[The Rose]

Gonna be building a 2003 KHS fetish and I'm thinking about using Stratos shock and fork. Does anyone have any expirience with Stratos stuff? I'll either run the el jefe ( if it will fit inside the linkage)or the helix. As far as the fork I haven't decided yet. I have talked to them over the phone and by email and they sound like a company that stands behind their product. Its tough to find shocks for this bike because of the high leverage ratio. KHS got the design from cannondale, the bike originally came with DNM, Romic and Fox shocks but I've been told that only the romics lasted. The bike has an eye to eye of 7.5 inches and a stroke of 45mm. Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks.

 

[vitox]

jefe is a good call for a funky leverage bike like that one, i dont quite know if it would be worth it $-wise to drop that sort of coin into the frame but youre probably better informed than me

as for the forks i say you can do better with other brands pretty much regardless of the discount you might be gettin on the stratos forks.

 

[Transcend]

Why are you thinking of stratos products at all? That should be the real question. Also, it isn't really economically sound to drop that sort of coin on a KHS.

 

[Pip3r]

cant comment on the forks but i had an el jefe on my bb7 last year and loved it. If you want something that can just plow over everything thats a damn good option. If you want something for more finess and weaving through everything forget it.

 

[The Rose]

Here's the story, A friend picked up the bike for 300 bucks, Brand new. No rear shock. And yes this guy is a steam roller no finesse involved in his riding at all. I'm thinking of Stratos just for something a bit different. I've talked to a few guys at mountain creek that run the front forks and they love them.

 

[ssaddict]

Find something other than that frame, it's a design way past it's time. If you can get the swingarm and headtube of the mainframe to last long enough you'll find out it has horrible suspension/pedal kickback and will eat shocks alive because of chassis flex. Bearings also don't last long, and even Melissa and the rest of the KHS crew have switched over to different Azonic Eliminator copies because it just wasn't a competive bike.

There are many other price competive frames out there that offer alot more performance value without warranty issues.

 

[Sandwich]

entry level bike....not pro 2000$ dher.

The stratos might be a good option, but I would try to find something used. While everyone will tell you not to bother, 300 for your first bike isn't terrible. I'd rather see somebody on the hill breaking their bike than sitting in a forum talking about it.......er.....um.....

Anyways, if you can find a used fox or etc, it will get you out on the trails. From what I've heard, KHS is not a reliable brand, and you're better off not putting much money into it. If you can scrounge something up for cheap, you'd be better off.

Also, I believe the Fetish is different than the dominatrix, and works something like a single pivot...i honestly don't know, but I'm pretty sure they are different bikes. If it is indeed a fetish, then there is less to worry about. The fulcrum-knockoff dominatrax was a POS, from what I've heard. I still want one anyways.

 

[TWISTED]

Stratos shocks? Oh yes, they are definitely the best. There is no doubt about it. But alot of money.

Oh wait! look at this. Both need service etc. Have springs and hardware.
Make offer.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Only the Romic shock lasted out of that lineup of shocks?? Hmmm...interesting. It's one extreme or the other with those guys.

Anyways, I was actually thinking myself of picking up one of those El Jefe shocks next year once I'm done being in debt. Apparently they work really well from all the online reviews and biker-reviews. As for their forks...IF you were to get one, the only one that works is the S8. If you want something with less travel in front, get the S8 with 7" cartridges. If not, get something completely different.

I think their customer service did improve lately...I'm pretty sure you spoke to Catherine.

 

[The Rose]

Yeah catherine is the girl I spoke to. She seemed very knowledgable,as well as excited about her product. As far as the KHS frame I've heard mixed things about it from people and mtbr. I think it will suit this guy just fine. Right now he Downhills with a surly instigator, so anything will be an improvement.

 

[azonicbruce]

I used to have a Stratos LR-1 for about 3-4 months. Honestly, I liked it. It was the stiffest fork I had ever had, took big hits very well, and the lockout was nice for the climbs.

However I had promised myself that the first time I ever had problems, I was going to sell it. Well, sure enough I did. The rebound rod had some weird thing go wrong with it and it wouldn't get full travel. After it got "fixed" then I had a problem with it bottoming too easily (probably not enough oil), but regardless I sold it and haven't look back.

I probably would have grown to like it more but I just didn't have the patience to work out all the little nit picky problems with it.

 

[cali4niabiker]

For starters, I suggest that you pick up a cheap used rear shock (i.e., Fox Vanilla RC) and slap it on the KHS frame. Ride it 'till the bearings fall out or 'till you get plain sick of it. In the meantime, try your buddies' bikes to get a feel of how the frame handles, etc. Go from there and over time, you'll be amazed how much you'll know which bikes you like/dislike... and you can buy the frame you adore later.

EDIT: As for Stratos, Catherine is cool and she does know about the Stratos stuff inside & out. In terms of reliability, they are so so IMO (I have a Helix Pro but the seals are shot after 1 year of riding and it is currently being sent back to Stratos for an overhaul). It is the CS that stands out for them and if I were given a choice over again, I would pick up a Fox Vanilla RC (IMHO) for cheap instead because of the ease of getting it fixed and upgraded. If the shock goes bad, you can send it back to either Fox or to Push Industries (www.pushindustries.com).

 

[mandown]

ran a jefe on my sgs expert for a year. great shock. it took a beating and kept on going (and felt good doing it). wish i could have brought it over to my new bb7, but the bb7 already had an avy on it, which has also been smooth sailing

my jefe may be showing up in the classifieds soon, depending on if i end up selling it with the sgs frame or not.

 

[Transcend]

I agree with pretty much everyone. Don't waste that coin on a KHS. Find yourself a cheap used vanilla RC for about $150 and ride it into the ground./ Then buy a new bike with the $ you saved as a downpayment.

 

[The Rose]

Ok , the Bike isn't mine. The guy doesn't have the scratch for a high dollar bike. This bike is gonna have to last him and I think it will. Thanks for the feedback about the stratos. If it fits in the linkage I'm gonna use the el jeffe, If not I'll use the helix. And besides he already bought the bike so there is no turning back now.