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Klein was a
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
company founded by Gary Klein that pioneered the use of large diameter
aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...
tubes for greater stiffness and lower weight. Klein produced his first bicycle frames while a student at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
during the 1970s, and full production runs of frames began in the 1980s. In 1995 the company was purchased by the
Trek Bicycle Corporation Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the Gary Fisher, LeMond Rac ...
, and the original Klein factory at
Chehalis, Washington Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1883, Chehalis was primarily a logging and railroad town, with a shift towards farming in the m ...
, closed in 2002 as production moved to the Trek headquarters at
Waterloo, Wisconsin Waterloo is a city in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the census of 2020, the population was 3,483. The name Waterloo was suggested by Mr. Wilt, a Frenchman living here, who was one of Napoleon's soldiers, at the battle of ...
. Widespread distribution in the United States stopped in 2007, and ceased altogether in the rest of the world in 2009.


History

Gary Klein, born , attended the
University of California at Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
before transferring to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT). During the Independent Activities Period in 1973, a group of students including Klein worked together under Professor Buckley to produce an aluminum framed bicycle. After analyzing a number of contemporary
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
frames, and examining ones that had broken in use, they were able to determine the stresses placed on a bicycle frame. Faced with limited available types of aluminum alloy tubing, the students chose to construct frames from
6061 aluminium alloy 6061 ( Unified Numbering System (UNS) designation A96061) is a precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy, containing magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. Originally called "Alloy 61S", it was developed in 1935. It has good mechani ...
seamless drawn tube; alternatives such as the stronger
7075 aluminum alloy 7075 aluminium alloy (AA7075) is an aluminium alloy with zinc as the primary alloying element. It has excellent mechanical properties and exhibits good ductility, high strength, toughness, and good resistance to fatigue. It is more susceptible to ...
were discarded because of the tubing dimensions. After graduating from MIT in 1974 with a degree in
chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
, Klein took a business course for entrepreneurs. As a keen road racer, in 1975, he started a business project with three other people and built a limited run of
aluminum alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...
framed bikes at the MIT Innovation Center, using a grant provided by MIT and of capital from each partner. The prototypes, with larger diameter tubes and thinner walls than those produced in 1973, were displayed at the International cycle show in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
in February 1975. The next year, he relocated to some disused buildings on his parents' farm in
San Martin, California San Martin or San Martín (Spanish for Saint Martin) is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Clara County, California, in the southern Santa Clara Valley. Located to the south of Morgan Hill and north of Gilroy, San Martin is ...
, that had previously been used for dehydrating prunes. In 1977, he patented use of large diameter aluminum alloy tubes to increase stiffness, and in 1980, he moved from
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, to Chehalis, Washington. He started production runs of road bicycles in the early 1980s and mountain bikes in the mid 1980s. While Klein's use of aluminium for a bicycle frames was not entirely novel, his use of large diameter tubes was. Aluminium alloys have a
Young's modulus Young's modulus E, the Young modulus, or the modulus of elasticity in tension or compression (i.e., negative tension), is a mechanical property that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness of a solid material when the force is applied leng ...
around a third that of
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
, but with thicker tubes he was able to make a bicycle that weighed around 15% less than a conventional model. In 1995, Trek bought Klein bikes, after Klein found it hard to compete without the sales network of a larger company in place. At its peak, around 250 people worked at the Chehalis plant, but operations gradually moved to the main Trek factory in
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. In 2001, a workforce of around 70 people produced 15,000 to 20,000 frames a year. In 2002, all production moved to the Trek headquarters at
Waterloo, Wisconsin Waterloo is a city in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the census of 2020, the population was 3,483. The name Waterloo was suggested by Mr. Wilt, a Frenchman living here, who was one of Napoleon's soldiers, at the battle of ...
. Bikes were still sold under the Klein name until around 2009 in Japan, but widespread distribution ceased circa 2007 in the United States. A green Klein mountain bike can be seen hanging on the wall in Jerry Seinfeld's apartment in the television show ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
''.


Innovations

Some off-road models featured two designs of one-piece welded stem-bar combination, marketed as "Mission Control" (MC), that eliminated clamping bolts and excess material. The original version, MC1, used a
quill stem The stem is the component on a bicycle that connects the handlebars to the steerer tube of the bicycle fork. Sometimes called a ''goose neck'', a stem's design belongs to either a ''quill'' or ''threadless'' system, and each system is compatib ...
and required a
threaded steerer Thread may refer to: Objects * Thread (yarn), a kind of thin yarn used for sewing ** Thread (unit of measurement), a cotton yarn measure * Screw thread, a helical ridge on a cylindrical fastener Arts and entertainment * ''Thread'' (film), 201 ...
. MC2 used a locknut tightening against a
collet A collet is a segmented sleeve, band or ''collar''. One of the two radial surfaces of a collet is usually tapered (i.e a truncated cone) and the other is cylindrical. The term ''collet'' commonly refers to a type of chuck that uses collets t ...
that sat between the fork steerer and the stem, and a special eight pointed
wrench A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning. In the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealan ...
was required to remove it. The steerer had to be cut to the correct length in order to adjust the height of the stem. MC3 was a third version that was only the stem, thus the handlebar was not welded. Klein held a patent () for an improved method of routing cables through the frame of a bicycle, that reduced aerodynamic drag and stress on the frame. The front and rear
derailleur Shimano 600 front derailleur (1980) A derailleur is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. Modern front and rear d ...
cables were routed through the down tube, and the rear brake cable through the top tube, although some models changed in 2002 to top tube cable routing for greater harmonisation with
Shimano , originally and later , is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackles and rowing equipment, who also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Named after founder Shozaburo ...
components. In the 2002 model year, Klein replaced 6061 aluminium alloy with a new alloy called ZR 9000, that used
zirconium Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...
in place of
chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
; the new alloy had not been assigned an industry number and it was named after the unused 9000 series. Advertised improvements included a decrease in weight per frame and a fatigue life five times longer than the 2001 model year frames.


Techniques

Klein bicycles were famous for their paintwork, and offered a large number of custom colours and patterns. The paint used was a Durethane enamel non-metallic paint that cost up to per gallon. The Klein logo was
debossed Embossing and debossing are the processes of creating either raised or recessed relief images and designs in paper and other materials. An embossed pattern is raised against the background, while a debossed pattern is sunken into the surface ...
into the frame by painting the frame in the colour of the logo, then applying a mask and painting the pattern. Beginning with the MC2 frames, Klein used "Gradient tubing", where the wall thickness varied along the length and diameter of the tube. Highly manipulated
chainstay A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles: a main triangle ...
s on mountain bikes allowed a tighter rear triangle to accommodate large off-road tyres, and facilitated efficient transfer of power. Welded aluminium needed
heat treating Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also ...
to restore strength lost in welding. After the treatment, frames were required to be aligned to within on all alignment surfaces, and were then machined to within .


Models

Klein produced both mountain bikes and road bikes.


Sponsored teams

Klein made custom bikes for San Francisco's Lombardi team, which were ridden in 2001.
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
cycling team
Gerolsteiner Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG (Gerolsteiner) is a leading German mineral water firm with its seat in Gerolstein in the Eifel mountains. The firm is well known for its Gerolsteiner Sprudel brand, a bottled, naturally carbonated mineral wate ...
rode Klein Quantum frames before 2003, when Gerolsteiner changed their bike sponsor to
Wilier Triestina Wilier Triestina () is an Italian manufacturer of racing bicycles, founded in 1906 by Pietro Dal Molin in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. They are now based in Rossano Veneto, Italy. History Wilier Triestina started in a modest workshop on the ...
. For the 2004 season, Klein sponsored the Jittery Joe's cycling team.


Notes


References


External links


Official website
at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Fresh out the spray booth
(gallery of resprayed bicycles and parts) {{American bicycle manufacturers Mountain bike manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of the United States Bicycle framebuilders Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1985 Companies based in Lewis County, Washington Defunct manufacturing companies based in Washington (state) 1985 establishments in Washington (state)