Klein bicycles
 

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Paying someone to properly paint a bike to look like a Klein would likely cost more than buying a Klein frame.

Klein used a different aluminum alloy than other manufactures and it makes a difference in ride quality.

Klein pioneered, everyone else followed.

Good luck mimicking one of the flamboyant Klein paint schemes for less than what a complete vintage Klein costs. I would guess some of the paint they used has been banned environmentally. Certainly the paint market has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

Klein were a niche bike, as Jim mentioned, pioneers in many regards. They have a cult like following. The more flamboyant the paint, the higher the value. Plain jane paint scheme Kleins don't bring that much $$.

I loved my Klein quantum. Was a great bike. As is with aluminum bikes, the ride was pretty harsh. Still, I'd buy another, if the right situation presented itself. It handled like a top shelf racing bike with the corrosion resistance of aluminum. Perfect rain bike, in my book.

I remember being just out of college in the early '90's and looking to buy a mtn bike at a shop that was also a Klein dealer. I felt like a kid at a Ferrari dealership: Drooling all over them but they were *way* out of my price league.

Everything you need to know:

My 1998 model is my main ride and I can't imagine liking anything newer as much.
The paint, the aluminum, the heat treatment, the welds, the little details are all things that set Klein apart from other aluminum frame brands.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...531_122751.jpg

Yeah, Klein was the game changer. And way, way ahead of the times. I rode Klein #2 in 1976. Gary Klein, then a graduate student at MIT, brought his second fat tubed aluminum bike to our club race (NEBC) and let us all take spin on it. I knew after 100 yards that bike was going to change the game. (Not the bike for me at all and I have never wanted one, but I knew that this was a breakthrough for big strong sprinters.) And when I rode that bike, there was not another bike on the planet remotely close. This was a bigger jump in performance than any bike frame change that has happened since. (You can argue that more has changed over the 20+ years of CF evolution, but his was the 2nd bike over maybe two years of research. And the difference between his bike and the next stiffest/lightest was huge!)

You can argue whether the later Kleins were worth the money, point out the newer innovations were being done by other manufacturers, but the cycling world was forever changed by the research Gary Klein did and the bikes he then stuck his neck (and wallet) out to make.

Ben

I would argue that Klein bikes were of a standard that equalled the handling of anything previous. Great bike going uphill or even sprinting. Certainly not the ride quality of a steel bike of the same caliber, however. They were lightweight rockets that would beat the piss out of Ya! I'd want some nice supple tires & a soft saddle to go along with that frame

Yes, they were. And they still are.

IIRC, Klein used DuPont Imron Paint system on their framesets which eventually ended up non-compliant to modern VOC limits set up by the EPA for paint systems......
I understand that getting a Klein refinished with the same paint systems that was applied in the factory is turning out to be close to impossible these days because of this.....
the special aluminum alloy tubing that Klein used that was so special in their days do not seem to contribute to Klein values as much as they did in the past, as Aluminum frames in general had not been looked at with "kind" eyes in recent years, now being mostly considered as yesterday's technology that has supposedly enough negative characteristics to it (harsh ride and possible propensity to cracking over time) that they usually come behind steel generally, when it comes to C&V values.
In their heyday, Klein was pretty much considered the "rich man's" bike, similar to what Kestrel was. ahead of their time and too expensive for anybody less than a rich doctor or lawyer could afford back then..... A "yuppy's bike" if anything else. But these days, with their depressed values, the regular C&Ver can finally afford a nice Klein frameset and try what only the only the rich cyclists used to be able to afford......

$190
http://images.craigslist.org/00H0H_d...wB_300x300.jpg
Jun 13 Klein Stage - Classic Klein Frame! $190 (Carrboro) [x]

$1495
http://images.craigslist.org/00w0w_9...g2_300x300.jpg
Jun 2 KLEIN Q PRO $1495 (Chapel Hill) [x]

$1095
http://images.craigslist.org/00505_e...4W_300x300.jpg
Jun 2 KLEIN QUANTUM $1095 (Chapel Hill) [x]

$800
http://images.craigslist.org/00L0L_3...66_300x300.jpg
Jun 10 52 cm Klein Q Carbon Team Road Bike $800 (North Raleigh) [x]

$800
http://images.craigslist.org/01111_i...Ca_300x300.jpg
May 18 2000 Klein quantum road bike $800

Another innovative quality brand destroyed predictably.

So, how are they different from a C-dale, comparing comparable models - ones intended as road racing bikes?

If anyone wants a project, there's an interesting and inexpensive Klein Quantum frame on CL in northern San Diego just begging to get built up.

KLEIN QUANTUM FRAME