Owner 500AMM - 1993 Klein Fervor

500AMM

Retro Newbie
Hello bikers!

This is my first post so why not start with an Owners Thread, and per the thread title I have a 1993 Klein Fervor in Nebula green paint scheme. I wouldn't call myself a purist, but I am a deep fan of Klein MTBs, their build quality, paint quality and history, and I guess it origins from the era when Klein was among the top notch brands back in the days. The Fervor is the predecessor for the Pulse and AFAIK it was offered for two years only, and it's not much info to find about the Fervor. In the Klein circles the Fervor may not be considered as the real bones, but sort of a cheap semi Klein, hardly worth much. Well, I know that, I'm aware of the frame build, the cheaper equipment and so on, but for those itching for pushing the BS button now - save the efforts for something else, it doesn't matter - this is about my bike and my 30 years ownership.😊

I started with MTBs in 1989 and the biking really took off during the following years. It was only in the terrain and my first bike was a Miyata Terra Runner, pretty oversized due to my lack of knowledge about MTB riding generally. Two years later I bought Miyata Ridge Runner, this time in correct size for my use. After another two years in 1994 I bought the Klein Fervor from a pro' rider & shop owner, it was just as new with no scuffs. A lot of riding had improved the technique and the Fervor was beaten up pretty hard from day one. After a few years all equipment was toast and it was due for a complete rebuild. The bike was stripped and everything was replaced and some minor corrosion spots were taken care of. The bike had a mix of Shimano Deore LX and XT when I got it, cantilevers of course, but now it was all in with XTR gear & their revolutionary V-brakes. But no - I didn't bore out the brake liner in the top tube, but fitted the tiny brake line adapter made for a V-brake conversion.

I put on a Syncros crankset, Syncros seat post, Selle Flite Italia Titan seat, XTR headset and replaced the bottom bracket bearings. The rigid front fork was already replaced with an early Marzocchi XC51 front suspension, but it was now replaced with the new Marzocchi Bomber Z1 BAM. I bought a set of Cane Creek wheels....which happened to be a total design disaster, so they were replaced later on with Mavic Crossmax. I did a couple of mods which is hated today, when fitting the V-brakes I cut off the brake line bridge sitting at top across the seat stays, and the brake wire guide tube sitting under the MC1 handlebar. But hey, this was in 1998 on a 5 year old bike, a rider fully utilized for its build quality, and the development of MTB equipment evolved like a Japanese high speed train. So it was all about getting the sweet stuff on the bike you know.

Today, after thousands of kilometers in the woods proving its build & paint quality, the Fervor has retired carrying the memories in its patina, the rigid front fork is back on again, comfortable soft tires fitted, and it's rolling on the street - still on a daily basis. ✌️:cool:

1993 Klein Fervor (1).JPG

1993 Klein Fervor (2).JPG

Quiz: Some Klein bikes has a brass emblem fitted on the steering tube, do you know the story behind that??
 
Hello bikers!

This is my first post so why not start with an Owners Thread, and per the thread title I have a 1993 Klein Fervor in Nebula green paint scheme. I wouldn't call myself a purist, but I am a deep fan of Klein MTBs, their build quality, paint quality and history, and I guess it origins from the era when Klein was among the top notch brands back in the days. The Fervor is the predecessor for the Pulse and AFAIK it was offered for two years only, and it's not much info to find about the Fervor. In the Klein circles the Fervor may not be considered as the real bones, but sort of a cheap semi Klein, hardly worth much. Well, I know that, I'm aware of the frame build, the cheaper equipment and so on, but for those itching for pushing the BS button now - save the efforts for something else, it doesn't matter - this is about my bike and my 30 years ownership.😊

I started with MTBs in 1989 and the biking really took off during the following years. It was only in the terrain and my first bike was a Miyata Terra Runner, pretty oversized due to my lack of knowledge about MTB riding generally. Two years later I bought Miyata Ridge Runner, this time in correct size for my use. After another two years in 1994 I bought the Klein Fervor from a pro' rider & shop owner, it was just as new with no scuffs. A lot of riding had improved the technique and the Fervor was beaten up pretty hard from day one. After a few years all equipment was toast and it was due for a complete rebuild. The bike was stripped and everything was replaced and some minor corrosion spots were taken care of. The bike had a mix of Shimano Deore LX and XT when I got it, cantilevers of course, but now it was all in with XTR gear & their revolutionary V-brakes. But no - I didn't bore out the brake liner in the top tube, but fitted the tiny brake line adapter made for a V-brake conversion.

I put on a Syncros crankset, Syncros seat post, Selle Flite Italia Titan seat, XTR headset and replaced the bottom bracket bearings. The rigid front fork was already replaced with an early Marzocchi XC51 front suspension, but it was now replaced with the new Marzocchi Bomber Z1 BAM. I bought a set of Cane Creek wheels....which happened to be a total design disaster, so they were replaced later on with Mavic Crossmax. I did a couple of mods which is hated today, when fitting the V-brakes I cut off the brake line bridge sitting at top across the seat stays, and the brake wire guide tube sitting under the MC1 handlebar. But hey, this was in 1998 on a 5 year old bike, a rider fully utilized for its build quality, and the development of MTB equipment evolved like a Japanese high speed train. So it was all about getting the sweet stuff on the bike you know.

Today, after thousands of kilometers in the woods proving its build & paint quality, the Fervor has retired carrying the memories in its patina, the rigid front fork is back on again, comfortable soft tires fitted, and it's rolling on the street - still on a daily basis. ✌️:cool:

View attachment 865456

View attachment 865457

Quiz: Some Klein bikes has a brass emblem fitted on the steering tube, do you know the story behind that??

Welcome to the forum.

Nice looking bike but dangerously tight looking clearance between fork and tyre. Maybe the angle makes it look worse than it is.
 
Nice testimony to the late Klein chainstay clearance update,
80s and early 90s Klein rear ends measured de-creasingly for less
 
Hey !

Welcome ! :) Nice bike ! The dark colors everywhere give the impression of a shadow, I truely love it. One day, I'll have a Klein, but it must absolutely have a very good original paint and I suppose I must have a goodbank account too ! :D Those paints were so terrific that if it's not the original one or if it's too degraded, the bike'll lose its appeal. Klein without its paint isn't really Klein. And the one you have on yours is very nice, deep and rich. I've done little research about the head tube badge, not a lot of informations.

The metallic badges were used before Klein was bought by Trek (end of 70s to mid 90s). It was a means for Klein to show the quality of the build and the sense of sophistication he wanted for his bikes. When Trek was involved, these badge were replace by decals, it was cheaper but it also allowed to have more variety in the design (color and form) of this particular piece. It doesn't seem that the use of the metallic badges were an hommage to a specific brand or to a particular designer, just for Kleinthepossibility to show their attention to quality, durability and details.

W.
 
Welcome to the forum.

Nice looking bike but dangerously tight looking clearance between fork and tyre. Maybe the angle makes it look worse than it is.

beautiful bike! what tires are thoose?

Hello,

It seems they are Schwalbe Crazy Bob. :) Nice, indeed ! :)

W.

Yes, those tires has a very tight fit, it's no rub on calm street riding, but it's too tight anyway IMO. The old tires was gone this spring so I took these Crazy Bobs from my sons bike which is permanently parked, just to get the Fervor up running. I'll get something else and best of all would be a set of retro Panaracers to accommodate the time capsule.
 
Hey !

Welcome ! :) Nice bike ! The dark colors everywhere give the impression of a shadow, I truely love it. One day, I'll have a Klein, but it must absolutely have a very good original paint and I suppose I must have a goodbank account too ! :D Those paints were so terrific that if it's not the original one or if it's too degraded, the bike'll lose its appeal. Klein without its paint isn't really Klein. And the one you have on yours is very nice, deep and rich. I've done little research about the head tube badge, not a lot of informations.

The metallic badges were used before Klein was bought by Trek (end of 70s to mid 90s). It was a means for Klein to show the quality of the build and the sense of sophistication he wanted for his bikes. When Trek was involved, these badge were replace by decals, it was cheaper but it also allowed to have more variety in the design (color and form) of this particular piece. It doesn't seem that the use of the metallic badges were an hommage to a specific brand or to a particular designer, just for Kleinthepossibility to show their attention to quality, durability and details.

W.

Here's the explanation for the brass emblem:
Klein offered a lifetime warranty on their frames here in Europe, and I think it applied on all export, but not in the US! To separate the warranty claims between export and the US market, they put on a brass emblem on all exported frames/bikes.

(this applied before TREK came in an killed Klein entirely with their shitty mindset)
 
AFAIK the Nebula paint scheme was only used on the Fervor, and it came in 4 colours - grey, blue, green, red. I've put together the best images I have of each clour. I wonder how Klein managed to do this painting.


Nebula colours on Klein fervor.jpg


Per Wikipedia Nebula means an ionized cloud out in cosmos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula

1280px-Trifid_Nebula_by_Deddy_Dayag.jpg
 
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