The anti Klein brigade.

[sinnerman]

I have found this thread a good read so far to be fair, and thought provoking.

No thought to what was going on back in the day in the market place, with evolution of the MTB, what brought us to the point, what was going on all around us.

No mention of Marketing either, and the volumes in which they were sold, how/who were importing them, bringing with it a price ticket.

Much the same as the Hardcore fan/collector ridiculing the same brand when Trek took the reigns, of which they come with little value if any when compared, especially to the collector.

I see this entire scenario over and over again, to name but one, "Fat Chance" is no different, totally blinkered fans who wont have a bad word said, everything is the best of the best, and nobody does it better.....Blah, Blah Blah.

The Time, The Place and the Propaganda Cemented these Brands in Infamy.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I have found this thread a good read so far to be fair, and thought provoking.

No thought to what was going on back in the day in the market place, with evolution of the MTB, what brought us to the point, what was going on all around us.

No mention of Marketing either, and the volumes in which they were sold, how/who were importing them, bringing with it a price ticket.

Much the same as the Hardcore fan/collector ridiculing the same brand when Trek took the reigns, of which they come with little value if any when compared, especially to the collector.

I see this entire scenario over and over again, to name but one, "Fat Chance" is no different, totally blinkered fans who wont have a bad word said, everything is the best of the best, and nobody does it better.....Blah, Blah Blah.

The Time, The Place and the Propaganda Cemented these Brands in Infamy.

Well said.

I think ultimately advertising, road tests, what your LBS stocked and could get, what your mates thought and rode played a big part in it. I came to off roading late as I was/am a roadie. Actually what I just said is rubbish, I'm a cyclist, I love bikes and to ride. There are bikes I don't like and I may voice that opinion politely, but I would never slag off another cyclists bike because my taste was different. I can't get my head around someone getting worked up over disliking someone elses bike. That said I have no time for head in the sand attitude.

The Viscount "death fork" is a prime example of propaganda. There are 3 marks, 1 and 2 break. No breakages of the Mk3 but people are still go on. I ride albeit gently on a Mk3.
Maybe a Klein owner will fix my teeth (JOKE) If/when it snaps off and sticks in my a**e or any other part of me.

 

[7Speed]

Klein's were a massive part of the local racing scene when I was a Youth/Junior rider. The group of young riders from Croydon that were always at the front (Humphries and Hemmings usually off the front) were picked up by Klein. I would smash my way around the Southend and County Wheelers' Winter Series getting thrashed by these guys every few weeks on their Dolomite Attitudes. As someone mentioned earlier, Hemming took his to a silver in the junior downhill in Durango, so they must handle reasonably well. So, in my mind they have always been associated with racing and performance. Unlike Cannondale I have never seen a Klein frame failure at a race.

I couldn't afford one as a junior and really didn't understand how anyone could; but would I like a Dolomite Attitude now? OMG yes.

 

[sinnerman]

Post and Pre Trek Ownership as a dealer back then I can honestly confirm I never saw a broken one.

What I can attest too, is that WOW factor back in the day.

Stood there, after Racing with a Kona Explosif, and Seeing Dave wrack up on his new sponsors Steed, A Klein Attitude in White Pink and Green. (Dolomite)
Never forgetting the comment, Carl pick this up....., And me lifting it up in my hands. Dave and I were the same height, weight, build, Age and to be fair not far of in a fitness comparison. The Klein Was closer to 20Lbs in weight, where my Explosif was at the other end of that same Scale, and Yet the tubes were huge by comparison.

It was Clear to me, Weight was now going to be the next big thing on the Agenda. And Yes it did make all the difference. And so it began. The Race to break the 20Lb barrier was on.

 

[sinnerman]

If you then throw into this mix, Fabled Legend of Pro and AM racers with no care or mention of Harshness, Cool Paint jobs, Limited numbers, High "Imported" Price tags, Really clever Marketing,.................................Is there any wonder we have the Pre-Trek Brand where it is today, and folk making threads not quite understanding WHY.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

First time I picked one up I thought "F**k me this is lighter than my road bike!"

 

[sinnerman]

First time I picked one up I thought "F**k me this is lighter than more road bike!"

Ditto......................, To this day I will never forget that moment I picked up Dave's bike.

 

[jimmy-s3]

I ride my 92 Klein Adept when I can. It has almost full NOS components. The only thing I don’t like is the thought of rubbing through the black anodising on the rims.

 

[PanoIgano]

I was watching on youtube one of the early MTB world cups in Berlin the other day (I think it was from '91 or '92 can't remember exactly).

Honestly, I can't think of a better bike for the terrain of that racing circuit than a Klein.

Even the more technical sections of that race would not qualify to what the averege cyclo cross race includes today but boy is it amazing to see how Tinker plows through it all on his Klein?

It's hard to beat the racing legacy of Kleins and easy to see why because of it the bike has attracted many "enemies" over the years too. It was the bike / team to beat in most races in the early to mid 90s and for a good reason.

For me they remain unique but I also know that their riding does not fit to my style or trails I have close to me.

I can't cease to admire them though.

 

[Woz]

The only Klein I remember from BITD and seeing in Cannock was a Mantra. I was impressed at the jumping around the bomb pit when I was still on my Shogun. I was more impressed though with my mate visiting from Portsmouth doing the same, but better, with no helmet, no cycling kit, doing it total with fcuk-it style, and smoother on a supermarket BSO. Right there and then for me, it was apparent if you had a BMX as a kid you learnt how to be a nutter with good off road handling skills.