Hello From Indiana USA

[IndyMark]

More like a slightly older brother than just a good friend and he & his wife are our children's godparents. The Klein is still in the family.

I think I'll have a bit of time to clean up the bike today and see what it needs. The grips are tired and I am trying to decide if the bar ends stay or not. I feel stretched out as it is without grabbing them and I don't think there are many options to shorten the stem! May need to replace the chain as well (probably original).

The tires that were on the bike are tired/dried out Panaracers so its now shod with Geax Streetrunners that I use during the winter months when the trails here in Indiana are not usable. They work quite well on pavement but do give a bike a different look. Maybe I will put on a set of Kenda Smallblocks for the occasional single track run?

Thanks much for the warm welcome,
Mark

 

[merckx]

would look nicer w no bar ends.

 

[feetabix]

welcome to the site mark.....the bike looks great, the paint is stunning!.....if it were mine, i would keep the finishing kit black, it would let the paint do the talking.....kleins dont really suit long barends i think, they stretch out the look of the fat fork/stem combo.....i run a set of two inch trans x ends on mine.....it gives a change of hand position without really being that visible.....at the end of the day, its your bike, do with it as you please.....so long as it is ridden!....

 

[IndyMark]

I've been riding the bike on and off the last two years and finally decided to change out the tires to some newer Panaracer Cinders & do a bit of trail riding. When I pulled the tire off the front wheel I found the tube was Klein branded! Interesting....I didn't recall that when I put the slicks on it.

 

[syncrosfan]

Re:

Hello, and welcome! Just an idea: don't change the stem for a shorter one, get a seatpost without a setback (the one on your bike has a setback). That way you'll get closer to the cockpit about an inch or so, without needing to replace the matching stem-bars combo. You'll have a hard time finding a shorter version of that exact cockpit.