Post Trek KLEIN - are they really as bad a people make out?

[TOMAS]

So I picked another bike up yesterday, mainly for some of the parts that were on it, but its a '98 (erm sorry admins I know this is <'97 forum) KLEIN Pulse. It has a fair few areas where the paint has bubbled off but looking at it I really like the design and 'look' of it, it also fits me well.

So I'm actually now toying with the idea of having it dipped and re-painted and building it? I know these are no where near the value or desirability of pre-Trek Kleins and it's also a lower end model frame but it came up at 1665g on my scales (with steel h/set cups) so maybe 1600g, which I feel is fairly light but feel free to correct me on this presumption?

My only other real concern is how it rides, I can only assume with stays as beefy as they are, its gonna have one seriously stiff arse end on it, however it's not going to get ridden much.

Whats peoples views on these, should I inject £ into this or just flip it on?

 

[dan_bo]

I had the same frame- rode well.

 

[dyna-ti]

Course not. Its just the company was sold, so not made by the same people, with considerably less emphasis on spec and ethic, and more towards increasing profit on each 'item'.

From boutique to bought out. Lost the individuality.

 

[Baulz]

They were not "bad" bikes, just not as special as the original Kleins. They turned into Trek frames with special paint and stickers, same for Bontrager by the end of their run.

 

[LumPi Panda]

If you like it, ride it.

 

[sinnerman]

Re:

All the above comments are accurate.


The first Pulse range after the Trek Buy out (and i am unsure when it ended). The rear ends were still being fabricated in Chehalis whilst the front Triangles were being fabricated in Washington.
( Yours looks like an early one from memory).

The comment ref hitting a price point is accurate, but bear in mind that Aluminium Klein's had never before been available anywhere near these price points for frames let alone whole bikes available to a world wide audience.

The quality was already there, Trek never made shit bikes, despite never having the kudos for the boutique buyer.

Its no secret Klein weren't making any money, and for Trek to turn this around, production needed to be stream lined and the Brand needed a wider Audience.

The quality of the fabrication far exceeded anything that came from the far east at a similar price point per unit, and each frame was hand welded in the U.S.A. Whilst the production cost was high compared to far east counterparts, to keep the cost down without sacrificing quality, each Pulse Frame in the range was the same, all be it painted a different colour and assembled with a different spec level to form a range of bicycles.

The Pulse Bike at £599 had the same frame as the Pulse at £1299.

Early production did see a lot paint issues, all honoured by the warranty program, but frame failure was not an issue from my memory of the time.

Whilst this part of Klein's history would never please the Original Klein fan, it certainly enabled a wider audience, kept the Klein name alive for a little longer, and gave an alternative to a Cannondale if you wanted Handbuilt in the USA and certainly a better alternative to the Low Rent Aluminium built down to a budget that was coming out of the Far East from every direction, both of which im sure Trek saw as something that needed to be competed against to stay in the game.

It may not be Hand filed like the Boutique originals, it may not be painted in luxurious technicolor, but they were built with Gary Klein over seeing, and i would imagine he revelled in the fact that whilst his name got sold, the name lived on, and he was able to still leave a mark on his product design with the help of massively reduced manufacturing costs thanks to Trek.

Is it worth anything, well imho, if you want, Strength and Lightweight from an Aluminium frame, you will be hard pressed to find better riding frame, especially with a Brand name on it.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

I think all Klein frames are great at what they do , pre and post Trek, on a blind test I reckon most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the ride quality and characteristics.
It's just the post trek frames have less kudos.
I think of it like Range Rover, cars with prestige, then they bring out the Evoque, a Range Rover for the masses

 

[sinnerman]

Re: Re:

I think all Klein frames are great at what they do , pre and post Trek, on a blind test I reckon most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the ride quality and characteristics.
It's just the post trek frames have less kudos.
I think of it like Range Rover, cars with prestige, then they bring out the Evoque, a Range Rover for the masses

Cottage industry manufacturing by hand always has its followers, and for good reasons. Trek were always seen as the big bad wolf with both there purchase of Klein and Bontrager, and im sure both original owners were more than happy there legacy lived on in name and design, for were it not for the buy out both companies werent far off falling by the wayside anyway.

Its a Modern world we live in, and in business efficiency is everything, Trek gave them that. and gained there skill and knowledge with it.

 

[shedobits]

Re:

In Defence of Trek Kleins

Mine was from year 2000, (bought with some of my redundancy money), I think it was the longest I've kept a bike / frame. There were two metal labels on the frame indicating that it was still made in the original factory. It had internal cable routing, rear facing dropouts, smooth welds and of course a gorgeous paint job. I chose it over a Kona Pahahoe and a Specialised M2 after back to back test rides. At 1200 quid Treks suits had pared down on the components to make the price point.
On it I rode six Polaris, umpteen Trail quests, an unofficial off road C 2 C and hundred of hours trail riding. I've just remembered that it also doubled as a road bike during the Foot and Mouth epidemic.
When I moved to Spain I used it for some long distance (60 to 80K) XC racing and found it's only "weakness" the stiff rear end was just too painful and I developed Klein Spine so it went to part fund something else.
My advice would to be build it and enjoy the ride whilst you make up your mind about the new colour:
PS Trek made some great Garry Fishers too.
Well I think that's upset just about everyone, I'll get me coat.

 

[TOMAS]

Cheers for all the positive comments guys, I was feeling mostly what all of you are saying and glad to have some reassurance that it's a fairly decent frame really, despite not having the kudos of the earlier ones. I'm gonna do a rough re-build of it and do a few small rides before deciding on paint.

One thing that did cross my mind... this 'hand filing' business, I presume this is literally where the welds are filed smooth, by hand? I'm a fairly competent 'weekend engineer' - I presume whilst time-consuming, this is something I could do to this frame perhaps between the stripping and repainting stages to get it looking even better, by looping around emery cloth or similar or am I better just leaving as it is and not risking removing too much metal from the welds and thus weakening it?

Now just to source some replacement decals for once it gets repainted... Gil... at a guess