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| With the original Shimano 105 5500 9 speed triple |
Aluminum-framed, 105 triple road bike
Klein was one of the original makers of aluminum frames using 'oversized' lightweight tubing. Today the proportions look totally normal. But it was avant guard 20+ years ago. In 2002, I'd been riding the Bianchi Nuovo Racing as my road bike but moving down to Menlo Park, road biking became more important than mountain biking and it was time for an upgrade. In early 2003, I found this 2002 model on closeout. In some ways, it was better than the newer ones because it was the last of the Kleins to get the trademark cool paint job. Trek had purchased Klein a few years earlier and they were about to start painting them 'normally' like other Treks.
What is cool about this paint job? It's not just "Plum Crazy" purple (and purple is kinda cool all by itself), but it is a semi-translucent paint with metallic flecks and is color-changing. Huh? Color-changing? Yeah, depending on your viewing and light angles, it will change colors. For example, on a sunny day, if it is up on a roof rack with the sun high in the sky, it becomes a golden color with purple tinges. Very cool.
It was a huge modernization over the Bianchi. It fit better since it was actually the right size for my adult body where the Bianchi was purchased by 16-year-old me who was a touch shorter. It also offered modern integrated shifting at the 'brifters' of the 3x9 drivetrain.
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| Original low spoke count wheel |
The only real problem was that the cool, semi-parallel-spoke wheels were not really very strong. In about a year, the rear was failing. So it was replaced with a hand-built 36-spoke wheel that has been fine to this day.
What about the front one? Well, I watched it closely and worried for years. Eventually, many years later, I found a 32 spoke wheel with a delightfully matching Chris King purple hub and replaced it for greater safety.
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| New front wheel with purple Chis King hub |
As I got back into cycling again in recent years, I came to realize that I had a few issues with the ergonomics on this bike that could be addressed. First off, was the reach and comfort on the handlebars. I started looking around ane realized that newer bikes tended to have bars with less 'reach' (distance from the flats to the brake hoods) and 'drop' (from the flats to the drops). Both would lead to a position with less stretch and weight on my wrists.
But, of course, there have to be complications given the changing 'standards' in the bike industry. First off, the diameter of handlebars at the stem have increased to 31.8mm which means my old stem wouldn't fit. In searching for a replacement, I let my ignorant self waste a lot of time. Stems tend to come in some pretty standard angles. Things like 0, 6, 15, or 30 degrees (or the inverse depending on the spec) Looking at my existing one, I assumed it must be a 30 degree rise and searched long and hard for this rare beast. But then it dawned on me that this was angle from the existing angle of the steerer tube which is in the neighborhoood of 17-18 degrees from vertical. So, really, what I needed was a 17 degree stem to get me to the same angle. Duh. These are way more common. Using that and a 3T Ergosum Pro handlebar made the cockpit feel way better. Oh, and the guy who sold me the bars had two of them and asked if I wanted them both. Sure, why not. Conveniently, I was able to use them on the Litespeed build later.
Now that was sorted out, I came to realize that my other ergonomic issue was with the shifters. I was having an issue with my left wrist, and the triple shifter on that side took a lot of force to actuate in a way that was unpleasant. I tried out some bikes with newer designed shifters and they were dramatically better. So I started some research.and learned that modern 2x (double chainring instead of triple) groupsets with modern wider-range cassettes could actually produce both a lower and higher ratio than the old triple. So I took on my biggest project to date and decided to upgrade to Shimano 105 R7000. To learn more read more about the decisions and process here. It was a bit of advenure
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| Original 105 triple chainring setup complete with tight 12-25t cassette |
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| Original cockpit with long drop bars and older 105 5500 |
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Updated 105 R7000 2x11 drivetrain with 11-34t cassette
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This combination completely changed the way this bike rode. Much more comfortable to ride. I kinda miss the silver-finish components of the old groupset. But then again, with the black, it looks much more contemporary.
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VERY tight fit with 28mm tires as you can see by the fork
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I was given a Redshift ShockStop Pro seatpost to try. At first, I thought it was silly to put a springy post on a road bike. But after trying it, I was instantly a fan. It just takes the harshness out of riding over things like expansion gaps without making the bike feel dull at all. The only downside I later learned was that if I hadn't ridden this bike in a while, the softness made my behind thing I had a rear wheel flat before remembering... 'aha'! 😏 I don't have any pictures but most people never even really see it there it is so subtle.
Other minor changes included a time where I experimented with aero bars on this bike before they moved over to the Warroad. I managed to squeeze 28mm tires into the frame. Definitely beyond recommended spec but so long as the wheels stay true, they work. I also swapped one crank arm for a 4iiii single sided power meter crank. A super simple and inexpensive solution.
All in all, this bike was my 'daily driver' for decades and has been a great rider on all sorts of adventures. It was also my gateway to knowing that I am capable of building up a bike from scratch (having torn this one apart in upgrades). The only major skill left is building a wheel from scratch. 😨
Out and about
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| With friends at Foxy's Fall Century in Davis in 2002 or 2003 (the Klein is in the middle) |
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| Out on the road at an event |
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| At the top of Old La Honda. No, I will never beat the current KOM of 13:10, not even close |
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| At Pulgas Water Temple (eek, not DSO) |
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| Not as interesting but at least DSO |
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