1985 MountainKlein

[Carsten]

...this is the oldest one i have in my collection. It is in sweet original and almost mint condition, barely ridden. I only have put new old tires (IRC Racer X1) on and "upgraded" the Suntour brake levers and the rear der to XT M700 Dearhead. Shimano M700 shifters, front der & front brake, 600EX head set, FC-6206 cranks round rings (48-38-2, DuraAce hubs, DuraAce freewheel, Suntour XC Sport rollercam & pedals, Concor seat, IRD seat post, Araya RM25 rims. In the first model year (1985) the rear der cable was routed inside of the chain stay, a neat little detail.

Carsten

 

[Grobbebol]

Nicenicenice :shock:
BOTM august?

 

[P20]

Very nice. I was tinking BOTM as i looked at that

 

[delboy009]

Bike of the Decade !!!!

Its the founder to Simply the best bike manufacturer for the masses, in all the Universe !!! Closely followed by Yeti, Fat, Rocky Mountain etc etc !!

Have I started something here ????

I do so envy your collection Carsten.... If you ever wish to give away your B/B Strata's you know who to ask !!

 

[gump]

Apologies for my numptyness, but guess this is the same Gary Klein?

Some of the detailing stayed with is bikes for a looong time. Square stays/internal cables/smooth welds. Quick change of stem/forks and it wouldn't be out of place today really.

Absolute class bike.

 

[Carsten]

Apologies for my numptyness, but guess this is the same Gary Klein?

Some of the detailing stayed with is bikes for a looong time. Square stays/internal cables/smooth welds. Quick change of stem/forks and it wouldn't be out of place today really.

Absolute class bike.

yes, that's one of the first Gary Klein MTBs. the frame geo would not allow a modern suspension forks but an early 50mm sus fork would probably work. when i bought it it had a 65mm rock shox quadra21r mounted which built way too high. but otherwise it is indeed pretty timeless. even the riser bars are hip again. the frame builds long and low so a riser stem and/or riser bars are needed. sort of an early Genesis geometry...

Carsten

 

[Kestonian]

That is a sweet, sweet steed.

Chapeaux, to you, sir!

 

[john]

Unreal, looks like a museum piece! Whats the back story to the bike? Where did you get it etc. etc ?

 

[Carsten]

Unreal, looks like a museum piece! Whats the back story to the bike? Where did you get it etc. etc ?

thanks all for the flowers
i "found" it on SF craigslist. i think the initially a bit high asking price ($650 i think) put some interested people down and the seller (a really really nice guy!) first did not want to ship. also if had some modern parts mounted (Indy fork, flat bar and stem etc.) but he had all original parts except for the chrome fork. the pics i got were not great but when i saw the rear der cable inside of the chain stay (indicating that it was an early one from 1985) i was hooked. i had an unused 1988 MountainKlein which i sold when i found the Newsboy. i always missed that one and was happy to get the chance to correct that mistake.
after i think three months of loose communication we found an agreement and he took it to the LBS which packed and shipped it over to Houston (for $60). the seller promised me that i would not be dissapointed and he was right, i was really amazed when i unpacked it. it only needed a little cleaning to be almost perfect. but even more amazed i was when i found the original chrome fork on the mtbr.com VRC forum after only two days. not sure if it was the fork that originally came with that frame but the steerer tube had the prefect length and even the Shimano 600 lower race was installed which i needed for the head set.
so all in all a nice story behind that one

Carsten

 

[retroking#1]

Unreal, looks like a museum piece! Its KLEIN history Carsten you are one Ah......You already know