1991 Klein Pinnacle (finished on page 25)

[Canuckbiker]

Thanks @fguki for the background, I always wondered why mine looked different. I'm not the only one on a tight budget building up a Klein currently on this forum though so will stick with the much less appealing steerer hanger for now.
The Decal set for the frame currently on it's way has the other stem decal included. I'm very tempted to swap the stock decal I currently have with the other option. I think it looks a lot better

 

[Canuckbiker]

In Vancouver we are fortunate to have a non profit used bike store called Our Community Bikes. Cyclists without proper tools or knowhow can drop in and work on their bikes. Great people also.
The public bring in donations which are either repaired and sold or stripped and parts sold. Parts are all neatly organized in labelled bins, etc. Great place for cables/housings in bulk too although prices for these bits seem a bit higher now.

Our Community Bikes is where I went hunting yesterday and I really scored!


Exact fork I was looking for, quality Spinner unit which may well have been the fork or similar to the original (from what I have been reading). The steerer could not have been 1mm shorter! Cost me 20 bucks

Needed a rear bolt-on skewer bolt for an incomplete set, picked on up a used rear for $1.50 which saved buying a whole new set.

Grabbed a black steel steerer brake hanger. I like them because they are not bulky and disappear better than alloy options. Lots of work thinning down the steerer washer portion (like I said, the steerer could not have been any shorter, it was just long enough). A good sanding and a polish. I'm quite happy with it.

I'm using an old Campy headset, had it for decades unused. Quality Campy bearing races and I like the basic silver look to break up the front end which will be Black/Green/Black.


Last mock up before paint below, really happy with the stance now. Think I'll use the pictured DX canties, still need to source an M730 crank but all other parts are decided or on their way

 

[Dr Dremel]

Man, hope you bought some lottery tickets, that´s indeed the fork with the right dropouts. And if I see this correctly even painted by the same person as the frame
You can tell if it was an OEM Klein fork by the stamping "KLEIN" on the steerer. But even if it wasn´t, it´s otherwise identical. Some don´t like thin steel forks in contrast to the OS frames tubes, but for me these really complete the look.

 

[Canuckbiker]

Glad to hear what I had assumed is the case @Dr Dremel , couldn't believe my luck finding it among the other Hi-Tensile forks for the same price

It is a slim fork but I agree, suits the build better. The frame having a 1" headtube helps for an easier transition from fork to frame to my eyes. Really nice workmanship on it. I'll check for the Klein stamp on the steerer.

Curious, would you keep the MISSION CONTROL stock decal or swap to this stem decal version?


I'm leaning toward swapping to it, I think it's more in line which how the complete bikes were in 1990

 

[Dr Dremel]

I mean MISSION CONTROL is one of these naming puns I really love about the 90ies, but I´d agree, the simple KLEIN one does look cleaner. It´s probably one of these decisions which I would make differently depending on mood.

 

[Canuckbiker]

Update, paint is removed! Or was it even paint? Not really sure, it seemed a bit rubbery possibly a different spray on coating? Modern paint strippers are not as effective as old school ones. I sourced a "stronger" one and it was helpful to dig out the nooks and crannies but I had to resort to my disk sander with very light grit for outer portions and the rest was all hand sanded, it took many hours but very satisfying to see the frame down to the surface.

The sprayed on grey top coat was at least 2oz in weight according to my fish scale which only registers in 2oz increments. Not sure if quality paint it that heavy? The frame weights 4lbs 10oz as pictured below with BB. I'll guess the BB around 300g? Bringing the frame around 4lbs.

Not the underneath paint condition I was hoping for @al-onestare but it's getting a full respray. There were large sections of paint missing on the front triangle. I'm fortunate to still see the outline of the downtube decals and seat tube "made in U.S.A" decal. Always nice to have the exact location measurements when placing the new decals.

Was nice to find the frame without cracks or dents with paint removed. I added a touch of bondo around the chainsuck area. Ready for paint once I locate some!

Pictured with the Syncros/Flite combo which will be going on:

 

[Elfman]

Nice job! I know how hard it is to get all the prep done right, and it's looking exciting!

 

[al-onestare]

Update, paint is removed! Or was it even paint? Not really sure, it seemed a bit rubbery possibly a different spray on coating? Modern paint strippers are not as effective as old school ones. I sourced a "stronger" one and it was helpful to dig out the nooks and crannies but I had to resort to my disk sander with very light grit for outer portions and the rest was all hand sanded, it took many hours but very satisfying to see the frame down to the surface.

The sprayed on grey top coat was at least 2oz in weight according to my fish scale which only registers in 2oz increments. Not sure if quality paint it that heavy? The frame weights 4lbs 10oz as pictured below with BB. I'll guess the BB around 300g? Bringing the frame around 4lbs.

Not the underneath paint condition I was hoping for @al-onestare but it's getting a full respray. There were large sections of paint missing on the front triangle. I'm fortunate to still see the outline of the downtube decals and seat tube "made in U.S.A" decal. Always nice to have the exact location measurements when placing the new decals.

Was nice to find the frame without cracks or dents with paint removed. I added a touch of bondo around the chainsuck area. Ready for paint once I locate some!

Pictured with the Syncros/Flite combo which will be going on:
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Nice work, at least you (and we) know what colour you could go for if you're going original.

 

[Canuckbiker]

Nice work, at least you (and we) know what colour you could go for if you're going original.

Thanks. leaning toward the catalog Klein "bright green" of 1990. I already have a bright red vintage MTB and other reasons. Leaves me at a bit of a loss to source an accurate green spray can with nothing to compare to. @HuskyDinoBomber provided a paint code an autobody shop could mix up (RAL 601 which looks accurate. First two phone calls locally to an automotive paint shop and Lordco (a local auto parts supplier) were not successful finding any help though so far.

Was considering the fluro green from spray.bike. They seem to have quality rattle can paint, it may be too fluorescent though and not enough Klein green?

 

[Dr Dremel]

Well the original green is slightly fluorescent, but yeah hard to match if you don´t have a sample of the original paint.

On your frame you can also see how they did the pink, it´s laquer over white primer. For the more reddish "Flare" it would have yellow primer under the laquer. That´s also why the "Flare" colour fades to orange with time/UV exposition while the pink ones just become paler.