Submitted by
Leeroy
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2007
Strengths: Climbing, Price, Paint,
Weaknesses: To make this bike preform correctly you must purchase the mono-link upgrade ($225), the d-mount arm, and a road bike front derailleur. I would also recommend upgrading to a maverick rear shock over the fox m-bits. Especially for anyone over 175 lbs.
Bottom Line:
This is an amazing bike. I bought this bike new in 2003 and have no plans to trade in any time soon. Be sure to make the mono link upgrades listed above. Together these items will fix all shifting problems, and cause the rear suspension to become much more active. Although expensive these changes make a vast difference. With these upgrades their is really no difference between this frame and the Maverick ML7. Except that this is far cheaper and better looking. I would recommend this bike to anyone looking for a cross country bike. A light set of wheels and pedals can shave up to 2 IBS from the bikes weight making it a strong race bike. ENJOY
Submitted by
Shane
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Payne, AL
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2006
Strengths: Excellent Climber, Excellent in Turns and Downhill, Amazing Paint, Quality Factory Components for beginner
Weaknesses: V-brakes (only after an upgrade)
Bottom Line:
I recommend this bike to anyone. I mostly ride on the weekends but compete in a few offroad triathlons each year. After the upgrades, I don't think there is anything else I would change about the bike. It stands out in a crowd and performs like a champ.
Once you get the pressures in the shocks like you like them, which takes a while to get the feel, the ride is top notch.
My next bike will definetly have to be a full suspension Klein, unless this one never wears out.
Similar Products Used: Schwinn full suspension, bu nothing that compares to this bike.
Bike Setup: Standard Klein Issue with Mavic SL tubless wheels, Klein Deathgrip Tube tires with Stan NoTubes, Xpedo SL/MG pedals and Avid Juicy 7 disc brake upgrades
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Harold
a Weekend Warrior
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2006
Strengths: lightweight - good climber, nice parts and looks
Weaknesses: bike architecture inherently flawed
Bottom Line:
In the year since I bought it, this bike spent more time at the repair shop than on the trail. I did not get any performance from the rear shock, when I tried to adjust it to my weight it messed up the front shifting. Klein reps tried to solve this problem by replacing parts on the front shifting structure so that it moved to the side when the rear shock kicked in. This worked for a while, but after a few months I was having the same shifting problems. Despite its good looks and features, this bike is not a solid performer - it fails in the most basic attribute any bike at this price should have: good shifting
Submitted by
Tyler
a Cross Country Rider
from Stevens Point, WI, USA
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2005
Strengths: Most of the components are amazing. Can't beat the paint job. Fox suspension components are unbelievably good. Has that "Yes, it's a Klein" mystique.
Weaknesses: Cheapo Avid brakes were the first things to go. Tires are horrid in corners. Seat was a joke.
Bottom Line:
The bike is amazing on the trails. Light enough, very fast. The front end is higher up than I'd like, but that can be changed by adjusting the stem, etc. The tire are terrible, as are the Avid V-Brakes. I put the seat on my Scattante road bike and like it there, but on the Klein, it was terrible. I replaced it with a Schwinn seat. Watch the bolts and bushings on the rear suspension parts, and you'll be fine. I really enjoy this bike, I do. I moved up from a Giant ATX 880, so this was a pleasant surprise. If you can find this bike for less than 2k, go for it, but only after you give it a thorough test ride.
After every ride, something broke. Be it the front derailer or the rear brake. Yesterday was the last straw - a misc. screw wound itself out of my rear Hayes brake and was grinding in the disk. Bike store owner couldn't account for it. Was also told that the problems associated with the front derailer were inherient with the bike and could not be fixed. I tried, tried, tried to make this bike work, but could not feel the love. If you're thinking about it, don't do it.
And yes, I studied all the reviews and wrote down all your suggestions for fixing the front derailer - even the one about using an Ultegra - and brought them into the store...
Submitted by
Ron
a Weekend Warrior
from Dresden, Germany
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2005
Strengths: very fast bike (light and NO bob at all), nice paint job, good equipped, fits me perfect (but it is definately a bike that should be tried out before being bought), in L with battery lights, bottle cage+bottle and setup mentioned below exactly 30.0 pounds
Weaknesses: LX cassette (11-34) adds 100g more than necessary. The Avid SD3 rimbrakes were soon replaced by SD7. No quick release for the seat post. The 2005er frame finally has the slit for the seat clamp showing to the front, on the older frames it shows to the back (towards the dirt what causes cracking noises once dirt entered the thin seat tube). Also, I rode a dent in the rear rim using too little pressure (on 1.95" tires) - my fault.
Bottom Line:
I used the 2003 model now for 2000mi (1800 street, 200 great trails) and since I'm biking in rain AND sun I'm tempted to say that the bushings seem very durable to me. I read the other reviews carefully when deciding the bike and was sure to buy new bushings once every 1500mi, but they are still fine. Besides of this, the bike doesn't come with a quick release seat clamp and uses a 38.3mm (!!!) clamp, that only may be changed to another KLEIN one w/o quick release (so grab a electric drill and help yourself). Another strange point is the frame height: I'm 1,85m and until this bike, a large was enough. Here I have to pull out the seat post up to the max (a 440mm one!) and still need to use a high saddle (the Nisene adds another 15mm, I guess) to make the frame fit. The suspension works perfect but it doesn't feel like 100mm. In a nutshell, except for minor weaknesses it is a great bike for marathons, cross country and because of the excellent fork even a little freeride.
Similar Products Used: I can compare to a Trek VRX400 (freeride), a Trek ZX7000 (HT) and a few I tested over the last years
Bike Setup: changed only to shorter stem, riserbar, Fizik Nisene saddle, better brakes and some semi slick tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
roxanne christesen
a Cross Country Rider
from corvallis, or, usa
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2004
Strengths: almost no bob great component package-xt xtr fox rl fork is incredible climbs over roots and rocks like a mountain goat great on the downhills beautiful paint-metalic orange
Weaknesses: Unable to get a quick release for my seat post. The seat tube is not a standard size.
Bottom Line:
This is an extremely fun bike to ride! I ride 2-3 times per week year-round. In the winter it is on logging roads and in the summer it is on single track. I am guessing I have ridden 1500 miles in the 1.5 years that I have owned my bike. Every time I rode my bike for the 1st month or two that I owned it I thought it was even more amazing than the time before until I just became accustomed to having such a sweet bike. The bushings were replaced under warranty after 10 months. This was because loctite wasn't applied at the factory, and the bushings would loosen without me realizing it, resulting in early wear. I had the LBS loctite the new bushings and they have not loosened in 8 months, and all is well. I love my bike and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes to cross country ride.
Similar Products Used: demoed rocky mountain, trek fuel, blurr, santa cruz julliana & gary fischer sugar
Bike Setup: factory setup with hayes disc brake option (I highly recommend the disc brake option)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Phillip Lucas
a Cross Country Rider
from Oegstgeest, The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2004
Strengths: This bike is quite amazing. It performs like a hardtail when the trails smooth and the full sus bikes are bobbing and gives you the edge on rough terrain where you see the hartail riders suffering. I was amazed at how well the sus worked the first time i took it of road having done a few miles on the road beforehand. The climbing is impressive, I've never clumb quite so fast on a FS bike but to be fair nor have i tried all of them so. The powdercoat is sexy too. Cant ignore that.
Weaknesses: Not the lightest possible bike out there, but very light all the same (+/- 12.5 kg current setup).
Not as comfy as some other fully Sused bikes but it's not intended to be so not really a weakness. The fact that the rear shock is a structural member of the rear triangle may mean I'll have to replace it within a year or two, especially if I get a little lax on pivot inspections, so that is a weakness inherent to this design. I havent had any of the much discussed rear suspension problems, but my bike has been revised. Ive done at least 500 miles since i got the frame, but i have taken it apart and greased the pivots 2 times so far just to be sure. I also found that the friction coeficcient between the copper bushings reduced noticably when i grased it, even though the engineering handbook says lubing copper on copper bushings will make little difference. (the handbook did give dynamic friction, not static so that my be why - it does react to bumps a little earlier)
I have notice the rear triangle flexes considerably under high chain load, even enough for me to feel it in the direction the bike is tracking. I do find that annoying. But thats what you get if you want a lightweight bike. This effect is most noticable when the bike is in smallest spocket to the large and middle chainring, logical as the moment of force around the pivot point is then the greatest due to the distance from the centreline of rotation.
The front triangle tubing seems VERY thin, so I'm not looking forward to the day my bar of the arms from my fork linkages meet the top tube at high speed, especially if i still happen to be clipped in.
Bottom Line:
A cross country dream. Not a super plush ride, nor was it meant to be. A no compromise, XC whippet that pulls more complements than I had on my mantra. Climbs like a mountain goat, but descending isnt as good as say the Idrive 3.0 or the mantra. This is what I was looking for when i was trying out the sunn exact flex a few years ago.
Bottom line: A XC dream. The guy who sold this for so cheap was nuts. Or maybe he should have just set a minimum sale price when setting up the auction. In any case I have what I consider to be the ultimate XC machine. Hopefully this one will last me as long as the mantra did.
Value 5 flaming chillis cause I lucked out and found a bargian. Overall? where's the 6th chilli?
Favorite Trail: Anything technical with great views
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At: frame purchaed on Ebay
Similar Products Used: Klein Mantra Comp (old bike). Specialized FSR (bros bike ridden often), Gt I drive 3.0 (2 week test), Lapierre diamond XC (bros old bike ridden often), Sunn Exact flex (week test ride)
Bike Setup: XTR shifters, disks, cranks, derailleurs. SRAM 9.0 Cassette. Chris king f&r hub and headset. Look Fournales Shark XC fork. Carbon Fibre seatpost, bars, barends. Mavic X517 tubless rims. IRC Mythos tires made tubless with a slime like material. M-bits rear shock, flite ti seat. Speedplay ti frogs.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Justin
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver Co
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2004
Strengths: Climbing and looks.
Weaknesses: Take some tweaking and is not as good a downhiller as some.
Bottom Line:
THis is a follow up to a review I did months ago. I have had more time to work this bike out and it is dialed now. The key as many seem to know is sleve locking the bushings into the frame and thread locking the bolts. It should come from the factory dialed but it does not. I finally got the beta from a mechanic in Denver at Turin. Klein finally figured this out and let them know. I am still on the original bushings and the rear end is tight. This bike climbs as good as any full squich out there. IT does give up a little to the more active descenders but after a year the bike has won me over. It handles well and is holding up to continual use. Lube those bushings now and again and all is well. It htink it is a good value since you get the Maverick ride at a huge discount and you really do not give much up. I do not want to give it a 3 since I love it now but considering the intial trouble and the difficulty in finding a shop able to ohaul the rear shock I have to knock it down some. I have never given anything 5 flamin poops.
Similar Products Used: GT Idrive, Many different 4 bar links. Santa Cruz VPP. MAverick
Bike Setup: Straight XTR with Fox Talus RLC. 50 lbs rear 70 front. Tubless tires Continentals. 30 Lbs frt and rear.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from New York, NY
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2004
Strengths: Great climber, good suspension
Weaknesses: THE BUSHINGS! 200 miles on the first set.
Bottom Line:
I owned a Fisher hardtail and switched over to the Klein. I love the feel of the bike, it really saves the legs on the technical terrain, and climbs like a hardtail. The tires could stand to be a little narrower. I live the bike, but am a little weary of having to replace the bushings so often.
Submitted by
Mike H
a Cross Country Rider
from Wilmington, Delaware, USA
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2004
Strengths: Climbs like a rocket! Comfortable cockpit, great for epic rides. Wicked paint job.
Weaknesses: Front shifting. Gotta get the rear shock tuned to your weight. Once corrected, the shifting problem resolved itself.
Bottom Line:
I'm happy w/ the Palamino. The bike performs like my friends' Santa Cruz w/o the 3-4K price tag. The problems I've had have been of my own making or were quickyl taken care of by the folks at Bikeline in Newark, DE. I've gone on all day rides at Kingdom Trail in VT (7-9 hrs) on this puppy with no problems. Not a big hit bike, but if you are reading this, you already know that.
A fantastic bike for lighter riders. I bought this bike in May 03. I was 220lbs at the time. I had problems almost from the start, the guy (and gals) at the shop I bought it from were great, Trek (who own Klien) were pretty good. I forget the exact order but I had problems with the brakes, the bushings, the headset and finally the rear shock. The brakes (Haynes) had to be bled - twice, not a good thing on new brakes. They've been fine since (they're on my new bike). The headset came adrift twice, after the 2nd time the LBS (and Trek) replaced it - no problems after that. I destroyed the bushings fairly quickly - they were replaced. After about 6 months the rear shock failed - Trek replaced this with an 04 model. This is a great bike, but not designed for those of us over 200lbs. The 04 rear shock is a huge improvement over the 03 model. After many trips back to the shop I finally gave up on this bike when I went to go for ride and noticed that one of the bolts securing the rear suspension had come very loose. If you're a lighter rider this is a great bike, espcially with the 04 rear shock, which is a huge improvement over the 03. I can't recomend this bike for everyone - I don't think it's built for heavier riders, mind you that could be said for a lot of bikes. I finally sent this bike back, and got a Trek Liquid 55 as a replacement - I'll write a review on this one too. My personal opinion is that when Klein/Trek adapted the M7 design (to make it cheaper) and used bushings instead of bearings for the shock mounts they lost the ability of the rear suspension to support heavier riders. The headset is a mystery - the one on my 7 year old Kona (which is also an Aheadset) is fine after many years of (ab)use. The LBS I got this from has other customers who have put his bike throught a lot more than I did and it's still fine, but he weighs a lot less than me.
Similar Products Used: Now riding a Trek Liquid 55
Bike Setup: Stock, apart from wheels - switched to 03 Crossmax XL
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Wiltshire, UK
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2004
Strengths: When it works, it's brilliant. Fast, light, climbs like a whippet.
Weaknesses: Bushings. Front shifting. Bushings. Erm...did I say bushings?
Bottom Line:
As has been mentioned many many times, the suspension bushings on the Palomino are a joke. My latest set lasted 2 months. Not all shops out there seem to know how to replace them properly...make sure they use Loctite 680 (in the US), or Loctite 638 in the UK. I'll report back after the latest overhaul & see if they last longer this time. If not, it's trade-in time for this Palomino.
Bike Setup: Stock except...Thomson stem, WTB saddle
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Taylor
a Cross Country Rider
from Louisville, KY, United States
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2004
Strengths: The Klien Palomino X will climb anything you can peddle, there is no bob in the rear, even if you stand up. The bike is great it is very smooth. The front doesn't wander on climbs. A very comfortable bike good for riding long periods.
Weaknesses: Price (anthing not free is a weakness), Didn't come with disc brakes, or even disc ready rims. Chain jumps a little when the rear shock pressure is exactly right
Bottom Line:
The price on this bike is not bad for what you get. I have not ridden a bike that climbs as well as this one does. The rear shock does well eating up most of what you dish at it. This bike is very comfortable. On a number of bikes I have ridden my wrist hurts, with the Klien I can ride with out any pain in my wrist or back. This bike does well in all areas I have tested it so far. I you want a bike to ride that will let you just enjoy MT. Biking this is it. This bike makes up in some areas for my lack of expierence and ability. It is a little heavy for racint it wieghts in at 26 lbs.
Similar Products Used: Jamis Dakar Sport 2001, GT i-drive 4.0 I owned both of these, cannondale Jekyll, Specialized epic, Gary Fisher Cake 2 (test rode these three)
Bike Setup: Fox Float 100 RL, Rear Shox M-Bits by Fox, Klien Death Grip tires, XT crank set.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
craig schmaltz
a Cross Country Rider
from kalamazoo,mi,usa
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2004
Strengths: great handling, no bob supple suspension
Weaknesses: front shifting
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike when my beloved fsr disc was stolen. I felt right at home the first time I rode this bike, the suspension was heads and shoulders better than my fsr (which I thought was great) The thing I hated the most was the front shifting. I'm 6' 200lbs and when I ran the rear susp air setting at the low end of the recommended setting (where the bike felt best) my front shifting was unacceptable. When I ran it at the higher setting front shifting was marginal. This spring I took the palomino in to the shop and they advised they had a fix. Trek replaced the rear shock, derailleur strut and the front derailleur, with of all things a ultegra road derailleur. All at no cost to me. The bike is now incrediable. I've been mt biking since 1986 and have had several bikes, the palomino is by far the best bike I've ever riden. I have had no bushing problems that other buyers have had, but from the service I have received so far I'm sure that it would be taken care of. Also looking at the 04 paints I dont think they compare to the orange paint job on my 03, I have guys ask me if its a custom paint job! Anyway if your thinking about buying a Klein this is a great bike, no need for a pro-pedal shock, you can take it on the pavement and feel no bob its a great design. I would just make sure the front shifting is addressed when you buy. I see 04 bikes on the showroom floor are not fitted with the shifting fix.
Similar Products Used: prior fs bike was a specialized fsr
Bike Setup: new m-bits rear shock, updated front derailleur strut, ultegra road derailleur thompson extra long seatpost crank bros pedals, easton ea70 carbon bar upgraded hayes brakes chris king headset
I ran across what would appear to be a great deal on a 2003 Klein Palomino Race at a bike shop/sporting goods store I visited out of town this weekend.
They had it for $1,199. T Read More »
My Palomino Race squaks like a wounded duck. I think it's in the linkage somewhere but it resonates through the frame. I can bounce on the seat, no sound, jump and down on the pe Read More »
I'm trying to sell my 2003 Klein Palomino Race and have no idea what to sell it for. Everything is stock except the rear shock which was replaced under warranty with the 2004 maver Read More »
