Klein
1990 - 1997 by Jeff
Duncan
Once
I got the 1990 Attitude, I thought it might
be an interesting exercise to compare each of
my bikes to each other in detail to see what
distinguishes them from one another. Some of
their differences are pretty obvious but there
are other differences that I didn't really know
about until I did this comparison. So here,
in no particular area, are some of the things
that I've found to be important and/or interesting
in the evolution of Klein's frames from 1990
to 1997.
This might be considered heresy by some, but
by doing this comparison, I've developed an
opinion that even before the Trek buyout, Klein
began a process of improving their technology,
while removing little details here and there
at the same time. As someone in marketing, I'm
mystified why Klein, and then Trek, changed
or eliminated some of these key features that
Klein had become famous for. We all know how
the story ends (damn you Trek!! :D).
Drop
outs
The MC1 frames are distinguished by their massive
rear drop outs. Look at them…huge! Each
rear drop out is 8mm thick and joined to the
chain stays and seat stays so seamlessly, I
dare you to find the actual weld joint beneath
the paint - all I can say is smoooooth. The
rear drop outs are horizontal and rear facing
which also makes them a favorite with the single
speed crowd. Some folks like to criticize Klein's
rear drop out design because they aren't replaceable
but that hasn't been a problem for me.
In
my opinion, the rear drop outs on the MC2 frames
are less attractive and were, presumably, less
expensive for Klein to manufacture and assemble.
At first glance, you can see that there's a
LOT less metal in the rear drop out area vs.
the MC1 frames. The drop out itself is 6mm thick
and you'll also notice that the welding at the
drop out isn't as seamless as the MC1 frames.
With the MC2 frames, Klein wanted to lighten
them up and surely they saved more than a few
grams here, and a few dollars in manufacturing
costs too. This change shows, in my opinion,
even BEFORE Trek took over, Klein was already
on a path of modifying their frames with a strong
nod towards cost cutting.
I
should note that Klein also switched to gradient
aluminum tubing beginning with the MC2 frames.
Gradient tubing uses tubes with walls of varying
thicknesses. Perhaps the gradient tubing required
changes to the drop outs and the welding techniques
mentioned elsewhere in this thread. So it's
a tradeoff - you get a lighter frame with the
MC2 at the expense of smoother welds and more
distinct dropouts that you get with the MC1
frames.
1990
1993
1996
Welds
It seems to me that as Klein enjoyed a surge
in sales during the early 90's, they were unable
to devote as much handwork to the welds to achieve
the same visual quality and smoothness that
is represented by the 1990 Attitude. Looking
at the area where the top tube and down tube
join the head tube, and comparing the pictures
of each bike, you'll see a downward progression
in the visual quality of Klein's famous TIG
welds from the 1990 model to the 1993 and then
to the later years. To be fair though, some
paint colors hide welding flaws better than
others.
The
head tube welds of the 1990 Attitude, and the
welds on the rest of the bike for that matter,
are all as smooth as glass. Seriously, they
are. You can see in the pics that it's just
smooth everywhere on the 1990. The welds of
the 1993 Attitudes are similarly smooth but
the linear fade paint jobs make the welds appear
spotty in some of the pictures. The 1993 Moonrise,
in particular, appears a bit splotchy at the
head tube junction where the purple oversprays
the pink and orange in places. The visual quality
of the welds on the rest of the bikes though,
is still pretty stunning, especially when compared
to other manufacturer's bikes. As mentioned
in the drop out section, you can't see the seam
where the rear drop out joins the seat and chain
stays and the fork drop outs are also seamless.
Very
The
visual quality of the welds on the MC2 models
are not as smooth in the transition from one
tube to another as shown in the pics of the
1996 and 1997 Adroits. By this time, Trek was
Klein's "parent" (as of late 1995)
but I don't think Trek was solely responsible
for demanding that Gary and his team adjust
their welding techniques to reduce costs. I
believe that Gary and his welders had already
begun to sacrifice some of their artwork so
they could get a lighter frame and so that it
took less time to build one and therefore, they
could produce and sell more bikes. Compare the
pictures: 1990 to 1993 to 1996 and then 1997
and you can see the difference in the weld joint
and the blending of it into each tube. I don't
have any 1994 or 1995 Attitudes/Adroits to take
pictures of, (yet ), but I've seen some pics
of '94/'95 MC2 models with welds that had slightly
better visual quality than the '96 & '97
models shown here.
If
it seems as though I'm complaining, I am, a
LITTLE bit. I'm also talking about differences
that are, to my eye subtle. I'll also reiterate
at this point, that the quality (visual and
structural) of ALL of the welds shown in these
pics stand up for comparison to any other mountain
bike manufacturer of the same period. I also
realize that 1 example a bike from a 1 model
year doesn't mean that absolutely every one
of the bikes made during that hear had the same
quality of welding - there are bound to be slight
differences in day to day production, from welder
to welder, etc. so my comments are directed
to what I see in the frames that I own.
1990
1993
1996
1997
Internal
cable routing
This is one of the other features that first
attracted me to Klein's bikes. When you have
such a crazy nice paint job on a frame as Klein
was known for, it seems a bit sacrilegious to
then to obstruct the view of that paint job
by cluttering it up with cables. Internally
routing cables through the frame is a feature
that Gary Klein supposedly patented, but I've
seen other manufacturers with internally routed
cables too from the same era and today. Perhaps
they paid Klein, and later Trek, a royalty to
do that (Trek now owns the patent). It's also
interesting to me that Trek doesn't take advantage
of its own patent - I don't think any of their
MTB's have internally routed cables.
The
derailleur cables are both routed through reinforced
holes in the down tube on all MC1 and MC2 frames.
I don't know why, but the derailleur cables
exit asymmetrically at the middle of the down
tube on the MC1 frames. On the MC2 frames, the
derailleur cables exit symmetrically closer
to the bottom bracket. I prefer the way it's
done on the MC2 frames because it keeps more
of the cable inside the frame away from view
and potential problems. Also, as you compare
the pics of the MC1 frames to the MC2 frames,
you'll see that the reinforced holes changed
quite a bit between the 2 frame generations
- on the 1990/1993 frames, they stick out more
than on the 1996/1997's.
The
rear brake cable is routed through the top tube
and exits just before the seat tube. This rear
brake cable exit changed as well, as brake technology
changed with the transition from cantilevers
to V's and then to disks. On MC1 frames, this
hole for the brake cable doesn't provide a means
by itself to allow a rear V brake cable. The
first MC2 frames have a similar rear brake exit
area but you can see on the 1996 that it's raised
slightly. You could run a V brake if you use
Klein's V brake adapter. No V adapter is necessary
for the 1997 since the frame was changed by
Klein to accommodate V brakes exclusively, as
that was the braking technology being used on
all high end frames.
1990
1993
1996
1997
Chain
Control Device
The CCD was supposed to sweep dirt & mud
away from the chainrings which would prevent
a chainsuck situation from occurring…in
theory. However, you regularly see early Klein
frames with chainstays that are scratched due
to chainsuck and yet they have the CCD installed.
I think that the device can only HELP prevent
chainsuck - it can't cure it completely, especially
if the CCD is not adjusted correctly.
The
earliest CCD model required 3 bolts and was
mounted on the drivetrain chainstay. The 3 CCD
bolts are painted to match the frame on the
1990 Attitude; all the other bikes have unpainted
bolts. The 2nd generation CCD was made smaller
and changed to require 2 bolts that mount at
the base of each chainstay near the bottom bracket.
There might be a 3rd variant of the CCD but
I can't remember where I saw pictures of it.
Anyone else have a Klein CCD that is different
from these 2?
1990
1993
1996
1997
Headset
Seals
The headset seal on the Attitude shown in the
1990 catalog looks like it's made of white nylon,
but the production headset seal on the 1990
Attitude was made of black rubber and has "Klein"
embossed several times around the perimeter
of the seal. This embossing had to be expensive
when you consider the tool that had to be made
to produce this custom seal and how few frames
Klein was producing at the time. In 1991, Klein
switched to a plain seal - without any logo
- which isn't quite as special as the original.
The
MC2 system doesn't use any rubber to seal the
headset bearings. Instead, it relies on a plastic
spacer that does double duty as a seal. You'll
see 3 of these spacers on the 1996 and 1997
Adroits mounted between the top of the head
tube and the bottom of the stem. These spacers
were used to set the stem height and they visually
cover up the empty space that exists between
the stem and the head tube. There are 3 of these
"spacer/seals" but you could use more
or less depending on how high you set the stem
height. The spacers are mounted underneath the
stem, so they might provide slightly better
sealing action from water and dirt vs. the MC1
headset seal which only has 1 seal mounted around
the stem.
1990
1993
1996
Chain
Stays
Klein had a couple different chainstay designs
intended to provide very high stiffness. The
MC1 frames I have, all have chainstays that
start out square near the bottom bracket, and
change shape to become 1" around at approximately
the midpoint on back to the rear dropout. In
the pics, you'll also see that on the MC1 frames,
there was a bridge welded between the chainstays
at the bottom bracket which must have been there
to help improve frame stiffness. Because of
the bridge and chainstay design, the MC1 frames
didn't provide a lot of extra room for tire
& mud clearance but I'm running 2.35"
tires on each 1993 bike without any problems.
On the MC2 frames, the chainstays also start
out square at the dropout but they change to
a D shape after a few inches and then become
round. At their widest, they are 1 1/4"
and then remain round but taper on back to the
dropout. The MC2 frames do not have the extra
metal bridge reinforcement.
1990
1993
1996
1997
Forks
Each of my bikes has a different fork.
The 1990 Attitude has the original oversized
fork with box joints. The 1993 moonrise Attitude
has the Uni-Klein rigid fork with rounded "shoulders".
The 1993 Gator Attitude has a Rock Shox Mag
21 suspension fork painted to match the frame.
The 1996 Adroit has the Strata fork which is
a Uni-Klein fork modified with boron & carbon
fiber that is bonded to the fork to help reduce
high frequency vibration and improve rider comfort.
Lastly the 1997 Adroit has a Rock Shox Judy
SL suspension fork that wasn't painted to match
the frame. When I bought the 1997, I asked the
bike store if I could have Klein paint it in
Koi to match and they told me "Klein doesn't
do that anymore." :-(
1990
1993
1993
1996
1997
Seat
tube and quick release
The diameter and portion of the seat tube that
sticks up past the top tube changed several
times over the years.
The
1990 Attitude has a seat tube that accepts a
27.2mm seatpost and has a 2 1/4" section
of seat tube showing above the top tube. The
1993 Gator Attitude I have has the same size
seat tube as the 1990 Attitude, but it only
has 1 1/2" of seat tube above the top tube.
The 1993 Attitude and the 1996 both have seat
tubes that accept a 31.6mm seat tube and have
1 1/2" of seat tube showing. The difference
in seat tube diameter vs. the Moonrise caught
me by surprise when I received the Gator Attitude
since I thought all 1993 models made the switch
to 31.6mm, and they DID, but Klein sometimes
had a habit of making these changes over the
course of the model year vs. right at the beginning.
The 1997 Adroit has only 1" of seat tube
above the top tube. The longer section on the
1990 Attitude makes it more vulnerable to cracks
forming if the seatpost diameter is too small
or if set too high. The reduction of length
to 1 1/2" helps reduce the force and leverage
exerted when the seatpost flexes under a rider's
weight. This variation in seat tube length also
provides a source of confusion when trying compare
dimensions of Klein frames to other manufacturer's
frames. Even comparing 1 Klein to another can
be confusing.
For
example, the 1990 Attitude is a "Medium"
according to Klein and it has a 19" seat
tube (center of BB to top of seat tube), but
Klein called this a 20" in their catalog.
The 1996 Adroit is also a "Medium"
according to Klein but it has an 18" seat
tube measuring the same way and Klein STILL
called it a 20". If someone were to choose
a Klein size based on what they measure with
their ruler, they would be choosing a bike that
would be too small i.e. a Klein 18" is
more like a 17" from another brands.
The
seat tubes on four of my bikes, from 1990 to
1996, require a quick release, or fixing bolt,
to secure the seat post. The 1997 Klein frames
were changed to require a seat post collar.
The collar design seems to me, to be better
at preventing cracks in this area of the seat
tube, because it's applying force all around
the tube instead of applying force at just one
point like the quick release does on the other
bikes. I prefer the look however, of the quick
release design.
1990
1993
1996
1997
MC1
vs. MC2
Klein used a handlebar/stem combination called
Mission Control (MC for short). MC had 3 different
designs (MC3 however was really just a stem,
not a handlebar/stem combo). You can see the
MC1 is a quill design that uses a wedge and
a bolt to secure the handlebar/stem in the head
tube.
The
MC2 was also a handlebar/stem combo but it changed
the mounting method to use a giant locknut that
applies to a cylindrical "collet"
that fits over the fork steerer inside the head
tube. To set the stem height of the MC2, the
bike shop would cut the fork steerer to the
appropriate length and then tighten the locknut
that secures the MC2. The locknut requires a
special Klein wrench that has 8 grip points
that fit precisely when adjusting the locknut.
A plastic cap with the K logo on it snaps onto
the locknut to prevent dirt and moisture from
getting into the head tube. Plastic spacers
are used as a headset seal and to conceal the
air space around the steerer between the MC2
and the stop of the head tube. In 1996, Klein
stopped painting the MC2 to match the frame
and instead just sold them all painted black
:( although there are a few very early 1996
models that did have factory painted MC2s.
1990
1993
1996
1997
Bottom
bracket
The 1990 to 1996 bikes I have all have an oversized
bottom bracket shell and integrated sealed bearings
that are supposed to be maintenance free (I've
never had to do anything to them but if I rode
in more extreme conditions, perhaps the bearings
would need replacing at some point.) When Shimano
switched from square taper to their Octalink
design, Klein modified their 1997 model frames
accordingly. The bearings of this BB do require
periodic maintenance but my 1997 Adroit hasn't
required any servicing yet.
You
can also see that Klein used a lot more metal
in the welding at the bottom bracket area on
the MC1 frames vs. the MC2.
1990
1993
1996
1997
Water
bottle cage bolts
The 1990 Attitude has water bottle cage bolts
painted to match the frame. The bolts on the
1990's CCD are also painted to match the frame.
This cost Klein money and/or time. The 1993
Attitudes still had water bottle cage bolts
in matching paint but their CCD bolts are raw
aluminum. In 1995, Klein stopped painting water
bottle cage bolts. The bolts on the 1996 are
an aftermarket titanium upgrade. By 1997, even
though the frame accommodated 3 water bottles
Klein only provided 2 sets of cage bolts. Again,
another little detail that was eventually sacrificed
for the accountants. I put the second set on
the underside of the downtube.
1990
1993
1996
1997
Paint
and lettering
I thought I'd end this comparison with what
is probably the one thing that springs to most
people's minds when they think "Klein"
(yes, I know some people also think "poser",
"over priced", etc. ). Paint with
bright colors and stunning fades is something
for which Klein is renowned. Klein used a Durethane
enamel non-metallic paint which is no longer
made because it wasn't that great for the environment.
Paints that used a neon paint color are prone
to fading if exposed to the sun's UV rays. Fading
happens so slowly that the owner probably doesn't
realize it's happening until they compare to
their bike to another one that hasn't faded.
NOTE: this type of fading is not a positive
thing and is totally unrelated to a "linear
fade" described below. The 1996 and 1997
Adroits have metallic paints that really aren't
susceptible to fading since the paint used is
the same type and quality of the paint used
on cars.
Klein
had a standard color pallet of solid colors
and fade options so that a customer could personalize
their bike when ordering it. The paint options
the customer selected would typically delay
their order by up to a month, sometimes more,
but when you were spending that much money on
a bike, a little extra time to wait wasn't THAT
big a deal. Although I don't own anything painted
in Storm, you've probably seen pictures of that,
which must have been their most intricate of
paint designs. From memory, I think Klein charged
an extra $500 or so for Storm.
I
personally favor the Tri-color linear fades
(moonrise, gator, sunburst). Linear fades use
2 or 3 paint colors sprayed in a way that the
bike will look like 1 color from the front,
another color from the rear, and another color
from the side. But before the linear fade was
available, Klein's fade option looked like the
one you see on the 1990 Attitude, or on the
Backfire painted bikes you've seen elsewhere.
On
the 1990 Attitude and the early MC1 frames,
"Klein" and "Attitude" are
decals underneath clear lacquer frames but if
you run your fingers over them, you can't tell
where the decal stops and ends. The lacquer
is thick enough to blend into the edges of the
decal. See the "®" at the upper
right of the "N" in "Klein"?
It would be difficult if not impossible, to
mask & paint that symbol in such a small
size. Klein got a bit more fancy beginning with
the later MC1 frames by using a method of "debossing"
the paint. In essence, they paint the bike in
1 color and then mask the frame with lettering
that spelled out "Klein" and "Attitude"
(or "Adroit", etc.). Then they paint
the whole bike in moonrise or gator, etc., and
when the mask is removed, the initial color
that was sprayed is preserved. When you run
your fingers over the frame, you'll feel a "depression"
in the paint which why they called it debossing.
(Embossing creates a raised impression on a
surface; debossing is the opposite).
1990
1993
1996
1997
