Reviews

KHS Urban Uno Review

If you believe that “Commuter Bikes” should be multi-geared, have fenders, racks and a chainguard then click here. If you are looking for a simple to maintain, fair weather “singlespeed commuter bike” that has a little bit of flair, then read on.

KHS Bicycles have always offered a big selection when it comes to “Urban” bikes; the KHS Urban Uno is one of their three singlespeed/fixed gear offerings. The Urban Uno comes with decent specs such a 520 Reynolds DB CrMo Frame, a CrMo Fork, 44t Gold crankset and alloy fenders.

Here is the full spec sheet:

I’ve always been a fan of singlespeed bikes, since my commute is flat and I live in sunny SoCal, the Urban Uno is perfectly suited for my ride to work. Singlespeed bikes are also easy to maintain, lighter and there are no derailleurs to adjust.

You may love or hate the KHS Urban Uno’s style; I actually like it. It does not scream vanilla Singlespeed or hipster fixie bike. The geometry of the bike was comfortable, the cockpit didn’t feel tight nor too stretched out. I was pleasantly surprised that the saddle was very comfortable; some OEM saddles tend to be too hard and fall in the numb nuts category. The cowhorn bar is another love/hate affair; although stylish, they do lack more than two hand positions. I’m not a toe-clip type of rider, but I gave the Wellgo pedals a chance — unfortunately, they sucked so I swapped them for my Crank Bros Quattro pedals.

The fenders that come with the KHS Urban Uno do serve a purpose; they did a great job when I rode over little puddles of water, but I doubt that they would do very well in a downpour. My ride takes me across a couple of railroad tracks; the rims and tires always gave me a good sense of confidence and their durability was not an issue. The Kenda Kontenders are a great choice of tires for those of us who commute. I never got a puncture and they seemed to roll rather fast.

For those who would like to add a rear rack, the Urban Uno does come with eyelets, but you may have to get longer screws since the fenders will be sharing the same holes at the dropouts. The Urban Uno’s frame also has room for your hydration needs; it comes with two sets of threaded bosses for your water bottle holders. Another feature of the Urban Uno is that if you want to go fixie style, you can. Although the fixed gear cog is not provided, the rear hub is threaded for one. I did not get the chance to ride the bike as a fixed geared bike.

The MSRP of the bike is at $489.00, if you are looking for a singlespeed commuter, the Urban Uno is certainly worth a look

Please click here to read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Freedom Bicycle ThickSlick tires review

I enlisted the help of my younger brother Roy to put this tires through a thorough testing. For some reason, Roy had a habit of averaging 2 flats per week on whatever bike he rode, Freedom Bicycle claims that the ThickSlick is one of the strongest urban tires in the market so I thought it was a perfect fit for Roy’s riding habits.

About the rider: Roy is 20 years old, 5’10 and about 155 lbs, he is a college student and rides his bike to school and loves to go on urban adventures with his buddies.

Here are his observations of the Freedom ThickSlick tires:

Thick and Slick are two words that best describe the tires that I have been riding for about three months now. They are slightly wider than your typical road bike tires but they are twice as resilient. I come from a background of frequent flat tires due to riding through rough terrain, debris, broken glass, and sometimes even from catching some air.

Out of these last three months I have had zero problems with these tires. I use my bike as an urban bike and spend most my time riding though the streets of Los Angeles County. I have ridden through rocks, dirt, sticks, and even small shards of glass and to my surprise I have experienced zero flats. I can certainly say that I’ve beaten the crap out of these tires. Since I live in Sunny Southern California, I didn’t get to ride on the rain, however the tires never slipped on any puddle of water that I came across.

Despite looking like two over-sized inner tubes I have received many compliments by other riders, some have asked me if the tires were tubulars. I guess that is a compliment since my brother says that tubular tires are very high performance and very expensive tires!

As “Slick” as the tires appear, I experienced loads of traction on the road. Handling on these tires was a great experience, I was able to handle turns at high velocity and at low leaning angles. Braking on these tires was excellent, a couple times I needed to brake suddenly due to moving cars or other bikers, fortunately, I was able to stop with minimal skidding and enough time to avoid any collisions.

Prices for the Freedom ThickSlick vary from $15 to $30, these tires easily pay themselves off by saving on tire tubes. So if you are looking for a tire that would be able to handle all the harsh conditions of Urban riding, its durable, handles great and looks good, I highly recommend you get yourself a set of these tires.

For more information and tech specs on these tires, please visit http://www.freedombicycle.com.

Please click here to read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.

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