# why no klein bikes?



## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

I was wondering why Klein frames are not popular in US anymore. They are light and stiff. Is it because the ride is not
comfortable? How does ride compare to Cannondale Caad 5+ bikes? Is/why are Canondale aluminum frames more popular/still sold but Kleins are not?


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## stevecaz (Feb 25, 2005)

Because after Trek bought them, they let the brand fade with little marketing, shop support, or added innovation. 
After that, finding a Klein in a shop floor was a rare thing, and unless a person specifically requested a Klein, they obviously weren't going to buy what they couldn't see or ride. I've heard rumors that Trek required large buy quantities to carry Klein and that pretty much killed the majority of shop support. 

Trek probably originally bought Klein for good competition to Cannondale. But their OCLV really took off and carbon became the focus. Then Trek got busy building the Trek brand which became really strong and suddenly didn't see many reasons to attack Cannondale with Klein when they could do it under Trek. 

All of this is my opinion, I don't have any insider information.


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## velocipede (Feb 10, 2005)

*Insider info*

sales of high-end aluminum bikes all but died as carbon fiber frames became cheaper and easier to make... and sell. Cannondale barely survived and had to send production overseas to do so... You'll notice carbon fiber in C-dale's line-up now.

There are two ways to get a new Klein... Order 50 or pick one up in Japan.


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## bismo37 (Mar 22, 2002)

i think the japanese high-end kleins are all carbon fiber. Not the same bikes anymore. I'd still take one if given the opportunity.

I've had 3 klein road bikes. All great handling, comfortable frames. I currently have a klein mtn bike and a Chehalis-built Q Race.


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## stevecaz (Feb 25, 2005)

velocipede said:


> sales of high-end aluminum bikes all but died as carbon fiber frames became cheaper and easier to make... and sell. Cannondale barely survived and had to send production overseas to do so... You'll notice carbon fiber in C-dale's line-up now.



uh, no.

Saying Cannondale barely survived is not a whole truth. The venture into motorsports killed them, and only because they had to compete against the distribution and influence of companies like Honda and Kawasaki. Cannondale's final motorsport products were great and were winning races all over the circuit. The product was so good that their stock was listed as a good buy due to the potential growth. But, good luck finding a dealer who were surely "pressured" to not carry them. When I asked the a client who owns a ATV shop if he would carry Cannondale, the vague answer I got sounded like there were incentives to not carry them but I don't really know for sure. Bottom line is they entered a super competitive market and they didn't have the capital to last the years it would have taken to make it work. Meanwhile during all this, the bike division continued to thrive with the aluminum bikes but the profits were being sucked into motorsports until finally they had to declare bankruptcy. 

So Cannondale did not barely survive because they made aluminum bikes. Their aluminum bikes are still highly regarded as great rides and they sell loads of these right now - sales are opposite of "all but died". Next, Cannondale did not have to send production overseas to survive but they needed a specific bike to compete directly against chinese rivals - a comfort all-carbon bike (Synapse). The costs and time to set up carbon production in Bedford was too high so the quickest way to do this was sub-contract overseas to well established carbon producers. Meanwhile, the Six13 and now System Six with carbon are both US made. Clearly the success of the Synapse has helped Cannondale but your post is misleading.


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## CandrGeorge (Feb 4, 2006)

*New Klein models and website for US*

I was at my LBS Wheelcraft Cycles in Wheeling, WV last night. I was joking with the owner about no Kleins in the US. We went to the site and lo and behold they updated the Klein site with new models. The high end Q-Elite is all carbon, but has lost the internal cable routing. He looked on the Trek ordering site and the new 2007 models were listed (No Karma model), but no pricing or availability yet.


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## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

*klein website*



CandrGeorge said:


> I was at my LBS Wheelcraft Cycles in Wheeling, WV last night. I was joking with the owner about no Kleins in the US. We went to the site and lo and behold they updated the Klein site with new models. The high end Q-Elite is all carbon, but has lost the internal cable routing. He looked on the Trek ordering site and the new 2007 models were listed (No Karma model), but no pricing or availability yet.


Their website doesn't work on my computer, don't know why.
I have javascript enabled, but I can only access main page with firefox.

Also they don't list geometry of pre 2004 bikes.


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## robusto65 (Feb 15, 2007)

Try downloading firefox, solves alot of the java issues


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