1987/8/9? Mountain Klein build thread

[Tsundere]

Next piece of the puzzle - Roller cam brakes, here they are after disassembly...

To be honest they are in pretty decent condition, a little rust on the bolts, some congealed grease on the springs etc, hopefully they'll clean up nicely.

I noticed that there are differences between one pair of boss mounts and the other (Bottom right), if anyone can shed any light on why that is I'd be interested to hear it, my guess is that one set is specifically for the front or rear.

 

[Tsundere]

After a quick clean and polish.

 

[Tsundere]

The biggest stumbling block for this build is the bottom bracket, Klein being Klein this is complicated by the unusual dimensions and design of the press fit assemblage. After hunting high and low with no luck I started offering Klein frame sellers on fleabay money for the fitted BB's, also to no avail.

In the end I decided to roll the dice and bought the cheapest Klein frame from that era with fitted BB that I could find, and here it is, looks like some kind of TT frameset. The BB shell dimensions are identical, I already sourced bearings so it's just the 113mm spindle that I'm after, it was cheap enough that I would probably have paid more just for the spindle if I could find one, it came with a nice campy headset too so recouping the investment won't be an issue, in fact I'll be able to karma the frameset (forum member already in line for it) and still come out on top if I can get enough for the HS.




It'll need removing, not something I've attempted before, same goes for fitting. Rather than risk causing damage and the possible need to buy tools for a job I'm unlikely to repeat, I'll take both frames to a local independent bike shop in the hope that they can sort it.

 

[Dr Dremel]

Not to be the Debbie Downer, but 113mm seems too short? Depending on the crank you want to use of course, but XT 730 cranks for instance use 122.5 and other period triple chainring sets also tend to use around this length.

Re pulling the spindle: It´s easier with specialty tools for sure, but with a trip to the hardware store you can improvise a puller yourself.

 

[Tsundere]

Not to be the Debbie Downer, but 113mm seems too short? Depending on the crank you want to use of course, but XT 730 cranks for instance use 122.5 and other period triple chainring sets also tend to use around this length.

Re pulling the spindle: It´s easier with specialty tools for sure, but with a trip to the hardware store you can improvise a puller yourself.

There are Mountain Klein's and some early Pinnacles out there with 113mm spindles, I just need to figure out which crankset will work with that, this is one area where my knowledge has huge gaps so any advice appreciated. Also if anyone has a 122.5 spindle kicking around though please let me know.

Re the DIY BB pulling tip, great shout but it will probably only cost a little more to get it done and will certainly reduce the time, effort and risk involved. I'll certainly look into it though.

 

[raidan73]

Try looking here, though a quick scan looks like there aren't many options to choose from, especially if you want something of the correct-ish era

 

[Tsundere]

I'm open to using a 2x or even a 1x road crankset for this build, I have a couple that might be suitable, figuring out what will work isn't made easier by the Klein's unusual BB shell width of 75mm.

The spindle I've got has exposed spindle lengths of 20 mm on the drive side and 18 mm non drive side.

 

[Rog]

After a quick clean and polish.

View attachment 648756
View attachment 648788

what did you use to polish and clean them? they come out really nice

 

[Tsundere]

what did you use to polish and clean them? they come out really nice

I soaked them for an hour or so in dilluted no nonsense degreaser (50/50), Then scrubbed them with a toothbrush while still in the bath, rinsed it all off and gave a second more detailed clean in warm soapy water. Rusty bolts then went for a 2 hour soak in evaporust.
Rinsed everything off, sprayed with WD40 before wiping dry with a cloth, quick wipe down with isopropyl alcohol and finished with a quick polish using Maas.

The pulley wheels came out almost like new straight from the degreaser, I honestly thought they were the old style vinyl ones, was pleased to see the brass emerge.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I'm open to using a 2x or even a 1x road crankset for this build, I have a couple that might be suitable, figuring out what will work isn't made easier by the Klein's unusual BB shell width of 75mm.

The spindle I've got has exposed spindle lengths of 20 mm on the drive side and 18 mm non drive side.

Shimano m 737 or m739 cranks will work w/ that spindle.