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Submitted by
Myles Saffian
a Cross Country Rider
from Mill Valley, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Old Railroad Grade | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Craigslist.org | | Strengths: | Invisible Welds
Lightweight/Aluminum
Efficient
Internal Cable Routing
| | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Klein Pulse II, Klein Attitude | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Klein Repaint - Sputnik Re-entry/Black Deboss
Soon To Be:
Rock Shox Judy Fork (Englund Total Air) w/ King NoThreadSet Headset
Phil Wood Ti Bottom Bracket w/ RaceFace Next LP Crankset
SRAM X.0 Rear Derailleur & Trigger Shifters, PG990 Cassette and PC-991 Hollow Pin Chain
Mavic Crossmax SLR Wheelset
TruVativ Team Carbon Flat Handlebars, Team Carbon SC Seat Post & Team 3d Ti Stem
WTB Rocket V Saddle
Avid Single Digit SL V-Brakes w/ Speed Dial SL Levers | | Bottom Line: | Like any other Klein, this bike is a hit! This frame is pre-Trek, for those that care. Either way, one can not go wrong with Klein. They are without question the most efficient frame geometry on the market. I couldn't be happier; this frame is light, efficient and a work of art! The best bike I have ever owned and ridden. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Extremely Nimble, Light, Well Balanced, Durable, Great Climber, its a singletrack god! | | Weaknesses: | I broke the original seat after 9 years. The decals fell off in the first week of ownership. | | Similar Products Used: | 2000 Voodoo Sobo | | Bike Setup: | Mostly original XT setup | | Bottom Line: | This is a fabulous bike. I have a 1990 Rascal in the magenta (pink) black fade. I have owned it since new. I was very reluctant to replace it as my "A" bike, but when I moved to the West Coast, the terrain here (wide open firetrails, long washboardy downhills at breakneck speed) just doesn't play to the bike's strengths. If you do a lot of single track, log jumping, rock bumpin', this is the bike for you. I can easily steer around obstacles that I would have to crash over (or into) on my Sobo (which itself is no slouch in the handling dept.) The Rascal is like an extension of my feet.
That being said, I ride it less and less, becuase the rigid frame will rattle your eyes and teeth out on the long downhills out here in the West. I didn't want to add a fork because the geometry and balance is so outstanding that I didn't want to upset it by hanging a heavy shock off the front. In New England I would snake down steep, muddy, single track with aplomb (no shock fork needed - perhaps even a negative at the slower speeds you ride back there - instead of compressing and "sticking" to encourage an endo, the rigid fork bounces off of or over those obstacles - clearing a 20" log is a piece of cake on this bike but much more of an adventure on the Voodoo). Out here the shocks and slightly more stable Sobo gives me more confidence at the breakneck speeds you see on the long downhills.
If I still lived back east, I would be riding this everyday. If your riding is mostly singletrack, you would be hard pressed to find a better modern bike than the Rascal. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Reed Weedakowski
a Cross Country Rider
from Belvidere
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | Purchased Used | | Strengths: | Light, light, light!!!! Paint is fantastic, better than modern 2003 paint. Welds are fantastic. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Klein Mantra Comp, Klein Pulse Pro, Klein Adept Pro, Klein Palomino Team. | | Bike Setup: | Totally original Suntour and Shimano XT. Vintage Rigid Klein. | | Bottom Line: | I bought this bike as a vintage ride worthy collectable. I have taken it out a few times and wow. Fast & light. Handles great. With no suspension you need to adjust your ride style but it is still mad fun! This is the type of bike that got us where we are today. I highly suggest you give it a try. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Al
a
from Chicago
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Bottom Line: | Me again.
Correction: Rascals were made 1990-1993.
Klein paint is the best I've seen on a production bike. The handling is on the quick side which makes the bike great in the singletrack.
The stiffness is a plus and a minus. Plus because it climbs like a mountain goat and minus because it's harsh. With a suspension post it's not a problem. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Racer
from Chicago
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Oak Park | | Strengths: | Frame design
Paint
Stiffness | | Weaknesses: | Stiffness | | Similar Products Used: | Too many to list | | Bike Setup: | Currently set up as a single speed.
Manitou 4 & suspension seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | Mine is a 1990.
Rascals were only made 1900-1993. (Mike below has an older bike than he thinks he has)
I've ridden and raced this bike all over the country from W. Va to Cal. and it never failed me. Though I have newer bikes I've always kept the Rascal around. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | near Winter Park, CO | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$107.00 | | Purchased At: | local shop | | Strengths: | light weight; build quality | | Weaknesses: | 1" head tube (I'll explain later) | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 820; Schwinn Moab | | Bike Setup: | rigid fork; continental country tires; X-ray shifters; mostly Alivio drivetrain, brakes (good parts would get stolen) | | Bottom Line: | I actually have a 1994 or 1995 Rascal, but I still wanted to post a review. After having my last campus bike (I have a 1999 Gary Fisher Paragon at home) stolen I decided that I needed something less flashy (also a better lock), so I was looking for something used that was better than department-store grade to paint flat black (--> less flashy). I found a 'well-used' single-speed Rascal with terrible wheels and paint, but the price was right. So after a $140 mail order, a trip through the old parts box, and a few hours of 'body work' I now have a great commuter bike. This bike sees at least 80 km a week and is great. The internal cable routing can be a hassle to work on, but that's only if the bike is missing the internal cable guides. The Klein BB is still good after years of abuse. The frame itself is a thing of beauty: seamless with obvious attention to detail--the machined seat tube and specially manufactured chain stays for example. Anyone looking for a fast, stiff frame that can afford it should look into getting a Klein.
Real Bottom line: you get what you pay for when you pay the difference to get a Klein.
5 for value (you can't beat $100 even if it was just the frame)
4 overall (1" head tube makes a fork upgrade a pain, but I don't think the 1 1/8 was popular yet in 1994-5; internal cable routing) | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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