Second hand MTB - part 1

2025-08-17 - 2 minute read

bike-in-car

Tadaa!

I have wanted a hardtail for a while. I've been browsing the shops from time to time but never been ready to pull the trigger on buying a second full price bike. Some weeks ago my mother made a great local find on facebook marketplace. It was a modern 11-speed carbon fiber hardtail with SRAM x01 components and it got me determined to find one myself.

My musts were:

  • Correct frame size (XL), duh. indentation level 0
  • 1x drivetrain or being able to convert to 1x easily. indentation level 0
  • No obvious signs of complete neglect such as rust horizontal rule broken components. indentation level 0

    • I want to keep this bike simple. My focus is for it to just work and be as close to a workhorse as it can be when it comes to mountain biking. That means no extra linkages, suspension or dropper-post to service. When my FS-bike needs fixing or I just want to hit the trail for some stupid fun it should be there ready to go.

    So I found the bike I in the picture. After some detective work I found out that it probably is a 2012 KHS. Carbon fiber frame, SRAM x01 2x10 drivetrain, and best of all the guy would throw in some of the stuff that he had for the bike, one of those things was a 1x drive gear. That means that I will be able to convert it into a 1x10 drivetrain with very little effort. It looked pretty good. The top tube has been professionally repaired 5 years ago but I figured that if it had survived for this long it will probably work for me as well. I also got 3 more wheels that need some work and a longer steering bar.

    I got to ride it a bit before deciding on the purchase and it did not creek or make any other strange sounds. The drivetrain shifted well and the suspension seemed responsive. Of course things could use a little cleaning and service but a lot of bikes do. I was pretty stoked that i found a carbon fiber bike for a good price.

    I know that I probably want to change out the front drive gear pretty soon but first I just want to try it out on the trail to see how it performs without any changes.

    Cheerio!