Klein as an investment?

[singletrackmac]

...hang it on a wall & appreciate it that way; or ride it very gently on tame trails as I do with my vintage bikes. you still get to appreciate them, but you're not risking any potential depreciating damage inflicted by normal

The only way to truly appreciate a bike is to use it for what it was built for. Ride the shit out of it!

Back in the 90's we called people who bought expensive high performance bikes and almost never rode them "Jerrys". Don't be a Jerry.

But if you are going to hang it on the wall be sure to put the fork on backwards. :facepalm:

 

[Ianus]

Klein bikes were my dreambikes in the early 90ies. Impossible to afford.

The last 6 years i spent really a lot of money to get some ot these frames/bikes. Some to be ridden and some as a wallhanger. Never as in investment. If i will get the money back when i'll ever sell them.... who cares.

Cheers... a Jerry

 

[scant]

...hang it on a wall & appreciate it that way; or ride it very gently on tame trails as I do with my vintage bikes. you still get to appreciate them, but you're not risking any potential depreciating damage inflicted by normal

The only way to truly appreciate a bike is to use it for what it was built for. Ride the shit out of it!

Back in the 90's we called people who bought expensive high performance bikes and almost never rode them "Jerrys". Don't be a Jerry.

I ride plenty, just not on vintage bikes
in all honesty they just dont ride very well at all compared to modern bikes, but thats an entirely different conversation thats been done to death already on this forum <please not again>

for klein as an investment, I stick to the very limited use on tame trails comment I made earlier. I've had pre trek attitudes & fervors & they all cracked surprisingly easily. so yes, if you want to keep a klein purely for investment, dont use it much

 

[BCSaltchucker]

Re:

ohhh this thread makes me kind of jealousss

I used to race an awesome 1990 Attitude I bought new then. What a fantastic bike. Got my best placings of my racing years on that bike. I still prefer a rigid bike like that if it is smoothish singletrack. The seat tube failed as many did, and Klein gave me a 92 'Tude, which I rode for 9 more years. But I put on a suspension fork and hydro brakes around 2000 .. I just assumed these bikes would die out. But I so miss the gorgeous design and paint. But I sold the Atti to my dad and then someone stole it maybe 12 years ago

Now when I want to get one again ... insane prices??!! hehe, go figure. And the trails where I live now are way hard core and not suited to an Attitude (though I still ride a Ti hard tail with lockout of course) I still have the 92 Atti fork and MC stem stuck in a bin somewhere. Maybe if I find an Attitude missing the fork and stem for a steal, I'd jump on it

luckily I kept my late 80s italian road racing bike (a Stephen Roche replica Battaglin). restored and hanging on one side of the fireplace. Seems to be gaining value every month. Just need an Atti to balance it on the other side. I see one on ebay for $4k, all original but kind of rough. ouch, I paid 3k in 1990 for mine when it was new.

but of course .. this is not about investment. Just eye candy and good memories.

 

[BCSaltchucker]

Re:

uh oh . found a 92 Rascal in my size, 15 minutes from my home. And only 3 figures in good shape, original xt xtr mix. tempting, though it has a boring paint scheme.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Scant knows his onions. Late 90s I was buying and selling them. Early Attitude frame and forks were going for a few hundred or so, maximum half grand and selling complete nice for a grand at most. I had no idea how things would change but property was a better investment at the time.

 

[coomber]

Re:

As an investment you assume an upward trend.

If you look at retrobike its peak was hit and now its smoothed out at a lower rate.

So who would pay top dollar in fifteen years who wouldnt now? cause you would hope a fan would have rich pockets but those younger retrobikers probably have no love for them (im 33 and have zero interest in kleins).

That is my two pennies worth..

 

[BCSaltchucker]

Re: Re:

those younger retrobikers probably have no love for them (im 33 and have zero interest in kleins).
.

this makes total sense. in pictures the bike looks nothing special, more or less. The bike was a conventional rigid racing bike, more or less.

But if you had experienced one in person in the early 90s, it would have made a signif impression on you. Unwrapping one brand new and riding it the first few times was other wordly. I can't think of another mtn bike at the time that was in its league in terms of aesthetics and for climbing responsiveness. I mean 20 lb mtn bike in 1990. and then there was the super hard, super glossy bright paint schemes, on fat wide tubes you can spot a mile away, with decals somehow floating, not just stuck on there like most. and later the adroit came out, and the shimmering, longitudinal fade paint jobs... wow. Finally, Tinker was their pro rider, and he is a mtn bike God while being the nicest guy you'd ever meet

People who like Kleins, like them a lot. Though for me even though I like them a lot, I surely cannot justify spending $4k+ on one instead of getting a new modern state of the art S Works Di2 or something like that, which would actually get a lot of use.

 

[Titiritero]

Re:

Klein (or any other retro-mtb) is in general NOT a good investment. Anything produced after about 1985 (talking mtb's here), has been mass-produced. Even for the "rare" models there are plenty around, which makes their value will never sky-rocket. I'm not talking about special bikes, like the one XX rider used to win the World Championship, just the general "I bought it in the corner shop" bike.

Of course, an early Klein will be more valuable than my 90's Trek, for the mere reason there were less produced (talking relative value, of course since the asking price of Kleins is higher, the selling price will also be higher). But neither of those will pay a pension or your kids education. And you have the maintenance costs, low, but still there (the shed to keep them, the rubber parts that go off, etc.)

Also, nowadays, most people have already figured out the value of each bike, brand and model, so the "collectability" is already priced in. The only "good deals" to be had are bikes that we see as "retro" but the seller sees only as "old", which means yard sales, local adds, that friend of your uncle, etc. but not e-bay or this forum.

I like to find old bikes which have mechanical issues or are missing pieces. I get them for very little, fix them, and then re-sell. It's not a "make me rich" scheme, but helps to support my bike hobby. "Profits" to be had are minimal, although from an economist point of view the "returns" are massive since I can get a malfunctioning early 90s mtb for 30 EUR and after an overhaul and clean-up sell it for 90-100 EUR, a 300% return. I'm aware I'm not counting my own time, which is also money, but since it's a hobby I don't care, I would be wasting hours on the internet otherwise.

I do this whenever I find a good deal, but usually no more than twice a year. But if you are methodic, you can end up with a nice side income. Plus I love fixing bikes and doing this keeps me entertained without increasing the herd.

 

[Rodrigues]

^^ what this dude said...

And now to stop me wasting hours on the internet I'm off to clean up some old cantis so I can sell them for ever so slightly more than I paid.