Klein
 

Holy Moly. This popped up on CL. I went and bought it. Listed at $180. I bought it for quite a bit less. He wanted it to find a good home. I think my old touring bike will have to find a new home now.https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3c8856e980.jpghttps://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0545dd15bf.jpg

What's not to like about this. These are beautiful bikes; nice score.

Other than that my Klein Performance model won't take good-sized tires and has 126 rear frame spacing, it's a nice bike with long chainstays, good craftsmanship evident and exceptional paint.
I paid a lot more than the OP did btw, and I'm not sure why mine has an original steel fork other than it must be older(?).

Man, that’s a beauty! Nice pick up.

I always wanted a Klein. I don't see them on here very often.

Excellent bikes, congrats! 👍 I bought a frame, fork, headset & BB several years ago, and tried making it a flatbar road bike, before that became popular. The previous owner had raced on it, for a few years, but it was still close to mint condition, and I got a great deal on it. The paint was a greyish blue, not as cool as that purple. 😘😎
I settle for Cannondales now, but I'd be all over another Klein, if the right one came along, at a good price. 🙂

Good find, love the color!

Are those Jim Blackburn racks, too? Heck, might as well call that Klein a freebie. 😁

Terrific purchase.
when I first rode one in 1975, I felt this was the future of race bikes.
as a touring bike, the lateral stiffness could be an advantage.

Thanks guys. I'm so tickled I can't stand it. I have a perfectly good 85 Cannondale SR 500 with clicking bar ends and a 7 freewheel. I added a triple to the front to get me up some mountains around here. The Klein was supposed to be a flip but heck why not sell my touring bike and keep this. I never thought Id be able to own one. Now if course I need to find another bar end clicker, move my pedals and swap my rear rack......hummm.

Wow, beautiful Klein you scored there, those were always near the top of my list for what I would purchase if funds were ever available. Funny you should mention your SR500 'Dale, I had a 91 SR300 Criterium geometry, and a 97 R500T, the triple chainring Shimano RSX model, my daughter had it, as I passed it on to her, until a few months back.

Thanks for sharing that pretty Klein with us here.

Bill

I think purple is an underrated and under used bike color.

Looks every bit as good as a pre-canti Cannonade ST. I've been looking at Kleins for the last couple years, but haven't seen a tourer for sale before.

Any idea what year it is? Looks like early 90s Deore on there, but I'm no expert on that timeline.

You beat me by a year. Gary Klein showed up at a club race and passed his bike around for us to take a spin. I knew right away this was going to changes things. (But as a skinny, light climber best in long races, it wasn't my bike at all.)

Ben

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...44f1757a52.png
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...00d2869fa.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8b3a1f50f.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e8b983394.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...13b4d0b7b.jpeg
Nice score! Beautiful color! I just picked up a ‘92/93 Performance last week in Candy Teal and am in the middle of restoring it now. As I was breaking it down I saw that the original fork color was a pink/purple/blue linear fade! How awesome would that be on a tourer?!? The candy teal is nice, but come on! Mine was in completely original condition with the original tires too! Only issue is two small dings in the top tube :(
welcome to the Klein club!

That frame is awesome!

How long are the crank arms on that bike? In the first photo, they appear to be so long as to not afford any reasonable lean angle while pedaling.

I do not care for the seat post, the seat, the stem, the bars, the white tape, the grey cables, the pump and its location. The rear rack using P-clamps around that beautiful paint when there appears to be two lugs meant for rack attachment is bugging me.

The frame is worthy of better.

On first read- that sounds really harsh- but looking at the pic- there are things that could be done better on a “grail” level bike.

Regardless- it still looks like a really fun bike!

Excellent score. And your "normal" shifter mounting is a huge plus. Don't ask me how I know that.
You take a Klein when you can get one, methinks. Gratitude to @nesteel.

I can't imagine a better tourer, but yes, to go "full on" would take some more "crafting" to get fenders and a good front rack.
https://www.pedalroom.com/p/8485-kle...e-31361_66.jpg

Good to know it has a good home. Simply too small to for me. Build looks good and clean, as expected.

I just thought I'd offer a critique, something the OP could think about. Sometimes we don't see things the same way others see them.

No matter, I still like the frame.

The crank arm in that first pic looks like it would barely clear the ground when fully upright. Are they really THAT long? How long are they?

What's your old touring bike? Possibly, two touring bikes aren't too much, besides a Klein Performance is something that's different from a pure touring bike and totally worth having on its own. I worked at a shop that sold Klein all through their existence, ca. 1982-2005, and the Performance was my favorite aluminum bike ever. You totally scored!

I agree. It does not ride like a touring bike. More like a longer race bike. Stable, but light if you build it that way. I'm convinced it would have been the first hybrid, if someone had the idea to build it that way. I've got a flat bar 3x10 XTR setup, and have been very, very tempted. Simple bar switch, figure out a DT cable stop...and an uber hybrid/gravel that can do about anything, fast.

Exactly. I actually had 8-speed XTR brifters on mine, with XT derailleurs. XTR was pretty spendy back then. 😉

You guys know that's the bike as-bought, right? All the 'touch points' like the seat, bars, tape, are whatever the previous owner wanted. I'd probably change a lot of that,too.

For that bike, for less than $200, complete? I can live with it not being 'perfect' (at least until i can change it)

Nice bike, wish I still had my Team Super. These frames are very high quality, and offer a stiff ride.