if you thrashed a klein back in the day it'd break. I broke 2 of them back in the day. 30 years later if you thrash them, they'd still break. I rode a loaned 90 klein attitude around dartmoor early 90s & it was so stiff it beat the crap out of me on rocky trails. they're best preserved as wall hangers & gentle pootles around the malverns classic camp site for nostalgia.
The anti Klein brigade.
- Thread starter midibiker
- Start date
I think the fact that they are aluminium plays a part, there is a very vocal 'Steel is Real' faction among cyclists, I count myself as a part time member of that particular tribe having owned almost exclusively steel framed bikes my whole life, and I do possess a preference for the feel of a good steel frame. I think to a lesser extent Cannondale suffers from the same thing.
Having said that a beautiful bike is a beautiful bike and I've dished out as many
to Kleins as to any other brand on here, there's no denying that Klein did make very distinctive visually pleasing frames with often astonishing finishes, and now I own one and am in the process of building up a second I've had the chance to glimpse some of the other unique characteristics these bikes possess beyond the aesthetic styling.
Could there also be an element of Klein's falling victim to the way some owners and evangelists are perceived? In the same way that certain brands of car seem to attract more than their fair share of unsavoury owners, could these bikes have become associated, rightly or wrongly, with a certain type of irritating person?
I don't know enough about the subject to comment further except to say that I have read and heard people refer to Klein owners in less than complimentary terms.
Having said that a beautiful bike is a beautiful bike and I've dished out as many
to Kleins as to any other brand on here, there's no denying that Klein did make very distinctive visually pleasing frames with often astonishing finishes, and now I own one and am in the process of building up a second I've had the chance to glimpse some of the other unique characteristics these bikes possess beyond the aesthetic styling.Could there also be an element of Klein's falling victim to the way some owners and evangelists are perceived? In the same way that certain brands of car seem to attract more than their fair share of unsavoury owners, could these bikes have become associated, rightly or wrongly, with a certain type of irritating person?
I don't know enough about the subject to comment further except to say that I have read and heard people refer to Klein owners in less than complimentary terms.
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I think the fact that they are aluminium plays a part, there is a very vocal 'Steel is Real' faction among cyclists, I count myself as a part time member of that particular tribe having owned almost exclusively steel framed bikes my whole life, and I do possess a preference for the feel of a good steel frame. I think to a lesser extent Cannondale suffers from the same thing.
Having said that a beautiful bike is a beautiful bike and I've dished out as many
Could there also be an element of Klein's falling victim to the way some owners and evangelists are perceived? In the same way that certain brands of car seem to attract more than their fair share of unsavoury owners, the point being that the bikes have become associated, rightly or wrongly, with a certain type of irritating person.
I don't know enough about the subject to comment further except to say that I have read and heard people refer to Klein owners in less than complimentary ways.
That last comment is so true lol.
Maybe other riders think that most Klein owners drive a BMW too.
sjcprojects
Orange 🍊 Fan
I'm much more of a road cyclist than off-road, so I can only talk about the aesthetics, and like @Imlach, I just find most Kleins (and in particular the most sought after ones) garish and over the top. The road bike equivalant is the Colnago Master Olympic – techincally amazing paintjobs, but unappealing to me.
Of course beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, so it's not like there's a 'right' opinion, but I think it's fair to say they are divisive in that way because they are fairly extreme, aesthetically. And yes, I think these days they also can attract a certain type of person as @Tsundere says, who are mainly attracted by the fact that they are expensive, and probably don't actually ride them, just post them on Instagram. Obviously I don't mean this applies to most Klein owners, just a certain more recent subset of them...
Of course beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, so it's not like there's a 'right' opinion, but I think it's fair to say they are divisive in that way because they are fairly extreme, aesthetically. And yes, I think these days they also can attract a certain type of person as @Tsundere says, who are mainly attracted by the fact that they are expensive, and probably don't actually ride them, just post them on Instagram. Obviously I don't mean this applies to most Klein owners, just a certain more recent subset of them...
benjabbi
Bontrager Fan
They can admittedly look amazing (or OTT depending on the paint/build) and I appreciate the thinking and engineering that went into them. But.... Even if you could easily pick up an Attitude/Adroit for a couple of hundred quid, it would probably be an in, then out, just to say I'd tried one. There's definitely bikes I'd pick first if I ever had Klein money floating about.
Joe*Pro
Senior Retro Guru
Don’t you mean Audi now.
Reminds me of Mercian steel bikes - much loved, but any better than other bespoke frame builders? I doubt it?!
Audi S3 the idiots car of choice around here!!Don’t you mean Audi now.
Almost bought one around 2008 just for the low weight.
Scratched the low weight AL itch with something much better and rarer. Moved on since.
I heard from the local bike shop that Miguel Indurain wanted a custom Klein for pro road racing, but Klein could never accept it would be rebranded and the paint job the same as all the other team bikes. Perhaps BS, perhaps not. Personally think a bike needs to be much more than a paint job. Also tried the poor man's Klein, Cannondale.
Scratched the low weight AL itch with something much better and rarer. Moved on since.
I heard from the local bike shop that Miguel Indurain wanted a custom Klein for pro road racing, but Klein could never accept it would be rebranded and the paint job the same as all the other team bikes. Perhaps BS, perhaps not. Personally think a bike needs to be much more than a paint job. Also tried the poor man's Klein, Cannondale.
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