Quantcast

Updated Review of Kink Apex (08)

freeridekid

Monkey
Oct 18, 2003
789
0
U-District, WA
Now that I've spent a good amount of time on this bike and riding others' bikes, I thought I'd give a little more helpful review.

As far as parts go, I can't really complain except for the stock brake cable that got frayed very quickly. I like the feel of the big(er) bars and plastic pedals, and everything is still working nicely. In the future I'll probably get a bigger front tire and a new stem, just out of personal preference.

While the parts are all good, I'm not so stoked on the frame anymore. First of all, its very short and allows only a small balance point for manuals. Second, the position of the brake tab on the top tube will kink your cable. Finally, I'm not sure if this happened because of too many flat landings or because the stem wasn't completely tightened onto the fork when it was first assembled, but the headtube is now ovalized a decent amount. I realized this when I got sick of the constant creaking and brought the bike into my local shop, where they measured it. It's odd though, because the creaking goes away for awhile when the headset is repressed with more grease, and there are no tight spots when spinning the bars. The mechanic suggested that it might be that the headtube is so thin that it bends into alignment when the headset cups are pressed in. Who knows?

Ultimately, if the creaking keeps coming back after a few hours of riding, I'll probably just get a new frame with better geometry and transfer all the parts over.

And just remember to make sure all the preassembled parts of a complete are tight enough when you build one up out of the box.
 

freeridekid

Monkey
Oct 18, 2003
789
0
U-District, WA
naw dude they actually feel really solid and have pretty good grip (in the absence of mud at least). i can't imagine how many times they've saved my shins, too.
 

v-digit

Turbo Monkey
Apr 3, 2006
1,218
0
Brooklyn, NY
my apex also creaks a tiny bit in the headset - tried everything 10 times. but it doesnt bother me too bad.
so far, i'm really enjoying this bike.
 

ebrider510

Monkey
Dec 7, 2006
410
0
Bay Area, CA
on an unrelated note, I rode my twenty around the driveway yesterday and it was fun!
sometimes that's all it takes. during the week i sometimes get home from work too late to have time to go ride so i just bust out the 20 for a sweet banked driveway session or ride a few hundred feet up to the park and mess around on a ledge. it's fun:monkeydance:
 

v-digit

Turbo Monkey
Apr 3, 2006
1,218
0
Brooklyn, NY
on an unrelated note, I rode my twenty around the driveway yesterday and it was fun!
ha, me too. rode up and down the streets a bit. i dont know what it is, but there is something really fun about riding a 20. its so tiny, and if your seat is slammed and you're sitting down while flying down a steep hill it litteraly feels like you're sitting on the ground. so tiny, feels like you must be aware and in control constantly, as opposed to bigger wheels which do all the work for you. fun lil machines, cant believe i've been missing out for 28 years.
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
ha, me too. rode up and down the streets a bit. i dont know what it is, but there is something really fun about riding a 20. its so tiny, and if your seat is slammed and you're sitting down while flying down a steep hill it litteraly feels like you're sitting on the ground. so tiny, feels like you must be aware and in control constantly, as opposed to bigger wheels which do all the work for you. fun lil machines, cant believe i've been missing out for 28 years.
quoted as truth and you typed "tiny" twice in the same paragraph:imstupid:
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
I had the same slight creaking with my headset at first too. But I also replaced the stock stem out of the box with an Odyssey elementary. still creaked a bit, tightened the headset, it went away. Came back 2 weeks later, took it apart, regreased, reinstalled, problem hasn't been back (for a month now). I'm keeping an eye on it.

Haven't had the problem with my brake cable.


FWIW I also replaced the stock pedals with Animal Hamiltons, and the sprocket for a Tree Splined Sprock.
 

v-digit

Turbo Monkey
Apr 3, 2006
1,218
0
Brooklyn, NY
quoted as truth and you typed "tiny" twice in the same paragraph:imstupid:
ha, i know. got a bit excited there :)

yea, the creak in my HS is barelly there.
i too switched out the stem right away, to a kink relief - which i quickly didnt like because of slippage, so i switched to a colony official stem.
i like the plastic pedals, but its about time to switch to a new pair - pedal grinds tore the original pair up.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
Some of my friends from college ride regularly with the guys who run Kink. I'll make some calls and see if I can get something official from them...
 

freeridekid

Monkey
Oct 18, 2003
789
0
U-District, WA
I had the same slight creaking with my headset at first too. But I also replaced the stock stem out of the box with an Odyssey elementary. still creaked a bit, tightened the headset, it went away. Came back 2 weeks later, took it apart, regreased, reinstalled, problem hasn't been back (for a month now). I'm keeping an eye on it.

Haven't had the problem with my brake cable.


FWIW I also replaced the stock pedals with Animal Hamiltons, and the sprocket for a Tree Splined Sprock.
yeah the creakage was getting unbearable before it was regreased. every degree i turned the bars would produce a loud creak/pop. its perfectly quiet now though.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
I looked last night and noticed what you meant about the front brake cable guide (by the head tube). Simple solution: take the cable out from there, loop a zip tie through it and then the brake cable. If you want it nice, loop a second zip tie. Or ride brakeless.
 

Stoked

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2004
1,809
1
LI, NY
naw dude they actually feel really solid and have pretty good grip (in the absence of mud at least). i can't imagine how many times they've saved my shins, too.
here's a pretty good gash i found on bg from pc's. then i think he was painting his pedals with the blood.

 

ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
I don't think those are the Odyssey plastics. I'm pretty sure those are the Easterns. The Odyssey's don't come in white, I THINK. The Easterns are really solid, and could destroy a shin just like a normal pedal.

On another unrelated note. I run the PC's on my park bike, but I'm thinking of getting some for my downhill bike, and only running them on more mellow style trails, not where I could hit them on a rock. Good or bad idea?
 

freeridekid

Monkey
Oct 18, 2003
789
0
U-District, WA
I looked last night and noticed what you meant about the front brake cable guide (by the head tube). Simple solution: take the cable out from there, loop a zip tie through it and then the brake cable. If you want it nice, loop a second zip tie. Or ride brakeless.
well yeah, i definitely don't use the guide anymore. i scored a free macneil velcro strap thing.
 

freeridekid

Monkey
Oct 18, 2003
789
0
U-District, WA
here's a pretty good gash i found on bg from pc's. then i think he was painting his pedals with the blood.

that's intense, but i can only imagine what regular pedals would have done. i'm just saying that i've gotten lots of pedal bite that only caused bruising, when it would have made a gash with regular pedals. i've not once drawn blood with the PC's.
 

freeridekid

Monkey
Oct 18, 2003
789
0
U-District, WA
so i snapped my non-drive-side crank arm off yesterday, right thru the weld. looking on the inside of the cranks, the weld was pretty weak and there was lots of rust, so it had probably been cracked for awhile. watch out!

picked up a set of macneil conjoined cranks. they only had the orange ones, so i gotta figure out what to do about my color scheme. they look pretty sweet though.

also my headset hasn't creaked since it was regreased awhile ago, so who knows what's up with that?
 

Disco Aaron

Chimp
Feb 1, 2009
3
0
I have the apex 08 as well
it is an awsome bike
2 downfalls are the brake cable fraying quickly and the creaky headset/headpost.
my apex is now brakeless and looks so sweet. i also bought a $60 zion headset to try and stop the creaking. it ddnt work :(. aside from that its a great bike and i love riding it. every time i jump on some1 elses bike it never feels quite as light as the apex. so hopefully in the 09 model kink have fixed these 2 little problems to make an even better bike. altho the 09 doesnt come in raw :(
 

Disco Aaron

Chimp
Feb 1, 2009
3
0
that's intense, but i can only imagine what regular pedals would have done. i'm just saying that i've gotten lots of pedal bite that only caused bruising, when it would have made a gash with regular pedals. i've not once drawn blood with the PC's.
man i have the same apex as u and ive got so many rips in my shins from the pc's, maybe you're just a better rider than me but i think if i had metal 1s my cuts would just b a bit deeper
 

A Grove

Monkey
Nov 20, 2007
497
0
State College, PA
oh man, it sooo possible to draw blood w the PCs, but then again, i guess its possible with anything if you try hard enough.
the worst scar I have is from PC's... I was hoping they would save me more, and they do 50% of the time... but when you hit them hard enough, its like taking out a chunk of your leg with a spoon rather than using a sharp knife (IE. pedals with sharp pins..)
 

Disco Aaron

Chimp
Feb 1, 2009
3
0
the worst scar I have is from PC's... I was hoping they would save me more, and they do 50% of the time... but when you hit them hard enough, its like taking out a chunk of your leg with a spoon rather than using a sharp knife (IE. pedals with sharp pins..)
man thats the gnarliest way of putting it...
 
Last edited: