# Post/Discuss your Jamis Kromo!



## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

I just bought one, and can't wait for it to get here on Friday. Soo excited 
Until then (and even after), tell me about your Kromo, post pics of it, do whatever! I will have some nice pics of it up on Christmas Eve unless it arrives earlier or later. 

And I have a few questions...

1.) I want to replace the chainwheel. Can you make any recommendations (for a 30t-34t)? Is it a spline-drive type, or is it a single-bolt type sprocket?

2.) What was your first upgrade on the bike?

Thanks!!!


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

It should be here tomorrow (Thursday the 23rd)!! I can't wait.

Am I seriously the only person that will own one on this huge site? K'mon...


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

You gotta get that pic icon. It brings in all the curious lurkers.  :thumbsup:


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## andrewschramm (Sep 13, 2010)

I've got one. I get tons of compliments on the blue


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

andrewschramm said:


> I've got one. I get tons of compliments on the blue


Any upgrades?


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## andrewschramm (Sep 13, 2010)

hardtailkid said:


> Any upgrades?


nope. everything has held up well. i will be getting some bmx style chain tensioners as my rear wheel gets pulled forward and the chain pops off at the worst possible moments.

the next thing besides that would be getting new cranks/chainwheel but that is a ways away. and probably pickup a used rockshox pike somewhere. but overall im pretty happy with it.


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

I got it!! It is actually a super nice bike, especially for what I paid. Everyone says the fork sucks, but I think it feels pretty good. Maybe that is just inexperience....

I am sooo happy with it though. After riding it for at most 20 minutes, I bunnyhop off of the sidewalk, and between it and the road is a pretty steep median. I land it and it usually is pretty sketchy on any other bike I've done it on, but it felt sooo nice on this bike. It handles so well, it doesn't make sense. After almost 2 hours (combined) of riding today, I give it a 9/10. The brakes are pretty bad, but hopefully the pads will bed in after some more riding tomorrow. I will post some pictures momentarily!


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

Alright, here goes 

You gotta have that side shot. 









Front 3/4. (I think that's what they call this picture. Lol.)









I am sooo obsessed with the pedals. Oh my Gosh...soo nice.









26x2.3" K-Rads! Nice tires!!!!









The 28t chainwheel is sooo thick. The thing is literally 5mm thick!









The sucky (but not broken in yet) brakes. Only time will tell.









Front 160mm (6") brake.









Close up of the front caliper.









Small rotor back brake (140mm, or 5").









Rear caliper close up.









Oh dang, I didn't take a picture of the saddle. I guess that will be a task for me tomorrow.


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

if i were to upgrade anything it would be the fork to like a argyle or something :thumbsup:. glad to see your enjoying it, im still enjoying the bike you found for me :thumbsup: i changed a thing or 2 

From my bikes


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

insanitylevel9 said:


> if i were to upgrade anything it would be the fork to like a argyle or something :thumbsup:. glad to see your enjoying it, im still enjoying the bike you found for me :thumbsup: i changed a thing or 2
> **SNIIIPPPPP*


I dig it! We talk enough on here; call me Andy. Haha.

I told my dad that I would wait until a part actually _needed_ to be upgraded, instead of just upgrading for the hell of it. The only thing that I can see myself eventually doing to it would be putting a 1x9 SRAM drivetrain on it. Unless something happens to the fork, it will be staying on the bike until my skills outgrow it.

I'm glad that I found that bike for ya!! Man, that was so lucky!


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

hardtailkid said:


> I dig it! We talk enough on here; call me Andy. Haha.
> 
> I told my dad that I would wait until a part actually _needed_ to be upgraded, instead of just upgrading for the hell of it. The only thing that I can see myself eventually doing to it would be putting a 1x9 SRAM drivetrain on it. Unless something happens to the fork, it will be staying on the bike until my skills outgrow it.
> 
> I'm glad that I found that bike for ya!! Man, that was so lucky!


im ben btw
if your gonna do a drive train that front chain ring wont work and if im not mistaken you would have to do cranks as well. if you set on a 1x9 i would do a saint Imo its much better then a x.0.


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

insanitylevel9 said:


> im ben btw
> if your gonna do a drive train that front chain ring wont work and if im not mistaken you would have to do cranks as well. if you set on a 1x9 i would do a saint Imo its much better then a x.0.


Actually the chainring wouldn't be a problem. It is the right size (3/32), but I would want a 32t or so. The crankset would be fine. I have seen pictures of Kromos with that crank and a 1x9.


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

hardtailkid said:


> Actually the chainring wouldn't be a problem. It is the right size (3/32), but I would want a 32t or so. The crankset would be fine. I have seen pictures of Kromos with that crank and a 1x9.


i could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time :lol:. the thing i was thinking is it had a bmx chain ring and those are 2 wide to use a 9 speed chain or even a 8 speed for that matter. honestly though if its a urban bike id stick to a single that way theres less to break when you drop it or chuck it if you get pissed.
P.S. before i forget get some good bar ends you wont regret it when you drop the bike


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

thanks for the pics - I ordered one right b4 I posted the link - it was too good a deal not to get the word out
Mine is scheduled to be delivered Monday

would love to hear more about anyones impressions in the meantime


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

I took it for its maiden voyage today. No complaints. The bike is absolutely amazing. I would have paid list price for it if I knew it was this good. It is really comfortable, even for JRA. As I said earlier, it handles like a finely tuned sports car. I tried breaking the brakes in a little bit more today, and there is a difference, but I still can't slam on the front brake and get the rear wheel off the ground. (I'm 100 pounds and change).

Anything else you want to know? Specific questions?


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## andrewschramm (Sep 13, 2010)

yeah those 50/50s are nice. they tore the grips off the bottom of my right shoe of nike 5.0s i had. my right foot literally blew off the pedal on a landing and i ate **** hard. it was a good size jump. maybe a 5-6ft lip and 8 ft gap. just to give you guys an idea of the stuff this bike can handle. people always recommend upgrading the forks but i don't see anything wrong with them, and honestly i would feel confident in them riding anything suitable for a hardtail.


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

andrewschramm said:


> yeah those 50/50s are nice. they tore the grips off the bottom of my right shoe of nike 5.0s i had. my right foot literally blew off the pedal on a landing and i ate **** hard. it was a good size jump. maybe a 5-6ft lip and 8 ft gap. just to give you guys an idea of the stuff this bike can handle. people always recommend upgrading the forks but i don't see anything wrong with them, and honestly i would feel confident in them riding anything suitable for a hardtail.


I agree about the fork.

And the wheels are strong as a brick house. I (foot slipped) bunnyhopped off of a curb and the rear wheel slammed on a concrete lip and it was really loud, but it still spins as true as when I got it yesterday. I might sleep with it tonight.  :lol:


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Cranks can be used for a 1x9 setup.

A fork like a Pike or Argyle will require a new front wheel for 20mm TA.

If it's a singlespeed hub, you won't be able to run 9 speed on it.

The brakes should be adequate once broken in. Build speed, pull hard on the brakes, repeat.

I don't care for the pedals. Bearings are meh, and the feel was just never very good to me.


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

rode mine a bit today

nice bike 
pros
responsive
simple
brakes are good - no complaints here
blue looks good
wide bars
hopefully bomb proof
has iscg tabs!
deraillur hanger

cons
tire traction sux
chain popped off during an uphill effort
grips too squishy for my liking
fork adjustments dont make much of a difference
bit porky
needs axle adjusters

a pic from today









oh BTW
had to shim the brakes to properly align them - so anyone having issues with their brakes check this
the chain was terribly too tight out of the box


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

Oh yeah, the rear brake did need an adjustment. What I did:

I had an old set of Hayes MX2's, so I took the black washer off of those, and put one on each screw on the adapter, between the head of the screw and the frame, and I took the thin silver washer and put it between the adapter and the frame. I will go try and take some pictures of it and post them. Keyword being "try." 

Hurrr ya go! They say a picture is worth a thousand words.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

The Hayes are post mount brakes so the caliper can adjust side to side on the adapter. Shimming the adapter should not be necessary unless it is way out of spec/its adjustment range.


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

XSL_WiLL said:


> The Hayes are post mount brakes so the caliper can adjust side to side on the adapter. Shimming the adapter should not be necessary unless it is way out of spec/its adjustment range.


Mine was & did require shimming of the mount to get the adapter within the adjustment range


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

bionicman said:


> Mine was & did require shimming of the mount to get the adapter within the adjustment range


 Same with mine. I had to shim it; the caliper would not slide far enough towards the hub to get it into adjustment. Now that I shimmed it, it works fine. I still can't slam on the front brake hard enough that the back wheel comes off the ground, but it isn't good for the fork, so I'm fine with not being able to. There is very little (if any) ability to modulate with these brakes. I'd give them an 3.5 chilis.


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

huh funny 
my brakes can easily be modulated to do contorolled stoppies
only down fall is that they require more pressure than other hydralic systems I've used
4 chilis


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

If I had the kit to shorten the hoses on my SLX brakes, I'd put them on the Kromo. They are beasts!


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## mgd (Jan 4, 2011)

I picked up a Kromo from Jenson. 

Haven't ridden much. . .it's too cold out.

My last bike similar to a jumper was my 1984 Hutch Pro Raider.  I'm hoping to do some minor tooling around, dirt jumping when jumps are around, and use it as the bike-ride bike with my kids.

Anyway, my brake lever for my rear brake doesn't return all the way to the pre-squeeze position. . .

I've never messed w/ hydraulic brakes before. How do I take care of this?

Thanks,
Mike


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

mgd said:


> I picked up a Kromo from Jenson.
> 
> Haven't ridden much. . .it's too cold out.
> 
> ...


does it eventually return?
I would be more concerned with pad engagement on the rotor
make sure the pistons are returning in the caliper
there is a small allen screw on the front leading edge of the brake lever
try adjusting that first then
try bleeding the system

GL


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## mgd (Jan 4, 2011)

Nope, never returns.

From what I've read, it's just a bad factory setup and I may need to bleed it.

If I have a squishy feel, or not a full return, what would the adjustment of that screw in the brake lever do? That just seems like a bandaid for the true problem.

Thoughts?



bionicman said:


> does it eventually return?
> I would be more concerned with pad engagement on the rotor
> make sure the pistons are returning in the caliper
> there is a small allen screw on the front leading edge of the brake lever
> ...


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

mgd said:


> Nope, never returns.
> 
> From what I've read, it's just a bad factory setup and I may need to bleed it.
> 
> ...


All the adjustment screw does is brings the lever blade closer or further from your handlebar. It wouldn't cause or fix the problem you are having. The problem is because of air in the line. A bleed is the answer.


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## Hoka Hey (Nov 10, 2010)

Shouldn't this have been addressed during the "pro build"?


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## Lunchbox362 (Jun 27, 2009)

Hoka Hey said:


> Shouldn't this have been addressed during the "pro build"?


Sometimes bubbles form when the bike is shipping, if I remember correctly?


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

Hoka Hey said:


> Shouldn't this have been addressed during the "pro build"?


Good point.


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

Hoka Hey said:


> Shouldn't this have been addressed during the "pro build"?


agreed but for 4 hunerd bucks what can you expect....

the adjuster suggestion was on the premise of the plunger not making contact with the piston at the end of adjustment

sounds like you may have a seal issue if bleeding does not cure it


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

Does it have the ISCG old or the ISCG 05 tabs?? I want to go 1x9 but don't know which chainguide to get :madman: and I can't find that info ANYWHERE.


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## bionicman (Nov 6, 2009)

hardtailkid said:


> Does it have the ISCG old or the ISCG 05 tabs?? I want to go 1x9 but don't know which chainguide to get :madman: and I can't find that info ANYWHERE.


it has iscg 05 tabs:thumbsup:


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

bionicman said:


> it has iscg 05 tabs:thumbsup:


Sweet 

Thanks.

I hate how they list like no specs on the drivetrain. That's annoying. 
Do you know what the bottom bracket width is? (51mm or 56mm)


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

hardtailkid said:


> Sweet
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> ...


Neither of those are a standard... Typically they're either 68mm or 73mm. Sounds like you might be referring to chainline. Anyways. To find the measurement, just measure the width of the bb shell with a ruler.

For the brake issue up a bit... could potentially be loctite on moving parts or some other sort of binding.

Most "pro-builds" won't re-bleed the brakes when they're building it unless it's really bad.


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## hardtailkid (Jan 25, 2010)

Bump?


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