-Niner to race felt that the geometry of the Tucson was very similar to his new Dos-Niner. He liked the Tucson.

Just some quick impressions I thought you might be interested in hearing. If you’d like more info on the KHS Tucson, click here.

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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.

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