My first "actual" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

[Thias]

Hey guys!
Yesterday I got my first pre Trek Klein delivered to my cave
I really did not see this one coming. I was always interested in those hardtail Kleins. Its the one of the most expensive retro mountainbike brands out there after all.
But as my personal limit per bike purchase is around 300 Euros (240 gbp) I really did not think I would ever get one in the near future. The more surprised I was when this ad popped up, stating a "Mountain-Bike" was for sale. 299 Euro and this picture got my pulse going:



It was Monday morning, around 9 o'clock. Quickly I "hacked" a message in, sent it, hesitated for a moment and took the phone. Called the owner. Had a very nice conversation. He was the first owner of the bike, had it built in '95 by a bike shop. Stated that he payed 10000 Mark at the time :shock:
I don't believe it was that much, but it was more than 7000 for sure. He had to replace quite a few parts over the first 2 years of usage. The Cranks for example. Those RF have a 97 time stamp. When he told me he had a few offers already I proposed to pay via paypal the "full" price he was asking, plus 50 Euro delivery. Made the transfer while we were speaking. He then said that he was at work til 16:00 and that he would call the delivery service by then.
Nerve wrecking 7 hours of me waiting. I went through the usual "money in advance paranoja". Would he come home, see the hundreds of messages in his mail and reconsider? Would he just keep the money and laugh? But then, finally, my phone rang and the seller told me, the bike would be collected on Tuesday afternoon and that he had sent me the shipment reference number.

And then, yesterday, it had arrived. Ignoring the raised eyebrow of my wife (She is gorgeous. Its my 17th bike so a raised eyebrow is perfectly fine, I guess) I rushed outside to take a look.




Wow. I was so happy. I love it.
Jea, I know the build is a bit on the rough side. But the frames condition is very good. Hardly any scratches. No dents, chainsuck asisde...

Although it has that infamous Chain Control Device...


...that did not help much.


A little cable rub


and one scratch at the left side dropout that can only be seen from underneath.
The rest is all fine. No bubbles. No cracks. No dents. No one messed with the rear brake cable hole. Frame number says 20", Dec.1994, my size, not a Trek. Score!

Now. What to do with it?
I'll be throwing a few ideas around the next days. Get rid of the wierdo reverse derailleur. Tart up a pair of golden Judys...

 

[Dare]

Re: My first "real" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

Were you exaggerating or do you really have 17 bikes? In any case I agree that at least raised eyebrow is in order it is part of the charm when getting new bike.

What are your plans for this one? It really looks as it is in pretty decent nick and you got it really cheap. I hope everything is alright with it but still I have to admit that deep part of me wishes there are few obstacles as I simply love to watch everything you do in your threads.

Signing up!

 

[Thias]

Re:

No, I am not exagerating. Just have a look at my sig... :facepalm:

But I managed to actually sell a frame last year. And one this year. So I guess I am not abike messie

And I am sure there will be a few obstacles for you to watch. One might be the missing pump to fill that misteious rond fork...

About where to go: I really dont know yet. Over at the german forum we are dicussing the gerneral theme right now. All black or all silver. I thend to like black. But I have most parts for silver in my drawer... Decisions, decisions...

 

[gil_m]

Re:

Not wanting to "wee on your matches" but was the pulse technically a "pre-Trek" buy out model?

I know the Fervour was a re-badged Rascal but always thought the Pulse was the first of the Trek built era

Not that it matters, lovely looking frame with internal cable routing which I'm sure the later Pulse models did away with

 

[PaintedDesert]

Re: My first "real" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

I think those forks suit the bike, and so do the syncros parts, but you urgently need to slam the stem, ditch the riser and put the seat in a less awkward position, because this hurts my eyes :-(

Good luck with the build, this one is definitely worth some effort!

 

[Thias]

Re: My first "real" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

Well I am not anyway near a Klein expert. I started reading about Kleins only at the begining of this week. And to be totally honest, I dont care too much about the "trek or not a trek". I have a Mantra already, I think its agreat bike, it is well made, good looking, its a good ride and that is all that matters to me. Wat will teh Pulse be like? I will find out soon. If its not to my taste, I will sell it. And thats where the "trek or not" starts to count in...

I found a page of a guy who decribed very well the differences of the various Klein frames. Between the different Types (e.g. Attitude vs Adroit) but also the evolution over time. He stated that for example the welds and the dropouts changed very much from 90 to 94. Production was streamlined. They always tried to make poduction cheaper. But also tried to get the frame weight down. Strangely that hunt for less weight resulted in less good looking welds and microdropouts. Form follows funktion.

This is the page I am talking about. Its a very good read!
http://www.oldklein.com/history/evolution

The early Pulse frames were a result of this evolution. They are technically Attitude frames but with a 1 1/8" headtube instead of the MC2. They have all the other attributes of the 94/5 Kleins, beeing lighter than the earlyer models, CCD, internal cable routing, pressed BB, square to round tubes at the back. To me that is even better than a attitude, because it gives you all the choices with the forks.

Right after Klein was bought by trek the Pulse was renamed to Pulse II. Its the same frame as my Pulse but they added more color options. Shotly after came the Pulse Comp, Pulse somethingelse and so on. Those frames then were different. Cheap. Lost the all the Klein specialties. Thats when the buyout started.

Thats what I know. My conclusion: That is a real Klein, still. :shock:

@paintedDesert: working on it. Not sure about the riser. Straight bar would suit the bike, riser would suit my back

 

[gil_m]

Re:

Not that it matters, lovely looking frame with internal cable routing which I'm sure the later Pulse models did away with

Enjoy the ride, that's the bit that matters

 

[bartsince1975]

Re: My first "real" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

Nice find, I believe it will turn out great with silver parts and a polish. And Trek or not, it looks great with the internal routing, I would ditch the Magura's so you will be able to use it again. Enjoy your build, I'll be following with interest.

For the Rond fork you can find adapters, this link is for a Dutch shop, but I'm sure you will be able to find one on a German site as well. http://hollandbikeshop.com/fietspompen/ ... ter-koper/

 

[Thias]

Re: My first "real" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

I asked the former owner about the fork pump. And he told me the fork was sent to rond and converted to steel springs. He said he did not like the fact that he had to check the pressure every week or so. Even when it was new. But he still has the pump and he'll send it to me.

 

[Thias]

Re: My first "real" Klein - the Pulse is rising.

So here is your first obstacle as ordered. Not a very big one thou.

Allen screw gave up integrity. Hammered a larger torx-bit in - the screw lost even more material but still held on tight. So out came the file and a spanner:


Cracking noise and the screw gave up. Jay!


That was the last part on the frame.

The sun is shining today. It seems it will be the first warm day of spring. So I'll take the frame outside, polish and meditate over my parts list.


Ahhhw! I love spring!