For the love of Klein
#51
Full Member
Thread Starter
Oh and [MENTION=30894]Chuckk[/MENTION], I just now realized that the saddle you have on your Klein is identical to the one I initially had on mine when I first took the pictures. What a neat coincidence.
#52
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Utah
Posts: 9,013
Bikes: Paletti,Pinarello Monviso,Duell Vienna,Giordana XL Super,Lemond Maillot Juane.& custom,PDG Paramount,Fuji Opus III,Davidson Impulse,Pashley Guv'nor,Evans,Fishlips,Y-Foil,Softride, Tetra Pro, CAAD8 Optimo,
Liked 6,250 Times
in
2,009 Posts
Well.....I'm going there. So like mentioned above. I joined the Klein family just this year and it was instant love of the Quantum II. Bike is plenty fast and on par with the rest of my rides while not being too harsh on the rough roads. Because of this positive experience I decided it was time to give a high end Cannondale a try too. There was a beautiful CAAD8 available locally for a good price and I wound up picking it up. Now every indication is that this Cannondale should be really fast too. It's my lightest bike and has all the go fast parts on it. Yet as I tried to get a ride in on it where I average 19 mph like all my other bikes I just couldn't do it. I felt like I was working harder and my HR was always higher than on any other bike while riding the same route at a faster pace. I finally pulled it off Thursday but just barely and man did it kill my quads. So....as much as I want to like the Cannondale so far all it's done is made me appreciate the Klein even more, LOL!
__________________
Steel is real...and comfy.
Steel is real...and comfy.
Likes For Sonofamechanic:
#54
Full Member
Thread Starter
Sonofamechanic That looks fantastic! Moonrise linear fade has long been my favorite Klein paint scheme but is so incredibly difficult to find these days, especially on a frame in my size.
#55
Go Ride!
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Minnesota—55346
Posts: 285
Bikes: Klein Quantum Pro, Klein Attitude, Azuki SS, Merckx AXM, Klein Quantum Race, Klein Quantum
Liked 170 Times
in
96 Posts
Moonrise is my favorite too, but an even rarer bird: a Quantum in gator fade. I see quite a few moonrise and even a few team dolomites in Quantum (road) frames, but so far only one gator fade in a road frame
#56
Groupetto Dragon-Ass
I'm working on this '89 Quantum I picked up last weekend from the friend of the original owner. It had been parked for about 20 years.
Not quite as pretty as those.
Still have my '98 Quantum Race.
Not quite as pretty as those.
Still have my '98 Quantum Race.
Likes For Chuckk:
#57
Go Ride!
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Minnesota—55346
Posts: 285
Bikes: Klein Quantum Pro, Klein Attitude, Azuki SS, Merckx AXM, Klein Quantum Race, Klein Quantum
Liked 170 Times
in
96 Posts
. I get too wrapped up in the paint—the real beauty of the Klein is in the ride. Your Quantum looks great!
#58
Full Member
Thread Starter
After roughly 2500 miles, I ran into a bit of a hiccup during a ride yesterday when the fork steerer became a 2 piece unit on the fly. Bit of a butt pucker moment but both the bike and I survived unscathed.
The Klein is down but not out! It will live again soon. When it's back up and running, I'll post a photo of the final product. I won't get into the details here since the whole debacle warranted its own thread, which you can check out here: Threaded fork steerer failure.
I'm also seriously considering one of two possible additions to the Klein stable to compliment this bike. Both Quantum II's, both from 1995 far as I can tell, one in what I believe to be the Coral Reef liner fade and the other in my longtime favorite Moonrise linear fade. If I take one home, I'll post a photo here as they're both stunning bikes.
The Klein is down but not out! It will live again soon. When it's back up and running, I'll post a photo of the final product. I won't get into the details here since the whole debacle warranted its own thread, which you can check out here: Threaded fork steerer failure.
I'm also seriously considering one of two possible additions to the Klein stable to compliment this bike. Both Quantum II's, both from 1995 far as I can tell, one in what I believe to be the Coral Reef liner fade and the other in my longtime favorite Moonrise linear fade. If I take one home, I'll post a photo here as they're both stunning bikes.
Likes For Pantah:
#59
Senior Member
After roughly 2500 miles, I ran into a bit of a hiccup during a ride yesterday when the fork steerer became a 2 piece unit on the fly. Bit of a butt pucker moment but both the bike and I survived unscathed.
The Klein is down but not out! It will live again soon. When it's back up and running, I'll post a photo of the final product. I won't get into the details here since the whole debacle warranted its own thread, which you can check out here: Threaded fork steerer failure.
The Klein is down but not out! It will live again soon. When it's back up and running, I'll post a photo of the final product. I won't get into the details here since the whole debacle warranted its own thread, which you can check out here: Threaded fork steerer failure.
__________________
Bikes: 1996 Eddy Merckx Titanium EX, 1989/90 Colnago Super(issimo?) Piu(?),1990 Concorde Aquila(hit by car while riding), others in build queue "when I get the time"
Bikes: 1996 Eddy Merckx Titanium EX, 1989/90 Colnago Super(issimo?) Piu(?),
#60
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: St Louis Park MN
Posts: 176
Bikes: Mead Ranger '24- Armstrong 3sp '64 Follis 172 '74 Centurian Accordo 80's Mercian '85 Mark Zeh road '86 Kona Explosif '93 Merkx Ti AX '97 Santana Arriva tandem '99 Bike Friday tandem
Likes: 0
Liked 31 Times
in
23 Posts
I met a guy whose brush with fame was that he and Gary crashed into each other at the same criterium.
I also met Rishi Grewal and he told me some interesting stories about Gary and Klein sponsorship. Jeez this was a long time ago (before I owned a Klein! He let me ride his spare Adroit Pro)... Mt. Sopras behind us.
DiabloScott, Rishi Grewal, Tammy Jacques
I also met Rishi Grewal and he told me some interesting stories about Gary and Klein sponsorship. Jeez this was a long time ago (before I owned a Klein! He let me ride his spare Adroit Pro)... Mt. Sopras behind us.
DiabloScott, Rishi Grewal, Tammy Jacques
#61
Full Member
Thread Starter
I've finally acquired my longtime favorite Klein paint scheme, one I've been searching for for years now, and that's moonrise linear fade! It's tough finding vintage bikes, especially aluminum frames, in 61cm but one finally appeared. It's a Quantum II from the mid-90's. Sorry, no photos yet, it's an ebay purchase to be honest so it'll be here in a week or so. Very original component wise, almost a complete Shimano 6400 groupset. Front derailleur was replaced with a 6500 for some reason but that aside, the rest is original. I will be making some changes, such as converting it from a double to triple, different stem and handlebars and swapping the seat, but that's it. Everything else will remain the same. Might swap in a set of red Rolf Vector Comps at some point but not for now.
Likes For Pantah:
Likes For Sonofamechanic:
#63
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 3,744
Bikes: Puch Marco Polo, Saint Tropez, Masi Gran Criterium
Liked 471 Times
in
336 Posts
Pantah - I definitely look forward to seeing some picks of your re-build and of the paint job. I’m interested especially in how you make the triple crank conversion and which tools you use and which specific bottom bracket axle and which crankset you decide to go with.
#64
Senior Member
I have a 1986 or so Quantum. Bike is pretty original. Would like to look into the possibility of some updates and mods.
#65
Full Member
Thread Starter
Pantah - I definitely look forward to seeing some pics of your re-build and of the paint job. I’m interested especially in how you make the triple crank conversion and which tools you use and which specific bottom bracket axle and which crankset you decide to go with.
Since I don't have the Quantum II here yet, I don't know if it'll be a similar deal or not but I'm hoping the spindle will have enough offset so work with a triple. I'd like to keep the original 6400 crank and tripleize it. I know my dad has a set of tripleizer adapter tabs that bolt onto the backside of the chainring bolts. However, I robbed the spacers off that for another project last year so I'm not sure how I'll make it work, haven't got that far yet. If not, There's a hundred options out there for square taper triples, I'll figure that out later. I already have a triple ST-1055 shifter in good physical shape, just need to take it apart and clean out the gunk to get it working properly. Still need to figure out which derailleurs I want to use. I'm thinking of seeing if it's possible to create a long cage RD-6400 by swapping the cage off a 105, RX100 or RSX of the same era. More on that when I figure it out.
Aside from that, any shifters will bolt on, as will brakes, derailleurs, handlebars, stems, seatposts and even forks. Most square taper cranksets will work just fine.
A note on shifters, some Kleins of that era came with the center mount style Suntour Symmetric shifters where there's just one mounting boss on the center of the downtube. If yours is like that, it will seriously limit shifter upgrades as that hasn't been used since the mid-80's and I think it was a Suntour only deal. It also means you can't just bolt on downtube cable stops if you want to upgrade to integrated shift levers or bar end shifters.
Likes For Pantah:
#66
Full Member
Thread Starter
The Quantum II is in the mail. In the meantime, I've been acquiring parts for that as well as the current Quantum awaiting fork repair.
After quite a bit of thinking and looking around, I found an early Bontrager square taper crankset. I recall liking how they looked back in the day and thought it would look good on a Klein. This one has a been of scuffing on the finish but it's not bad. Square taper is in great shape and the chainrings look good. I'm not a fan of the black outer chainring so I'll be swapping that with a spare silver one I have hanging around.
After quite a bit of thinking and looking around, I found an early Bontrager square taper crankset. I recall liking how they looked back in the day and thought it would look good on a Klein. This one has a been of scuffing on the finish but it's not bad. Square taper is in great shape and the chainrings look good. I'm not a fan of the black outer chainring so I'll be swapping that with a spare silver one I have hanging around.
#67
Full Member
Thread Starter
The Quantum II has finally arrived! This is only the second time I have ever found a paint job to be even more impressive in reality than in photos. The first was with a classic motorcycle, an early 90's Ducati 900SS. Owned that for 7 years, what a machine.
Back to bicycles, this paint scheme is fantastic and am so glad I took the gamble of buying it off ebay. While the paint itself is in superior condition, especially considering its age, the bike as a whole has issues, some not stated in the ad, but ultimately nothing that would have realistically changed my mind up front or changed the price point. The cost, for those curious, was $1900 all said and done. That's including item cost, shipping and taxes (thanks ebay for charging sales tax, ugh). A lot, I know, but these Kleins with any linear fade in a size over 60cm just simply don't come up for sale. I had just sold my aforementioned Ducati 900SS so I had quite the chunk of extra change in the bank account, figured it was now or never.
Issues with the bike: There's two weird slightly lighter colored splotches on the top tube near the head tube that weren't really visible in the photos and not mentioned in the ad. It's likely sun fading though it's a mighty goofy pattern for that. It's minor and I'm already used to it.
Rear shifter doesn't shift but that is extremely common with the first generation STI shifters. The factory grease gums up and the pawls stop springing back into place. I half expected that to be the case and sure enough, it is. Easy enough to remedy. I've rebuilt a few of these shifters before so I'll have it working in no time. The front shifter is working but feels gummy so it'll be rebuilt too. despite the fact I won't be using it since I'm converting to a triple and will be using a 1055 STI that I already have.
Front derailleur is a later 6500. Don't know why, again doesn't matter since I need to change it out anyways for the triple crank.
Cable housings were cut waaaay to long. Tires are ancient and one of the tubes has a leaky valve stem. All consumables that I'm replacing anyways with my preferred brand/size/length/color etc.
That's it. It's got a bit of dust from sitting. My guess is it hasn't been ridden in a long time, probably over a decade. Likely got parked after the rear shifter stopped doing its thing.
Back to bicycles, this paint scheme is fantastic and am so glad I took the gamble of buying it off ebay. While the paint itself is in superior condition, especially considering its age, the bike as a whole has issues, some not stated in the ad, but ultimately nothing that would have realistically changed my mind up front or changed the price point. The cost, for those curious, was $1900 all said and done. That's including item cost, shipping and taxes (thanks ebay for charging sales tax, ugh). A lot, I know, but these Kleins with any linear fade in a size over 60cm just simply don't come up for sale. I had just sold my aforementioned Ducati 900SS so I had quite the chunk of extra change in the bank account, figured it was now or never.
Issues with the bike: There's two weird slightly lighter colored splotches on the top tube near the head tube that weren't really visible in the photos and not mentioned in the ad. It's likely sun fading though it's a mighty goofy pattern for that. It's minor and I'm already used to it.
Rear shifter doesn't shift but that is extremely common with the first generation STI shifters. The factory grease gums up and the pawls stop springing back into place. I half expected that to be the case and sure enough, it is. Easy enough to remedy. I've rebuilt a few of these shifters before so I'll have it working in no time. The front shifter is working but feels gummy so it'll be rebuilt too. despite the fact I won't be using it since I'm converting to a triple and will be using a 1055 STI that I already have.
Front derailleur is a later 6500. Don't know why, again doesn't matter since I need to change it out anyways for the triple crank.
Cable housings were cut waaaay to long. Tires are ancient and one of the tubes has a leaky valve stem. All consumables that I'm replacing anyways with my preferred brand/size/length/color etc.
That's it. It's got a bit of dust from sitting. My guess is it hasn't been ridden in a long time, probably over a decade. Likely got parked after the rear shifter stopped doing its thing.
Likes For Pantah:
#68
It's MY mountain
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Mt.Diablo
Posts: 10,029
Bikes: Klein, Merckx, Trek
Liked 3,239 Times
in
1,745 Posts
#69
Full Member
Thread Starter
#70
Senior Member
#72
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,333
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Liked 1,392 Times
in
926 Posts
...You can do all sorts of upgrades to it though the 126mm width for the rear hub is a bit limiting. That being said, it is possible to play around with spacers and cones on a 130mm hub to make it fit 126mm spacing but is tricky and something I have no experience in.
Aside from that, any shifters will bolt on, as will brakes, derailleurs, handlebars, stems, seatposts and even forks. Most square taper cranksets will work just fine.
A note on shifters, some Kleins of that era came with the center mount style Suntour Symmetric shifters where there's just one mounting boss on the center of the downtube. If yours is like that, it will seriously limit shifter upgrades as that hasn't been used since the mid-80's and I think it was a Suntour only deal. It also means you can't just bolt on downtube cable stops if you want to upgrade to integrated shift levers or bar end shifters.
Aside from that, any shifters will bolt on, as will brakes, derailleurs, handlebars, stems, seatposts and even forks. Most square taper cranksets will work just fine.
A note on shifters, some Kleins of that era came with the center mount style Suntour Symmetric shifters where there's just one mounting boss on the center of the downtube. If yours is like that, it will seriously limit shifter upgrades as that hasn't been used since the mid-80's and I think it was a Suntour only deal. It also means you can't just bolt on downtube cable stops if you want to upgrade to integrated shift levers or bar end shifters.
I had zero spoke or dropout clearance issues with the 7800 derailer cage or the 10s chain, but did bevel the non-driveside side of the small chainring's teeth to better match the 10s chain's width.
In one fell swoop, the bike went from 7 cogs to ten (critically, the 10s cassette mounts a little narrower than the 8- or 9-speed cassettes).
The long-threaded 11t cassette lockrings are available from the Timu site, listed as a "cassette cover" if you're searching).
#73
Palmer
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 8,798
Bikes: Mike Melton custom, Alex Moulton AM, Dahon Curl
Liked 1,978 Times
in
1,138 Posts
Likes For tcs:
Likes For Lamont Cobb:
#75
Full Member
Thread Starter
Force - I'm no expert but know a decent bit about Kleins. The fender and rack mounts makes your model a Performance, Klein's touring frame. The center/top mount downtube shifters (as opposed to the more common side mounted shifters on the downtube) and steel fork means it's pre-90's, probably mid-80's. Kleins, far as I know, did not get any sort of head badge or decal until 1997. The funky white and red steering head decal is not original. The press in bottom bracket cartridge bearing was a Klein mainstay until Trek acquired them in 1995, though weren't phased out for another year or so.
FYI, those bearings can still be easily found, bearing code is 6003-RSR or 6003-2RS, the latter of which is more common. The suffix, those last 3 digits (2RS) aren't as important, it's been my findings that they have to do with how the bearing is sealed. The 6003 is the important part as that dictates the physical dimensions. The bottom bracket spindle is effectively a long, straight, pressed in metal shaft. A basic hydraulic press can get it out.
FYI, those bearings can still be easily found, bearing code is 6003-RSR or 6003-2RS, the latter of which is more common. The suffix, those last 3 digits (2RS) aren't as important, it's been my findings that they have to do with how the bearing is sealed. The 6003 is the important part as that dictates the physical dimensions. The bottom bracket spindle is effectively a long, straight, pressed in metal shaft. A basic hydraulic press can get it out.
Last edited by Pantah; 04-08-24 at 12:59 PM.