Total rebuild - Klein pulse comp, ideas and tips welcome.

[jk4444]

I'm giving my trusty old bike what it wants, and that is a total rebuild. I've owned this bike for over ten years and am still in love with it just as i was on the first day of owning it. I will be spending far too much on getting this thing back on its regular 20-30 mile outings but i don't care.

Anyone got any ideas on what forks and crank to put on this bike? I'm thinking of 'LX' for the crank but have no idea on what forks to put on it. For years i rode it with a marzocchi bomber forks at 120mm of travel, those forks were a total missmatch to the frame.

RockShox Tora 302 Solo any good?

What colour?????
Anyway the bike is going into the paint shop on friday i just need to take the b/b out and it's ready to go. Yes... a total respray which is going to cost me an arm and a leg but this bike is family now so i have no choice. I'm thinking of keeping it as close to original, but i've got this thing about BMW alpine white (not that i own a bmw).

What colour would you go for if you were to respray?

 

[cyfa2809]

i quite like the blue actually! maybe go for a red with white parts? or vice versa? its got funky dropouts!

 

[drystonepaul]

Firtsly I should say that I know nothing about Kleins... but...

Looks like it could be a 1997 Pulse Comp based on the image in the 1997 catalogue in the archive: here.
According to that it originally had an STX/Alivio component mix which places it at the lower end of the range.
The colour is listed as Cobalt Blue and it looks rather nice to me.

If it were me I'd build it up with something a bit nicer than the original components and LX would be a good choice.
I like to keeps things pretty well period correct so you'd be looking at the M565-M600 stuff which looks like this:

There's more info on the various Shimano groupsets here too.

Good luck with your build.

 

[jk4444]

Thanks cyfa2809 i think your rite. The blue is nice and i think a splash of red will be a good idea i will be putting on a set of Panaracer Fire XC tyres and of course they are highlighted with red.

So i think i will ask the paint shop to match it as close as they can.



drystonepaul i have always loved the simple look and the ease of maintenance of the LX range but where the hell do i get a good set of them? I see the slx range but i really want whats in that pic you have posted that stuff looks so nice!
I know what you mean about keeping the look pretty, all the modern stuff with logos printed or embossed everywhere really looks far to busy to me.

Maybe the moderator could move this thread to '97' as '98' was just a guess? Thanks again for the info drystonepaul i always wanted to know the name of the paint plus all the other info!

Anyway here are a few more pics;

 

[SF Klein]

Pics aren't from a close-up angle, but here's a '96 Pulse that could be a donor for some nicer XT parts for $325 & that's probably negotiable.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/1511176980.html

Have you considered taking the money you saved on a respray and spending it instead on a Pulse in very good to excellent condition? There have been a few really nice ones that have been on Craigslist and eBay over the past months.

From what I've seen most Klein resprays don't provide any return to the owner for the money they spend (i.e. if a respray was $400, the value of the bike would not be improved by $400 and in many cases the value goes down. :cry: This, however, might not be important if you're planning to keep the bike for a long time or if you're going for a one-off paint design to make the bike scream "this is MINE" Looking forward to seeing which direction you go.

 

[jk4444]

Hi SF Klein and thanks. I would agree with just about all you are saying but i quess the problem here is the sentimental value it has for me. This is the first bike that got me to and from work (total 12 miles a day) for years and i loved every mile. I must keep that frame at the very least. This bike and only this bike has no financial worth to me because of sentiment.

I am always looking for a Klein bikes for sale, but here in the uk it's hard to find a such bikes.

But i just want to say that for my next project a cannondale m700 i will certainly be taking your advice.

 

[john]

Moved as requested.

My suggestion would be to go for full 8 speed XT - sure the frame deserves it esp if you're paying big for a respray. I'd also get some forks (or use the ones you have) and get them colour coded at the same time. Looks more pro

 

[SF Klein]

I totally understand sentiment and since the bike has so much in sentiment for you, I WOULD suggest going all out on the paintjob. As John says, it deserves it since you've got a lot of memories there. Keep making the memories with the bike wearing a new set of clothes (tastefully done of course.) XT plus a matching frame/fork paintjob!!
(I'd go for whatever your favorite Klein paintscheme is but since it sounds like you're going to keep the bike forever, you could really go as crazy as your wallet will allow. There's certainly a lot of bikes to draw inspiration from as you consider your options.)

 

[drystonepaul]

i have always loved the simple look and the ease of maintenance of the LX range but where the hell do i get a good set of them?

In terms of sourcing the right kit, there is still plenty of LX and XT stuff around from the 1997 era if you know where to look.
You've already got an XT M737/9 rear mech and the shifters look like STX 8spd which are very reliable shifters from the right period.

Keep and eye on the For Sale threads on here and search eBay using the M565/M567/M569 and M600 numbers for LX, and M737/M739 for XT stuff.
The LX or XT cranks are a little more difficult to find, but there are a set of XT ones in the For Sale thread at the moment.

Pretty soon you'll be able to recognise the parts you're looking for from a thousand yards.

It all comes down to patience, time and money in the end though.
You might have to buy a spare bike in the meantime...
Have fun.

 

[utahdog2003]

Want to sell the Bomber?