Any KHS SixFifty 6555+ users out there?

[DrStupid]

My local shop had one that they wanted to move, and I found myself unable to resist the deal. The bike is well spec'd, weighs under 50lbs, and uses a Shimano E8000 with a standard 500 Wh battery. This bike is for my son, and soon we will all be riding together

Knowing very little myself, about bike dimensions and how they effect performance, it should be interesting to contrast this bike to the others in the garage. It has shorter chain stays, steeper seat post, and steeper steering angle than the others.

Anybody have one? Make it a conversation.


edit to add day one info.
Some Observations:

The KHS is the lightest of the bikes I can weigh. On my super duper and honest Pelouze produce scale:

1. KHS 6555+ Size Large = 50 lbs
2. BMC SpeedFox AMP 3 Size Medium =52 lbs
3. Giant Trance E+ 1 Pro Size Medium = 54.5 lbs

The method used to measure the bike weight is not hugely accurate, but the weights are relative to each other. The KHS is lightest by a fair amount, though it is not tubeless yet and the others are. It also has the widest tires and largest Frame.

It's the easiest to ride a wheelie on.

The rear derailleur cable routing is not great, leading to a heavy feel at the shift lever. I cut the zip-ties holding the cable at the bottom of the down tube where the cable comes out of the frame, and the shifting feel became lighter. I called KHS and asked for an updated routing, if one existed, or a service bulletin? We will see if I get a call back.

The bike build is otherwise very nice.

.

 

[DrStupid]

Today, though it was smolderingly hot, The SixFifty and I got familiar, each to the other.

The bike turns very well, different then the SpeedFox or the Trance. I'm not going to say that it carves a tighter line than the others, because I really can't tell, but when the front end starts to loose grip, it does it very gently, giving lots of time to correct before letting go completely. Even on gravel going 19 MPH, I lost front tire grip and bike just sort of chattered at the front, finding purchase where there was very little to find, and I just kept peddling This could be geometry, or the Kenda Havoc Pro 2.8 tires running at 18 PSI.

These are good tires by the way. I didn't think the little knobbies would do as well as the Maxxis DHF Minion, but they grip on par here in Kentucky.

The bike climbs good, but not like the Trance. It's very easy to get over the front, and transition to standing when needed. The thing is, that on the Trance, I seldom need to get over the front end, or stand when climbing. On the Trance I just stay strapped in and keep pumping. If I stay in the saddle on the SixFifty, the rear will spin, or the front will lift. I pretty much have to move my weight around, front to rear as needed. This is on nasty climbs with rocks, logs, branches, and squirrels in the way. I'm not talking about a groomed trail. I don't have any of those

Down hill is more of the same, though its still a little greasy from the rain, to really push hard. The bike feels fine on the rough.

The front fork is not as good as the 36 on the Trance, even though they are almost the same spec; Fox Float Performance, FIT-GRIP, E-bike optimized, EVOL, BLAH BLAH BLAH 3POS. The SixFifty is lacking only the Micro Adjust doodad. Regardless, Giant has some secrete sauce in their fork- the Trance It so plush you forget your going too fast over really nasty trail stuff.

The SixFifty rear suspension is the same as the fork, it's good enough for certain, but it doesn't give you amnesia about hitting stuff like the Trance does.

I like the smaller diameter 160mm rear brake on the KHS at least as well as the 200mm brakes on the other bikes. The feedback is awesome, and I find myself able to modulate the rear brake while sliding into off-camber turns more precisely than with the bigger disks. Also... could be the tires?

The shifter, while still stiff, is my favorite of all the bikes. The 1X11 Shimano XT rocks! Its fast and precise. Time will tell if it as durable as the SRAM Eagle GX. Setup is so simple compared to the SRAM and I love being able to dump more than one gear at a time.

OK, so this is my last word unless somebody else joins in. The bike is pretty awesome for what it cost me. The handling, components, build quality, It's no joke. I just wish KHS had painted it Tangerine Scream or something. The black and green is so boring.

 

[DrStupid]

KHS did call me back about the cable routing and were very helpful in doing so. In contrast, after calling BMC and sending emails to them about a few quality issues a month ago... I am still waiting. Kudos to the California based KHS team for their customer service.

 

[DrStupid]

One downside to owning the KHS 6555+ Voltiac, it seems you are absolutely on your own when it comes to the forums. I'm going to keep adding stuff, just incase somebody else encounters the same issues and finds this page.

The cable routing to the shifter continued to bother me, it's stiff and still misses shifts or ghost shifts. Both my other bikes shift liquid smooth, and the Speedfox even has the cheaper SLX version derailleur and shifters. Today I purchased Shimano Optislick MTB shifter cables, and completely replaced all the cables, painstakingly routing to be certain the cable path is optimized, but sticking to he designed intent as best I can figure.

What I found was that the factory (or somebody) butchered the original cable installation. The cables were kinked bad at the interface between the down tube and the motor. I believe I now have the most optimized cable path possible (without routing externally) and the shifting is much better, though still not as nice as the Speedfox or the Trance. Cable routing is apparently very important!

Otherwise, the bike continues to impress me. It handles great, and the short rear centers make it lots of fun for practicing manuals and wheelies. The hardware spec is actually pretty nice, except for the lazy/slow dropper.

The paint sucks, it scratches super easy, and the chain stays are already a mess after just a few 100 miles. Where I strap my bag on the upper tube, the paint looks to be almost worn off from the bag rubbing. Not a huge deal to me, but at the cost of one of these things retail, the paint should be better.

My next project with this bike is to install some shorter cranks. It came with 175mm cranks, and I have a set of 170mm units sitting on the shelf waiting.

 

[DrStupid]

LOL, I found a video clip from a trade show on YouTube, and even that bikes cables are hacked. Look at that mess! That is exactly how I found mine.

Notice the paint chips on the chain stay also. This could even be my bike

 

[DrStupid]

The drought of information about this bike got me looking for analogs. I read somewhere that KHS leases it's suspension designs from other manufactures, usually a year or two out of date. Sure enough, I found almost a perfect match in the Diamondback Ranger 1.0 and 2.0. Notice the forged lower portion of the seat tube, it's identical.

KHS 6555+

Diamondback Ranger

 

[R120]

The KHS uses the Astro Engineering OEM frame, that a lot of other brands also use.

ASTRO Own Design E MTB Frame - Shimano E Suspension

 

[DrStupid]

Thank you!

After your post, I did some reading on Astro, and see they were making frames for haibike too (at least they were in the beginning... 2012).. It looks as though brands will tweak the basic design a little here, and there, as KHS has, and call it there own.

I'd love to try a frame only buy, and build my own. I'm sure it would cost me more than what I paid for the KHS before it was over.

Thanks again

 

[R120]

Astro are one of the top OEM facilities in Asia, they make a ton of top frames for various companies, including Mondraker, Transition and others.

I believe the suspension system used on the frame in question is a variant of Mondrakers Zero system.

 

[DrStupid]

This bike continues to impress me.
It was not quite sorted out for me, from the dealer, but it's about my favorite ride now.
Changes since last report.

Installed a RaceFace 35 stem to shorten it up a little, becuase it's a large and I'm a smedium.

OEM bars from Trance, becuase I had them... and I had a theory that the OEM trance bars are super plush... I'm pretty sure they are.

Installed 160 shimano cranks.

29er front wheel.

This bike can go plus tires in either 27.5 and 29er both ends...no problem. With the 29 on front, and 27.5 on back the rake measures the same as the speedfox. It rolls noticeably faster now on the grass track I ride as part of my daily workout, and handles more to my liking on the trails too. The combination of larger front wheel and the increase rake it brings seems to bring this bike more in line with my preferences. I dont know how to quantify it, but I like it. Could be physiological for all I know.

The paint still sucks.

The rear suspension curve feels a little flat to me, and I've ordered some tokens for the shock to see if this helps. It's not as plush initially as the trance, yet seems to use more travel on medium hits and g-outs. It's not bad, just not trance like. Besides, the trance has given up some playfulness to achieve its trance like ride. I wouldn't trade too much of this bikes playfulness for plush but a token or two might be all it needs.

I still wouldn't pay retail, but if you can get one on the cheap, my rating is buy. My other bikes were far more expensive and really no better as general purpose trail bikes.

 

[Al Boneta]

OK, so this is my last word unless somebody else joins in.

Liar! Just kidding.
KHS used to be more of a player in complete bikes, but they are a big deal in parts and accessories distribution. My shop does a lot of business with them, but no bikes. They did give us a 6555+ to put on our floor to see what interest it would generate. Unfortunately nobody gave it a second look with it’s high retail price and external battery. I can’t comment on the ride since I only rode it in our parking lot. Like you discovered it’s basically an Astro catalog bike and Raleigh uses the same platform with a Bosch motor.

Raleigh had these bikes on closeout so we sell the one above for $4000 and the lower spec model for $3000. These are just a price point bike for us and they sell well enough.

 

[DrStupid]

Liar! Just kidding.
KHS used to be more of a player in complete bikes, but they are a big deal in parts and accessories distribution. My shop does a lot of business with them, but no bikes. They did give us a 6555+ to put on our floor to see what interest it would generate. Unfortunately nobody gave it a second look with it’s high retail price and external battery. I can’t comment on the ride since I only rode it in our parking lot. Like you discovered it’s basically an Astro catalog bike and Raleigh uses the same platform with a Bosch motor.
View attachment 20833

Raleigh had these bikes on closeout so we sell the one above for $4000 and the lower spec model for $3000. These are just a price point bike for us and they sell well enough.

Lol. Read my sig. I didnt mean to lie... honest

 

[Zimmerframe]

I think it shares some passing resemblance to the Vitus E-Sommet (different geometry)

They've mounted the battery right down next to the motor, the general frame shape. The shock position. Wheel thing at the front .. wheel thing at the back ... ok, so I'm not saying they're the same..

6555

E-Sommet

Geometry Page for the 6555: (They're not the same, I'm just including to space the thread out and see if we can push it to two pages)

Geometry Geeks

For the E-Sommet :

Geometry Geeks

 

[DrStupid]

With my Gaint broken for a week due to a fizzy shock, me and the Voltiac have been getting on famously.

As a Mullet, (29er Fox Float 34 fork is OE though the bike came as plus 27.5. I installed a 29 front wheel) the geometry is better I think. The measured steering angle is now 65 degrees, and the bike happily taking anything I can manage. Its light-ish at about 50 lbs compared to the Trance at 55 but feels 10 lbs lighter on the trail.

All in all no regrets with this machines build or handling, other than the original trouble with the shite OE dropper and cable routing fiasco.

Now that the Trance is back on line, I'm struggling to pick one over the other, and have basically been splitting ride time between the two.

 

[ThunderGorilla]

Otherwise, the bike continues to impress me. It handles great, and the short rear centers make it lots of fun for practicing manuals and wheelies. The hardware spec is actually pretty nice, except for the lazy/slow dropper.

The paint sucks, it scratches super easy, and the chain stays are already a mess after just a few 100 miles. Where I strap my bag on the upper tube, the paint looks to be almost worn off from the bag rubbing. Not a huge deal to me, but at the cost of one of these things retail, the paint should be better.

So, I just bought one from Pro's Closet for $3900 including taxes/shipping. My first eMTB. Super stoked. Do you still like it after all this time?

 

[DrStupid]

So, I just bought one from Pro's Closet for $3900 including taxes/shipping. My first eMTB. Super stoked. Do you still like it after all this time?

Sold it last Fall. Had no troubles at all, other than the dropper and the shifter cable routing. Those two items sorted, the bike was fun and reliable.

 

[ThunderGorilla]

Sold it last Fall. Had no troubles at all, other than the dropper and the shifter cable routing. Those two items sorted, the bike was fun and reliable.

Awesome! Glad to hear it! What did you upgrade to?

 

[DrStupid]

Awesome! Glad to hear it! What did you upgrade to?

2021 Giant Trance X E+ review

Here's my video on the 2021 Giant Trance. A capable 29er trail based ebike with the Yamaha PWX2 motor.

www.emtbforums.com

 

[ThunderGorilla]

Nice!