# Klein Q-Elite new build



## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

My local shop got in a limited set of 2008/09 Kleins during the fall that are now only avail in the Japanese market. They sold out these Kleins in about a weeks time.

This is a 55cm Klein Q-Elite full carbon frame/fork. It has gorgeous dark blue to light blue metallic fade paint job that pictures don't do justice. A must see in person paint scheme. 

Geo specs:
55cm seat tube
55cm eff top tube
72.5 head angle
73.5 seat angle
406mm chainstay
985mm wheelbase
45 fork offset
763mm standover
I test rode a built up one at the shop and really liked the fast ride. It felt similar to the Specialized Roubaix ride: fast but more comfortable than a crit bike.

The only info online for these are on the remaining Klein site, which is in Japanese. Looks like Trek removed the American website.
http://www.kleinjapan.com/bicycles/q-elite_xv.html

This will be a long term build, so I'll post pics as I build it. I plan on slowing building this up with nice NOS 07-08 parts if I can find eBay deals.

I had no idea that Trek had discontinued the Klein line for all but Japan, where I was told Klein is a boutique brand. Now Lemond and Klein are gone from the road bike world.

Pics...


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

thats one beefy headtube.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

weltyed said:


> thats one beefy headtube.


No kidding. It's massive compared to my 1" steel headtube on my Kapu.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

Its really too bad Klein went away. The natural assumption is to blame it on Trek, but I don't think that's entirely true (after all, Trek saved them from bankruptcy in the first place). When bicycles moved away from aluminum Klein lost their signature design. Although I haven't ridden one, I'm willing to bet a carbon Klein isn't different from other bikes the way an aluminum Klein is different. 

I still ride an old Quantum Race and its a dream.


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## zigurate (Mar 3, 2009)

I kind of like the fat tube design.


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## brewster (Jun 15, 2004)

It is too bad. Klein was always known for being a more upscale Cannondale with eye-catching simplicity and wonderful finishes. This looks like a great frame, but now they are kind of a "me-too" brand in an already crowed market. I think they lost their identity.

brewster


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

*Very cool!*

I would love to have one. I owned a few KLEIN MTBs back in the day. I am sooo sorry they are gone.


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## BuenosAires (Apr 3, 2004)

DIRT BOY said:


> I would love to have one. I owned a few KLEIN MTBs back in the day. I am sooo sorry they are gone.


I still have my Klein MTB. Mostly gets used for towing my boys in the trailer these days, but still hits the dirt once in a while. It's had several upgrades over the years. Still a great bike.


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## CougarTrek (May 5, 2008)

Wish I could get my hands on one of those! (that fit!)


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## llama31 (Jan 13, 2006)

That's a beauty! Klein was a brand I always thought I'd try someday. No more.

Are you going to use mostly black or mostly silver parts? That one seems like it could either way.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

llama31 said:


> That's a beauty! Klein was a brand I always thought I'd try someday. No more.
> 
> Are you going to use mostly black or mostly silver parts? That one seems like it could either way.


Not quite sure yet as to go with black or silver. 

Here are some photos I found on a couple Japanese blogs.


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## llama31 (Jan 13, 2006)

> Not quite sure yet as to go with black or silver.


I'm starting to think that one calls for all black, including the cranks, rims, hubs etc. And carbon levers and derailleurs if you can find reasonable deals.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

brewster said:


> This looks like a great frame, but now they are kind of a "me-too" brand in an already crowed market. I think they lost their identity.


It's true. Over time the Klein brand did loose it's identity.

Kleins were always known for aluminum, this frame/fork is all carbon. 

Still, there is something special looking about this frame I have to admit.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

llama31 said:


> Klein was a brand I always thought I'd try someday. No more.


The shop owner was telling me that Trek for a brief moment made plans to reintroduce Klein as replacement for the Lemond brand after it severed ties with Greg. 

Then he said they changed plans and decided expand the Gary Fisher line to include road bikes and cross bikes as the Lemond gap filler.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

kbiker3111 said:


> When bicycles moved away from aluminum Klein lost their signature design. Although I haven't ridden one, I'm willing to bet a carbon Klein isn't different from other bikes the way an aluminum Klein is different.
> 
> I still ride an old Quantum Race and its a dream.


I never got to ride an alum Klein back in the day. I always admired them in the shop, but never could afford them at the time. They had a reputation for being stiff I was told and the racers loved them.

Nostalgia did have a bit to do with me picking up this frame I have to admit.

The frame may no longer be aluminum, no internal cable routing and Gary Klein himself had not hand in this frame. But I finally got a Klein years later  with the sweet paintjob that always caught my eye.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

DIRT BOY said:


> I would love to have one. I owned a few KLEIN MTBs back in the day. I am sooo sorry they are gone.


Back in the day, I always wanted one of those rigid Kleins with the matching painted fork. I occasionally see them on eBay fetching 4 figure prices.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

llama31 said:


> I'm starting to think that one calls for all black, including the cranks, rims, hubs etc. And carbon levers and derailleurs if you can find reasonable deals.


I am leaning towards black right now too. I've seen some good deals on old 10 speed pre 08 Campy Centaur carbon stuff on eBay. But I am also curious about the SRAM Rival setup too.

Maybe I will work in some white parts here and there, not too much, but just enough. Kleins were "loud" after all back in the day and I would like to work that loudness in a bit without screaming.


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## Slim Again Soon (Oct 25, 2005)

Klein has always known how to lay down a spectacular paint job.

That's another gorgeous example.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Slim Again said:


> Klein has always known how to lay down a spectacular paint job.
> 
> That's another gorgeous example.


I really dig the paint job too.

From the front, it looks dark blue.
But when you look at the back side, it's a light powder blue.

I always liked the Jekyll/Hyde color schemes on the Kleins. They had this really cool front purple/rear green color before too.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

In the spirit of Klein loud colors, perhaps I might go with a set of gold Campy wheels.

The gold would look good with the sweet Linear Blue paint scheme.


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## T-shirt (Aug 15, 2004)

holy cromoly,

I used to have that AMAZING paint scheme on one of their mountain bikes. All parts and rims were black. The combination worked really well to highlight the blues, it was such a jewel. Congratulations.


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

*Black and Silver Combos...*

My old KLEIN MTBs. I can't find my OLD Attitude pics....


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

Nice bike. I have the same frame. Only difference is mine is branded Kuota Kharma. It's the 2005 model. Living in Tokyo and knowing most of the high end bike shops I noticed these Kleins for sale at a dealer in Meguro last year. I was on my bike at the time and was immediately struck by the similarities, especially the tell-tale shape of the head tube. After a good 5 minutes comparing the two brands I was convinced that they are one and the same. Klein can make good money I guess selling what is in fact an older design under it's luscious paint jobs. The brand is well respected here in Japan and has quite a lot of cachet with those looking to get away from Specialized, Trek and Giant. As far as I know the frames are made by Martec in Taiwan and are excellent. Very smooth riding with great steering response. I'd fork out for one with a Klein finish if the price was right. Here's the Kuota for a comparison. The later models came with a straight fork.

View attachment 162923


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

sir duke said:


> Nice bike. I have the same frame. Only difference is mine is branded Kuota Kharma. It's the 2005 model.


Sir Duke,

Thanks for the info! I scored with this frame then.

I spent the morning looking at Kuota Kharma photos over a cup coffee and you are exactly right. There are some signature shapes on the Kuota that uniquely similar to the Klein: headtube, chainstays and tapered seatpost area. I even compared the geometry chart for both and they're exactly the same.

This is good news to me. I have always thought the Kuota were good bikes and have been curious about them, now I have *both* a Kuota and a Klein all in one.

I was curious about the origin of the country. There was no "Made in ____" sticker on the bike. I knew the Lemond carbon frames (final year) were made over seas, just not sure by who. Exciting to hear this Klein is from Kuota because they know carbon and have the proven quality history.

Interestingly enough, the Klein came with an Trek Carbon manual with Lance on it and a lifetime guarantee.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

DIRT BOY said:


> My old KLEIN MTBs. I can't find my OLD Attitude pics....


Nice mtn bikes! 

I wanted a Klein Palomino in orange when those were around, but they were too expensive then.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Found this Kuota Kharma with the gold Campy wheels I was thinking of. 

Sure is the same frame, sans the Bontrager Race Lite fork. Even down to the seat clamp.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

kbiker3111 said:


> The natural assumption is to blame it on Trek, but I don't think that's entirely true (after all, Trek saved them from bankruptcy in the first place).


Very true, Trek did bail them out back in the day when they acquired Klein.

My only observation about Trek is the "Bontrager-fication" of their all brands. It became predictable and too similar across the board the way they spec'd their product lines. Upper end bikes seemed to get Race XXX and mid level seemed to Race X and entry was just plain Race. Regardless of whether you bought a Lemond, Trek, Klein or now Fisher, they were all spec'd in some similar fashion with Bonti parts.

With that said, the Bonti parts are good. I liked my Race Lite wheels and my carbon seatpost. And I do understand why Trek did so, it's wise financially and smart to bolster the Bontrager brand (as ridden in the Tour).


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

Glad to be of help. The seat tube profile is a dead giveaway, it narrows as it comes level with the brake bridge. You may also notice a slight hump where they re-inforced the top tube in the area of the brake cable guides. That's what I like about this frame, such attention to detail. I googled the Klein frame and a lot of the images I found came from Japanese blogs. A few shops are still selling them it seems, but the prices are on the high side for what is now a frame about four years old. As you probably know Kuota have since re-vamped their road bike range and they are usually well-reviewed as great VFM rides. I've had mine for 3 years now and love the way it rides. I see no reason to upgrade or change it. It's the same as the one you posted above. I slapped some cheap and cheerful Khamsins on it for training rides and a bit of bling. I'd heartily recommend going with Centaur /Chorus 10 speed. At some time in the future I'll probably re-spray mine and try for a Klein style finish. Have fun with your Klein/Kuota.

View attachment 162979


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

sir duke said:


> Glad to be of help. The seat tube profile is a dead giveaway, it narrows as it comes level with the brake bridge. You may also notice a slight hump where they re-inforced the top tube in the area of the brake cable guides. That's what I like about this frame, such attention to detail. I googled the Klein frame and a lot of the images I found came from Japanese blogs. A few shops are still selling them it seems, but the prices are on the high side for what is now a frame about four years old. As you probably know Kuota have since re-vamped their road bike range and they are usually well-reviewed as great VFM rides. I've had mine for 3 years now and love the way it rides. I see no reason to upgrade or change it. It's the same as the one you posted above. I slapped some cheap and cheerful Khamsins on it for training rides and a bit of bling. I'd heartily recommend going with Centaur /Chorus 10 speed. At some time in the future I'll probably re-spray mine and try for a Klein style finish. Have fun with your Klein/Kuota.


Nice Kharma build! I was looking at the Khasmin wheels, good price for training and daily riding wheels. At this point, I am leaning towards gold Khasmins, gold Deda bar tape and then the rest of the parts all black.

Looks like the Klein is the 2005-2007 Kharma. In 08, they changed the shape of the seatstays to have a wing/foil fin shape. And for 09, a complete redesign.

I read this review from Pez on the Kharma:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=3001

I am keeping my eye out for good NOS Campy parts on eBay. If I can stick to 10 speed Centaur, that's where I'd like the build to be. But I don't want to break the bank since I have a sweet Kona Kapu built with Ultegra. Will mix in Veloce if I have too.

What is the selling price on these Kleins in Japan?


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

I think Campag (we Brits always call it that) Centaur is the way to go. The shifters and brakes have been faultless. I went with the Chorus crankset and rear mech because I got a good deal on the Kuota frame on a closeout. However I saw the same frame even cheaper a month later! The Khamsins have been fine for everyday use on city streets. I got lucky with some Easton SLX90 wheels at a knockdown price, so I can blast on the hills.
Klein Japan have some info on the Q-Elite. Their basic model with Shimano 105 and low end Bontrager kit goes for ¥330,000. They quote a frame only price of ¥270,000 which is quite ridiculous if you know what you are paying for. You can buy the 2009 Kuota Kebel frameset for under ¥200,000 right now in Tokyo. Of course dealers will discount on Klein/Trek's MRSP. What did you pay for your frame?
I used to have Kona MTB's Explosif and Kilauea, great bikes.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

I found this good blog entry on the History of Klein road bikes.
Good read if you're a Klein fan.

https://diabloscott.blogspot.com/2000_05_01_diabloscott_archive.html


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

sir duke said:


> Klein Japan have some info on the Q-Elite. Their basic model with Shimano 105 and low end Bontrager kit goes for ¥330,000. They quote a frame only price of ¥270,000 which is quite ridiculous if you know what you are paying for.


I see the prices on the Klein Japan site now that you pointed out what the 330,000 number means.

So here is the currency conversion:

*Frame only*
270,000 YEN = 2,788 USD

*105 Spec*
270,000 YEN = 3,410 USD

*Ultegra Spec*
390,000 YEN = 4,029 USD

*Dura Ace Spec*
530,000 YEN = 5,476. USD


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Found this link to the Bicycle Retailer article that mentioned the then plan to rejumpstart the Klein brand to replace Lemond. But never came about.

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/1179.html


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

So Trek effectively killed Klein in the U.S. and bought up Kuota's inventory of Martec manufactured frames when Kuota came up with their new design 2 years ago.They slap some nice paint on them to sell as Klein frames, thus keeping the brand alive outside the U.S. as a 'zombie brand'. Saves a bit on R & D and marketing doesn't it? Sorry if this sounds cynical.


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

Can't really blame Trek. Klein was a "dying" brand in the U.S. They were aluminum frames when the whole world was going gaga over carbon fiber.

Over the years, Trek spent a serious chunk of change developing their "secondary" brands. I have it on pretty good authority that the R&D costs for the last LeMond full carbon models was significant. And those "thick/thin" frames are so distinctive looking that it was impossible to simply rebrand them as a Klein or Fisher.

On the other hand, the new Fisher Arc Pro and Super are rebranded LeMond Tourmalets.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Richard said:


> Can't really blame Trek. Klein was a "dying" brand in the U.S. They were aluminum frames when the whole world was going gaga over carbon fiber.
> 
> Over the years, Trek spent a serious chunk of change developing their "secondary" brands. I have it on pretty good authority that the R&D costs for the last LeMond full carbon models was significant. And those "thick/thin" frames are so distinctive looking that it was impossible to simply rebrand them as a Klein or Fisher.
> 
> On the other hand, the new Fisher Arc Pro and Super are rebranded LeMond Tourmalets.


True. The world was passing by Klein as things went carbon. They even waited a bit too long to have carbon stays. Cannonadle was also a champion of alum for the longest time, they also a met a bad financial end and had to be sold and now carry carbon under the new ownership (or did that happen before the sale to the new owners?).

I was looking at those final carbon Lemonds, they are impressive and looks like alot of R&D did go into them. The frames are slightly reminescent of the carbon Cervelos. The shop where I got my Klein also had a few remaining carbon Lemonds.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

sir duke said:


> So Trek effectively killed Klein in the U.S. and bought up Kuota's inventory of Martec manufactured frames when Kuota came up with their new design 2 years ago.They slap some nice paint on them to sell as Klein frames, thus keeping the brand alive outside the U.S. as a 'zombie brand'. Saves a bit on R & D and marketing doesn't it? Sorry if this sounds cynical.


That's probably the frank matter of the situation with Klein. For that matter, this applicable to any dying brand whose namesake carries alot of cachet or perceived prestige factor. I imagine either Trek is buying the frame in bulk from Martec as an easy way of getting a carbon frame made for that region.

Rebadging is a common tactic in the Japanese market and this Klein is a good example of this.

As in my case, I am a photographer and see this same tactic. Panasonic sells some of their exactly identical Lumix cameras rebadged as Leicas. The Leica brand has huge cachet in Asian markets. Also, the old german brand Voigtlander is the moniker on Cosina made cameras. Zeiss lenses are now also made by Cosina. Samsung in Korea rebadges their lenses as Schneider Kreuznach.



















Bianchi and Gios also have their names on Asian market only products too. Those tiny 20" wheeled Mini Velos.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Richard said:


> And those "thick/thin" frames are so distinctive looking that it was impossible to simply rebrand them as a Klein or Fisher.
> 
> On the other hand, the new Fisher Arc Pro and Super are rebranded LeMond Tourmalets.


It seemed like Trek did rebadge some Lemonds as Klein because there is model called the Klein Aura that looks like Fisher Arc (which you say is a rebadge Tourmalet):
baseball bat shaped top and down tubes
Same looking lug where carbon seat and chainstays are joined
headtube shapes
Tapered inward shape of seatube near top tube join


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Just some nice bright sun lit photos of the paint job. The finish looks best in bright sun light. The bike color varies depending on what kind of light and time of day. The candy two tone paint is beautiful in person. The large metallic flakes just sparkle.

Decided to slap the wheels from other bike to see the bike on wheels.

Those are 25c Conti tires. Looks like this is the max for tire clearance (see fork and wishbone photos below).

No decals on this frame. The graphics were all masked during paint, revealing the carbon underneath. Nice classic Klein touch, glad Trek kept that tradition. 

At the end of the day, the only common denominator that my new Klein has with the old Klein is the paint job and finish. Yes it's remarketed 2005-07 frame but I have nothing against that. I am glad that frame is a Kuota Kharma with a proven record of performance and quality. I am actually more excited about this having Kuota origin. When I bought the Klein, I figured it was probably one of the many Trek Madone prototype designs that didn't make it and they busted out the defribulator and gave it a new life as Klein 

So essentially I have a Kuota with a Klein paint job, covered under the Trek lifetime warranty. A winning combo if you ask me.

Using the Bontrager carbon post and headset spacers that came with it.

Lastly, my shop told me that this bike and all Kleins were avail in the USA during 2008, but Trek required an $80,000 USD commitment of Klein orders to be considered a dealers to carry them. It didn't matter if you were already carry tons of Trek, Fisher and/or Lemond inventory. There were only a handful of shops in the country that even showed interest, and only two on the west of the Mississippi that committed. So you might see these Kleins pop up here and there online here in the USA, which is probably why the USA website is still up just as product registration website.


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

That looks great. Really clean lines and curves. That's what attracted me to the Kuota brand in the first place, nothing gimmicky about the frame design or geometry. I'd also heard the frames had done well in a bunch of tests over in Germany. Of course, that doesn't mean too much as far as ride feel is concerned, but I liked what I saw and went with my gut feeling.I checked out other makes, especially Look and Specialized, I checked out the Pez review too (not that they are ever more than eye candy reviews). I don't blame Trek for doing what they did, after all it kept a great name in the public eye and showed us how good bicycles can look with a bit of thought. I find the latest decal-infested paint finishes depressing and unimaginative, Kuota included. But hey, it's about selling bikes to people in a blip culture. The bike must scream 'buy me, I'm fast, cool and carbon.' I'm waiting for the backlash but I'm not expecting too much. You are dead right about the Asian market. In a culture of conformity such as Japan's the brand with the highest 'perceived value' cleans up. Just look at all the hideous Louis Vuitton and Burberry products clogging the market. A lot people tend to read the magazines and style manuals then throw their money at whatever the media mavens deem hot. The extent of consumer passivity here is frightening. But that's nothing new. I'm a photographer too, started out with Canon AE1's and A1's then moved through various Nikon models. I've seen the adoration of Leica at first hand and the very average results most users get with them. But that ain't the point in Japan. Here you 'fit in'. If that means you go with Leica or De Rosa or Klein or Rolex Submariner or Aquascutum because that's what your boss has, then you do it. So it's good business sense to resurrect a 'legacy' brand and sell it based on it's historical reputation. As for me I'd be quite happy to have 'Martec' written on my down tube; and happier still to have nothing written there at all. Just a beautiful Klein blue will do me fine.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Ah good to meet a fellow photographer and cyclist!

My work can be seen here:
https://orangefunk.com

I got my start on a Canon AE-1 during high school shooting my the school and local papers. TMAX as the standard issue film back then. I am Nikon shooter nowadays. Still have my 15 year old F4s.

I agree with you on the trend towards over painting and over decaling a bike. With frame and part makers etching their names so large and repetitively on their paint schemes, bikes once all built up with such parts, are looking very NASCAR. I also keep thinking there will be a backlash towards this, but don't think it's going to happen. I think the power of brand has now entered the bike market and riders want the gigantic CANE CREEK decals on their carbon wheels.










I am happy with the Klein build so far. I have decided to make this my spring/summer bike and pull the Ultegra group off my lugged steel bike that have been riding during the winter. All this good riding weather calls for a fast carbon bike over the steel one. Everything is well made and the Kuota/Martec atttention to detail is impressive. 










Asian markets, but Japan in particular, are a fascinating observation in seeing the power of legacy brands and devotion brands. Sanrio basically has a mind control over women with Hello Kitty. Put Hello Kitty on anything, and it will sell. The cult of Leica in Japan is unlike anywhere else.

This is a fun Pet Shop Boys video, lots of references to what we're talking about Japanese pop and consumerism. Both are the same video, I made the mistake of pasting the embed code twice and can't delete it.

<object height="364" width="445">


<embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/GjyY7oi4EGw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="364" width="445"></object>
<object height="364" width="445">


<embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/GjyY7oi4EGw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="364" width="445"></object>


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## idunno (Aug 7, 2008)

nice build, i too nabbed one of the 4 my shop had in stock...really nice smoothe ride, youre gonna like it...mine is curently all black (except for white bottle cages) but I was thinking about the white saddle and tape too and now seeing it on yours im really liking the way it looks


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

idunno said:


> nice build, i too nabbed one of the 4 my shop had in stock...really nice smoothe ride, youre gonna like it...mine is curently all black (except for white bottle cages) but I was thinking about the white saddle and tape too and now seeing it on yours im really liking the way it looks


Yeah, my shop only got in 3-4 of these too. I was told that Trek was sending these out to appease shops that had placed orders for the nicer carbon Lemonds and because Kleins were going to come back. 

Post some pics of you build, would like to see this in all black. What water bottle cage are you using on yours?

Decided not to go Campy and save money and build this up with my existing Ultegra 6600 group. So the group is all silver, but all else will be black.

The blue paint and white bar tape looks good in person.

I am almost done. Came close today, but was foiled by the shop accidentally grabbing an Italian BB. 

Should be done by this weekend.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

*All done.*

Been enjoying the new ride. Full carbon combined with 25c tires makes for a smooth ride.
The handling is much quicker than my Kona Kapu, something that took a couple rides to get used to again. The Klein does a better job at cutting down on road buzz compared to the steel Kapu. In terms of stiffness, well it's never an issue for me because I am only 135 pounds, so all frames feel the same to me in terms or stiffness.

So far I am liking this alot and will plan on spending the spring and summer a on this ride.

As much as I loved the Kapu, I wanted something faster handling and lighter for the spring/summer group rides. 

I plan on switching to the Ultegra 6700 levers when they come out later this year. I like the Dura Ace 7900 levers' shorter lever throw and hood shape. But I will wait for the trickle down Ultegra versions.

Other than that it's done and been a joy to ride thus far. Back on carbon after 7 years on aluminum and steel.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

looks nice. good to see you like it and are getting used to the handling. thats a pretty tight handlebar.

(ditch the black bits for silver)


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## Le Wrench (May 12, 2009)

Oops. This is holy cromoly.

Replied on my coworkers's computer accidentally as him.

Sorry Le Wrench!


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Le Wrench said:


> Oops. This is holy cromoly.
> 
> Replied on my coworkers's computer accidentally as him.
> 
> Sorry Le Wrench!


Sorry man!


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

weltyed said:


> looks nice. good to see you like it and are getting used to the handling. thats a pretty tight handlebar.
> 
> (ditch the black bits for silver)


Thank you.

I like the snappier handling and pretty used to it now.

I debated the silver vs black parts. I mocked up some silver parts and it looked to shiney shiney along with the electric blue paint of the frame. It was a bit too much flare for me. So I decided to keep the blue paint as the main focal point and let the black parts recede (that's the photographer in me).


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## sir duke (Mar 24, 2006)

Congrats on a job well done, very well balanced aesthetically (a photographer speaks). I've never really been one for white saddle/bars but they really work here. I can't wait to re-paint my frame and get away from the stealth carbon look-at my age I don't feel a need to impress anyone anymore. I'll keep your build in mind when I change things around.

Love the Pet Shop Boys (as a Brit I fully appreciate their somewhat understated irony).


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

holy cromoly said:


> Not quite sure yet as to go with black or silver.
> 
> Here are some photos I found on a couple Japanese blogs.
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=162882&stc=1&d=1240617938


Nice Volvo 740.


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## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

*Bicycle Village in Boulder*

has a about a half a dozen of these bikes right now for their warehouse sale. It seemed like a nice deal, especially after I read above about how much the framesets run in Japan. BV had them for less than $1700. I think it was a mix of 105 and Ultegra components. Original MSRP was $2900. I was helping my neighbor shop for bikes, and he was primarily looking at a Bianchi C2C carbon frame and the Q-Elite. We were talking to a salesman and he was telling us that the Bianchi had a higher grade of carbon than the Q-Elite. I was and am still skeptical about his proclamation. Now after reading that this Q-Elite is a re-badged Kuota, I am more stumped than anything else. I've read both good and bad write-ups of both the Bianchi C2C and the Kuotas. The fact that the Klein will still have a lifetime warranty through Trek makes me think my neighbor should get the Klein. It is the beautiful "white cloud" paint scheme. Also of note, while the Klein was $1700, the C2C IIRC cost a little more and had the same component level. Can anyone compare the Bianchi with the Klein? Thanks for your opinions.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

Ride-Fly said:


> I was helping my neighbor shop for bikes, and he was primarily looking at a Bianchi C2C carbon frame and the Q-Elite.


I have not ridden carbon C2C, but I have ridden the Bianchi Via Nirone as a comparison to my Klein.

Handling wise, they both feel relatively the same to me. If anything, the Klein is slightly faster steering. But I would rate them similar in handling.


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## holy cromoly (Nov 9, 2008)

*Up on eBay.*

I've decided to sell this Q-Elite.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170352079544

Overall I liked it, but I like my Kona Kapu more. 
I built it up as a fast group ride bike, but I found out that I don't enjoy group rides as much and much prefer solo long distance riding. 

So it's back to the Kapu for me.


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## CougarTrek (May 5, 2008)

Ride-Fly said:


> has a about a half a dozen of these bikes right now for their warehouse sale.


Welp they ain't there now. Wish I'd seen this 3 weeks ago.  Who knows, BV may still have some, but they aren't in Boulder. Guy I talked to couldn't even be sure if they were there at the warehouse sale, but said even if they were they'd been redistributed (and did not offer to look anything up for me...).


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