KLEIN QUALITY ?
- Thread starter magicmistertea
- Start date
There were few warrnty repair kleins that made it back out of the Fusion warehouse in about 93/94, that got welded up and then punted out the back door (mend-a-bike, Fulham anyone?). They were mainly ones bust by owners using short shim use posts at the time. They later re-split down the back of the seat tube.
The early klein kleins I understand were fragile in the clamp area with ham fisted owners, so they moved to slip on collars at the end of their era. Carsten is the man tho, I'm sure he'll pipe up soon.
Or he'll be to digusted at the mention of trek and klein in the same sentance that he'll keep away
The early klein kleins I understand were fragile in the clamp area with ham fisted owners, so they moved to slip on collars at the end of their era. Carsten is the man tho, I'm sure he'll pipe up soon.
Or he'll be to digusted at the mention of trek and klein in the same sentance that he'll keep away
pinguwin
Retro Guru
elite504":2ucfc51x said:I'm sure he'll pipe up soon. Or he'll be to digusted at the mention of trek and klein in the same sentance that he'll keep away
I'm sure he'll pipe up soon and just yesterday we were corresponding about a blue/green Attitude I have that he doesn't really like that much. It was a repaint just after Trek bought them and he told me that it just wasn't the same as the pre-Trek paint jobs.
Pinguwin
P.S. And he's right.
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P20
Retrobike Rider
I've only owned post trek kleins, an adept full sus(based on the garyfisher) and the palomino(based on the maverick), both were great bikes. They were however expensive for what you got even if you allowed £200 premium for the paint!!
In terms of price, the Mavericks came down to the same price that Klein wanted for the Palomino, so what would you rather have the real one or the one with the pretty paint? I think that didn't help them. :?
In terms of price, the Mavericks came down to the same price that Klein wanted for the Palomino, so what would you rather have the real one or the one with the pretty paint? I think that didn't help them. :?
Wold Ranger
Old School Grand Master
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same name different frame
Don't we just loathe the "same name, different frame" (but lookalike) game, that has been going on since our sports inception?
Klein, Yeti, Bontrager, Litespeed, Fisher, Diamondback, Pace, GT, Raleigh, the list is endless! Are Cannondale next as they are now having a lot of their lower half frames made in the far East?
The nasty thing is, they ain't really cheaper for the consumer (thee and me), you can buy a good old Brit' engineered and made to measure 853 etc frame for the same layout.
If everyone boycotted the big names and supported the real quality builders ,the scene would soon look so different.
Don't we just loathe the "same name, different frame" (but lookalike) game, that has been going on since our sports inception?
Klein, Yeti, Bontrager, Litespeed, Fisher, Diamondback, Pace, GT, Raleigh, the list is endless! Are Cannondale next as they are now having a lot of their lower half frames made in the far East?
The nasty thing is, they ain't really cheaper for the consumer (thee and me), you can buy a good old Brit' engineered and made to measure 853 etc frame for the same layout.
If everyone boycotted the big names and supported the real quality builders ,the scene would soon look so different.
David Gibson
Senior Retro Guru
Kleins
I live within riding distance of the Trek factory and so I know several people who work there and so I can speak with some knowledge about some of the aforementioned topics. The rumor that Kleins are only being sold to the Japanese market is pretty much true, with some exceptions. There are some american bicycle shops that can still purchase and sell Kleins in the USA if you buy a minimum of $80,000 worth of product. So you have to be a pretty big bike store to sell Kleins. Village Cycle Center in Chicago is one such store.
Kleins were never made in the far east, they have always been american made, with the later models being made in Wisconsin after the Trek purchase. The lack of high quality is probably due to the fact that Trek became overly focused on their road bike line with the success of Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France. A lot of purists also didn't like the fact that the press-in bottom brackets and proprietary headsets were dropped in favor of standard international settings. Trek is now making a full-scale effort to get their mountain bike line up to the renown of their road bikes and there is a lot of buzz about their 2008 bikes coming out. Boy, I sound like a marketing shill for Trek corp. sorry about that.
I live within riding distance of the Trek factory and so I know several people who work there and so I can speak with some knowledge about some of the aforementioned topics. The rumor that Kleins are only being sold to the Japanese market is pretty much true, with some exceptions. There are some american bicycle shops that can still purchase and sell Kleins in the USA if you buy a minimum of $80,000 worth of product. So you have to be a pretty big bike store to sell Kleins. Village Cycle Center in Chicago is one such store.
Kleins were never made in the far east, they have always been american made, with the later models being made in Wisconsin after the Trek purchase. The lack of high quality is probably due to the fact that Trek became overly focused on their road bike line with the success of Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France. A lot of purists also didn't like the fact that the press-in bottom brackets and proprietary headsets were dropped in favor of standard international settings. Trek is now making a full-scale effort to get their mountain bike line up to the renown of their road bikes and there is a lot of buzz about their 2008 bikes coming out. Boy, I sound like a marketing shill for Trek corp. sorry about that.
pinguwin
Retro Guru
Re: Kleins
I don't think you're being a shill, you said they were working on it. If you said, "Trek is a company that is focused on the rider that focuses on the highest quality of...and focuses..." then you would be a shill.
In 1990, when I had a Klein, people would come up to me at races and ask to try it. When the spectator's rider was trying to catch me, they would yell, "You got the guy on the Klein! Catch the guy on the Klein!" sort of thing. It was a 'wow!' bike. But I think it's true that Trek doesn't really 'wow' anyone.
As far as:
'87 Cannondale SM800 (stolen)
'91 Cannondale SE2000 (stolen)
'98 Klein Mantra (stolen)
Good heavens, be careful with your bike. My first two mtb's were stolen. One of which I recovered but it was too trashed to fix. They were nice at the time but by the time the second one was stolen, I had much nicer daily bike, so it didn't hurt quite so much.
P. Guin
I don't think you're being a shill, you said they were working on it. If you said, "Trek is a company that is focused on the rider that focuses on the highest quality of...and focuses..." then you would be a shill.
In 1990, when I had a Klein, people would come up to me at races and ask to try it. When the spectator's rider was trying to catch me, they would yell, "You got the guy on the Klein! Catch the guy on the Klein!" sort of thing. It was a 'wow!' bike. But I think it's true that Trek doesn't really 'wow' anyone.
As far as:
'87 Cannondale SM800 (stolen)
'91 Cannondale SE2000 (stolen)
'98 Klein Mantra (stolen)
Good heavens, be careful with your bike. My first two mtb's were stolen. One of which I recovered but it was too trashed to fix. They were nice at the time but by the time the second one was stolen, I had much nicer daily bike, so it didn't hurt quite so much.
P. Guin
Wold Ranger
Old School Grand Master
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Trek Wreck
It's Human nature, the average die hard Dirt enthusiasts will always dismiss Trek with a snear, for robbing our creed of wonderful Marks like Klein, Bontrager and Gary Fisher, no matter how good their bikes are, or successful their race teams, as they are still a faceless multinational conglomerate.
It's Human nature, the average die hard Dirt enthusiasts will always dismiss Trek with a snear, for robbing our creed of wonderful Marks like Klein, Bontrager and Gary Fisher, no matter how good their bikes are, or successful their race teams, as they are still a faceless multinational conglomerate.
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