Originally Posted by
embankmentlb
Maybe this photo of my other Klein will put us back on track.
That carbon fiber rear end is something that was introduced with the first Waterloo-built bikes. I think Trek was looking for something to make aluminum bikes justify a higher price tag, and maybe it was a faster construction time, and maybe it was just a gimmick, and maybe there were too many people whining about stiffness. It also corresponded to the change in naming from Quantum to Q... so sometimes when people say they have a Q-Pro, I have to verify... is that actually Quantum Pro? (Chehalis, aluminum rear end) or did you truly mean Q-Pro? (Waterloo, carbon rear end).
Originally Posted by
Dfrost
Those Chehalis-built Kleins were beautiful, IMHO, for their fantastically smooth welds - almost like a good fillet braze, and the paint still looks like it was sprayed yesterday. Photo below was shot when the bike was 11 years old. I saw a later version Klein not long ago that didn't have that same weld quality, although the paint was very good.
One of the things that made Kleins a little different was that they used 6000 series aluminum alloys, and then heat treated the whole frame which gave very strong joints. Cheaper aluminum bikes typically use 7000 series aluminums that can handle hotter, sloppier welding without heat treating afterwards... same idea with Scandium.