Coolwall - Klein

[SF Klein]

only for short whippet types with too much money.

I thought we said we're rating the bikes on this poll and not the owners. :?:

 

[GT-Steve]

I'm less of a 'whippet' and more of a Newfoundland

And a skint one, at that

 

[Radar]

BITD the green white red attitudes were uber-cool. Some of the paint jobs are very nice. That advert is fantastic. But then... mediocrity, in house Trek rebadged as something cool.

So far no vote. They were fantastically cool, but so uncool later. Don't hear any rave reviews of their later/latest stuff.

Any chance of a "they were, but then weren't, so in balance neither" voting option?

 

[JeRkY]

Some of the best paint jobs in the business (koi and the various fade jobs) whilst at the same time some of the worst (night storm...)

I like the way they did things a little differently, steerer tube arrangement etc. and I think the Mantra is beautiful!...also the 1998- [I know its trek really] brochure is a stunning publication

But as all the ad's posted so far show...they are so far up their own nicely painted rear ends that they are ultimately uncool.

Common as muck too

 

[SF Klein]

BITD the green white red attitudes were uber-cool. Some of the paint jobs are very nice. That advert is fantastic. But then... mediocrity, in house Trek rebadged as something cool.

So far no vote. They were fantastically cool, but so uncool later. Don't hear any rave reviews of their later/latest stuff.

Any chance of a "they were, but then weren't, so in balance neither" voting option?

I agree that this vote can be a little tough as a taking-the-big-picture-view. To me, both pre-Trek and post-Trek Kleins have their virtues and vices - a few examples listed below:

pre-Trek
virtues: unique-ness (fat tubes, light weight, eye catching paint, internal cable routing; smooth welds; the way they ride; proprietary handlebar/stems & forks; etc.); million mile warranty for original owners; these Kleins were never considered a "me too" bike;

vices: retail prices were high; the neon paint was prone to fading with time & sun exposure; there were cases of cracks in the seat tube around the quick release and weld failures at the top/down tubes and head tube joints; warranty claims were often dismissed by Klein as "customer abuse"; wait-times for bikes - it could take anywhere from 2 to 6 months to get a Klein depending on options ordered;


post-Trek
virtues: eye catching paint, internal cable routing (except full sus models & disc brakes); lower retail prices; shorter customer wait times; warranty claims for original Klein owners were more often satisfied by Trek

vices: not as unique as the earlier models; fewer options for customers to make the bike their "own"; fewer proprietary parts (MC2 became MC3 + 3rd party stem and no Klein-made forks); integrated "Aheadset" and BB bearings were eliminated; performance & ride of suspension models was often criticized

Taking the big picture, Klein made an impact on the entire MTB industry. True, the post-Trek models don't command the price premium of the earlier Kleins but keep in mind, they also didn't cost as much when new so why should they command the same types of prices? Say what you will but even today, you never see an older or newer Klein being simply thrown away in a garbage bin no matter how scratched & dented the frame is. You can't say that about most 1990's MTB frames can you?

 

[jonnyboy666]

You can't say that about most 1990's MTB frames can you?

yes you can, there are loads of oranges about as an example, we constantly see clockworks on here and on ebay, people don't bin them, at worst they go for a nominal price on ebay then get restored or whatever.

 

[SF Klein]

I said "most". You could probably add Fat and a few others to the list but considering how many MTB brands that used to exist, that means there are still loads of '90's MTB's that end up in the bin every day.

 

[Owen]

Part of me really wants to say un-cool but purely for the impact they had BITD it just has to be cool!

 

[Neil G]

Definately 'all the gear but no idea' fodder along with Fat but I'm voting cool just from the impact the Dolomite Attitude had BITD. It was just such a different & striking bike compared to what was being sold at the time and I wanted one badly!

Some of the prettiest (Koi, Gator & Dolomite paint jobs) but also some of the sh*ttiest as well (Night Storm)...Mantra was poop as well.

 

[Chris]

Cue the wolfman,

come in the wolfman