HighFiveBro

I posted this in Road Cycling and realized it would be better here.

I have the opportunity to buy a 1994 Klein Quantum in my size. With the components being the same, how does this bike frame compare to entry level bicycle frames from the past 5 or 10 years? I would be using the bike for sprint triathlons and commuting. Opinions are appreciated.

wrk101

Kleins are pretty collectible from that era, assuming frame is straight and paint is good. Better than the entry level stuff for sure.

bikemig 

Nice bike but may not be the best choice for commuting.

HighFiveBro

The commuting is only a few miles. Most of the use will be for racing purposes.

Germany_chris

Pre-Trek Klein better than most alloy today, post Trek Klein meh.

HighFiveBro

How does the ride quality of Klein compare to newer Aluminum frames?

Germany_chris

Ride is a function of tire, tire pressure, and saddle.

The fame is stiff as it was intended to be. Is it any more stiff than all the hydroformed ugliness out there I dunno what I do know is Gary Klein was a pretty cool dude and he made some pretty cool bike in some awesome colors. They are not tasteless, cookie cutter, hydroformed uglyness that comes out of trekgiantscott factories in Asia.

HighFiveBro

That is true, Gary did make some very cool looking bikes. The 1994 Klein Quantum I am interested in is just a plain Gemstone Green and unfortunately has no decals to show off nor does it have internal cable routing. This bike will be an upgrade from a 1985 Univega Gran Sprint.

Germany_chris

That probably makes it Trek Klein..

If I recall correctly that is the year of the change over

HighFiveBro

According to multiple sources, Trek bought Klein in 1995

https://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_Bikes

https://diabloscott.blogspot.com

When did Klein do away with pressed in bottom brackets? Would it be better to keep the bottom brackets the way they are or change to a threaded bracket?

Germany_chris

Please remember I'm sorta shooting from the hip here there was always a relationship between Klein and Trek, the thing is I distinctly remember Kleins hitting Trek shops in '94. The reason I remember that is I was a wannabe bike wrench in HS and these silly rear entry gaudy bikes hit our store in my senior year (94). There are many things I don't know and this is as likely to be one of them as anything else.

I don't know when the Press BB stopped, but remember Merlin was doing them at that time too and Phil Wood makes super BB's for both last I looked. I wouldn't let a pressed BB dissuade me from the but it would remove some dollars from the price..Phil Wood and some UD record cranks would be not only SEXY but would last for ever and contend weight wise to UT stuff.

HighFiveBro

I plan on making the bike full Dura Ace (2011?). Will there be any compatibility issues?

Germany_chris

If it has press in yes..

Press in is square taper only. Why DA? Why wrap a beauty in ugly?

HighFiveBro

I am only buying the frame and I happen to have a Dura Ace set lying around.

Germany_chris

OK

Still wrapping beauty in ugly though

Dave Mayer

I have been riding one of Nashbar's alu frames with the carbon stays. $200. Light, stiff and everything on the frame was straight and the welds were good enough. Built up to a great bike with a sweet ride.

BTW: alu frames do not get better with age. My guide for used bikes is that they lose 30% of value as soon as they get unboxed, or they are down to half of original value two years after sale. Notice I did not say retail, as any fool with a credit card and a mailing address can buy bikes and components for about one half of retail.

So $200 is now the absolute most I would I would pay for a alu frame, unless I stumbled upon one of Marco Pantani's Bianchi's that had been blessed by the Pope.

Germany_chris

Your nashbar frame is not a klein. That would be like comparing a steel ribble to a Sachs.

I wouldn't pay $200 for any alu Bianchi but there are Kleins I'd pay 4 times that for.

Dave Mayer

Why is that? The Nashbar frame comes in at 1,300g, or only about 100g more than it is reasonably possible to build an alu road frame. I'll bet it is lighter than the vintage Klein. It is stiff beyond my needs. I sure it is as strong as any alu frame in its weight class. Any nonsense regarding the supposed 'tuned ride' of higher-end alu is just marketing. Tires and the saddle make all of the difference in terms of road feel.

Plus it has a now-standard 1 1/8" integrated head tube, which I find very convenient, and a standard English threaded BB, which lessens my worries about buying into one of the growing multitude of soon-to-be extinct BB 'standards'.

In any case, paying real money for an alu road frame makes no sense, as a mail-order $400 Chinese carbon frame is superior in evey respect to any alu frame ever made. The carbon frame is lighter, stronger, stiffer, more corrosion resistant and unlike alu, impervious to inevitable stress cracking. The carbon material itself trumps anything that can be done in alu.

HighFiveBro

What other makes and models from 1990's to about 2005 or so are also recommended? I am looking for Aluminum frames.

wrk101

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As I mentioned earlier, the pre-Trek Kleins are very sought after and collectible. No one is collecting Nashbar bikes, nor the CF Chinese bikes either.

So Kleins sell at a premium. If the goal is to get a good, solid, aluminum frame bike, there are many cheaper options. Kleins do have some quirks as well. The Kleins with the flamboyant paint jobs seem to get the strongest interest.

But if you can get a Klein at a Cannondale price, to me, its a no brainer. You are not paying a collectible premium in that case, and if/when you sell it later, you will enjoy the benefit of that collectible bump (buy low, sell high).



If you are looking for aluminum, lots of love around here for Cannondales. There is a ready supply of them out there, much more common than Kleins. So you should be able to find one with the components you want, in your size, in short order.

Germany_chris

Why do people wait 5 years and spend 4K on a Sachs when a 753 Ribble will be practically the same and will cost less than the Sachs fork? Because it's a Sachs. $400-$800 is not a lot to pay for a frame no matter the material, it's an especially small sum when coming from a pioneer and IMHO master frame builder.

We all have our preferences I wouldn't pay $.10 For a Crumpton or Parlee but people will spend years in and 6 to 8K on one of these guys frames. Nick Crumpton and Bob Parlee are great guys, helpful and full of information and have been building bikes for almost a 100 years between them. They are Masters but they only build in carbon and I don't like carbon.

Lets not let our preference on materials take away the value of the man behind the brand