Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Mystery Klein


Here's the Klein that I mentioned in a previous post. It came last night and I was able to snap a few lousy pics in my garage. I'll need your help identifying this frame. I know a little about Kleins, and have learned quite a bit from Diablo Scott's bicycle blog.


No serial number anywhere to be found on this frame, and I've looked in all the usual and unusual places that Klein hid those numbers. No rack eyelets, so it's not a Stage as the eBay auction noted. If the model is wrong, then the "1976" year that the seller quoted is also wrong. It's probably from the 1980s, but what model? I'd love it to be a Team Super Light, so extra points to the person who can prove that! :)


That half inch fracture is from the previous owner losing the seat post binding bolt and using tape around the seat post to keep it from slipping into the seat tube. That extra stress of trying to stuff a wider tube into the opening stressed the aluminum and fractured it. Shame. But... I don't think it is a deal-killer. With a long seat post and perhaps a metal hose clamp around the collar, that crack probably won't grow any.


Came with a really minty Campagnolo Super Record derailleur and a nice set of Araya sew up rims (Shimano hubs), Sugino Super Mighty crankset and some cheesy Dia Comp brakes and levers. The stem had an unusual 5mm allen bolt that was stripped, so I removed the bars (cheap, narrow and heavy) and stem and will recycle those.



So... It will be interesting to watch the comments on this frame over the months and years this blog is around to see what people think this Klein model is.


Any ideas? It's a Klein Team Super Light, right??  :)

3 comments:

  1. If you checked the underside of the dropout and there's no serial number there, then you definitely have one of the earliest custom bikes. I don't think I've ever seen another Klein with an over the BB FD cable guide... interesting.

    Check this out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbphotography/6617793967/in/set-72157628656324301/

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  2. late to the party... it's indeed a Team Super, built before 1978. The cable stop on top of the chain stay and the welded-on front der cable guide are features only found on pre-78 frames. On this pic i think i can see the slight step at the end of the boron/carbon strip

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5VLRYh29ezo/Tt2QxumVFqI/AAAAAAAANn4/hEm4ppkQF3U/s1600/IMG_3715.JPG

    There should be a similar step at the other end close to the bb shell. Similar strips are on the inside of the seat stays and the inside of the fork blades (assuming it's still the original fork).

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  3. This is an MIT or California Team Super

    ReplyDelete

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