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Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Oak Park, California, USA
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Palo Comado | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | Luecadia Cyclery, San Diego area | | Strengths: | Everything everyone says below and more! | | Weaknesses: | It doesn't come with a time machine to add more time to the day to ride more! | | Similar Products Used: | Klein Rascal XTR loaded, Cannondale Prophet | | Bike Setup: | Updated Maverick monolink with bearings, updated Maverick rear shock, Avid BB7 cable discs, XT components, Fox 100R front shock, SRAM grip shifters, Bontrager Select and Race mix | | Bottom Line: | I know this is an older bike. But Fred at Leucadia Cyclery bought out the remaining supply when Trek stopped selling them. So, I just got this one brand new from him with the above upgrades. The bike is amazing and worth every penny. Note that the Maverick monolink upgrade cures all the shifting problems and worn out links that are complained about before, making this the perfect bike. Hopefully there are still others out there who will still benefit from this and be able to pick up a new one from Fred. He is one of the best bike salespeople I've EVER worked with.
I'm writing this after I just got to work after my maiden ride with the Palomino - an hour ride over trails from home to work (where we have showers!). Wow. I feel like I just finished a road ride. My time was faster on all parts, up hill, down hill, flats, pavement (I time the segments with my watch and keep a record of it) than with my Klein Rascal. And, that even included having to slow down twice for people walking on the trails.
My back is happier. My knees are happier. My watch is happier for working less. I'm not sure yet if my psyche is happier! Part of me misses the tossable, tight feeling of the hardtail - that part will probably only last until I go and try it again! And, of course I'm slightly bummed that I now have less time riding! :-)
Thinks I learned:
* It really climbs like a goat and doesn't bob, just like they say.
* Before this ride, I've been purposefully hitting certain bumps in the trails to feel how the hardtail responded, and I did the same with the Palomino. Yep, as expected, with the Palomino I never had a bounce that jolted my body up and forward towards the handlebars, just a dip here and there, if even that.
* I have to consciously stay on the seat on spots on descents I used to get out of the saddle for. It seemed when I got out of the saddle, the bike hopped around more. Maybe it's more a question of getting my weight shifted to the right place, since I certainly shifted way back on the hard tail.
* The disk brakes are on a WHOLE other level, and I have to REALLY watch out for too much pressure on the front brake. On the hardtail, I had smaller pads up front. I didn't have any endovers, but certainly noticed the difference.
* The 9 speeds are awesome, especially with the closer incremental shifts which let me up shift much sooner when cresting hills, which helped increase my time.
* The granny gear is a few steps lower than my old one, which may have helped go up the hill faster. Kind of feels like cheating.
And finally, dang it, my new perfect bike is now dirty. I guess I'm going to have to go ride it some more and get it even dirtier . .
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from Salt Lake City
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Wasatch Crest | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1800.00 | | Purchased At: | Golson's | | Strengths: | The bike climbs like a mountain goat, I've spent some time on an older specialized FSR, climbing isn't even close. There is no bob, and it feels super plush. Descents are great. The fox fork and maverick rear shock make for a very smooth and controlable ride. I actually think the rear shock really comes into its own at high speed, great for long fast rides. | | Weaknesses: | It isn't an ultralight race bike. It feels really light in the climbs, but not as light in really tight, quick turns. The hayes nines are a problem, I can't stand them, come next season, they may be the first thing to go. The rear brakes have caused a terrible vibration when they heat up. I've loved the hydrolic power, (my last were hayes mechanical discs) but as far as hydros go, they are not very good. If it weren't for those, this bike would be perfect. Heavy riders may have a hard time with the front derailer setup, I'm not heavy though so it hasn't been a problem at all. | | Similar Products Used: | I spent a little time on a Blur, It felt quicker in the turns, but for a long ride, I will take the palamino any day. I also spent a little time on an older FSR. It wasn't even in the same league. | | Bike Setup: | Shimano xt, hayes nine, fox float 100, Maverick rear air shock. | | Bottom Line: | Get rid of the hayes nines, and I will take this over any other bike out there. There are some that are quicker, some that are plusher, but for someone who needs a bike that will do everything well, this is it. For a while I had both this and my Hardtail, (which i loved), but the way this bike climbs and feels, I never rode the hard tail so I sold it. This is now the only mountain bike I own. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Darrel Wells
a Weekend Warrior
from Greensboro, NC, USA
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Bur Mil - G'boro | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Paceline Bike Shop - G'boro | | Strengths: | A lot of good features for the price. | | Weaknesses: | Extreme laid-back seattube angle - puts rider over back wheel when climbing steep hills: can go over backwards easily. | | Similar Products Used: | N/A | | Bike Setup: | Stock: Palomino V disc | | Bottom Line: | I'm a "roadie", who uses this bike on the occasional trail ride. Bike handles well, but two problems with my bike: 1)extreme seatpost angle puts me over the back wheel, causing unintended wheelies when climbing. I'm almost 6 ft. - frame is a medium - may have needed a large; 2) Hayes hyd. disc brakes have been a real problem. Constant "buzzing" / vibrating rear disc when brake is applied - shop can't fix - makes it VERY uncomfortable to ride. Am considering trying to switch to rim brakes. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy M
a
from Acton, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Hilton Falls | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Toronto Int'l Bike Show - Cycle-Solutions | | Strengths: | Climbs very well due to the unified rear triangle, and has very little in the way of bobbing. Fox Float 100's on a bike under $2000. It weighs in nicely at 28.8 lbs and the paint is gorgeous, though it may not last. | | Weaknesses: | Stand over height is pretty tall but has not posed a problem as of yet. The stock Bontrager seat was nothing short of excruciating. The only other drawback to this ride is that it is no longer in production. That said Maverick is still going strong, so getting your shock serviced is not an issue. | | Similar Products Used: | I bought this bike without trying others. This was due to the poindexter in me that saw me engaged in a mountain of research before the purchase. I would have loved to hop on a Santa Cruz or a Ventana, but price point was an issue. The only other bike I considered was a Yeti Kokopelli but I could not get the right size. | | Bike Setup: | It's pretty much stock except I dithched the flat bars for some Monkey Lites, and I slapped on a WTB Rocket V ti-rail saddle. | | Bottom Line: | Well the story goes as I am looking this bike over some know-it-all is telling my buddy that buying this bike is a mistake due to the shock service. He started in with some nonsense about how he knew somone in the industry that had a warehouse full of these bike and could not move them, consequenlty they had to strip them down and part them out, so his story went.
The bottom line would be that I have found this bike to be excellent for XC riding and the fact is that you can get one of these bikes at some very good closeout deals as I did. It climbs VERY will and bobing is pretty much non existent. It descends quite well and although I was fully prepeared to be disapointed in in the stock Klein tires they are actually not too bad.
The only real caution I would offer is that yout need to be careful with sizing. I am on a Medium which if I'm not mistaken Klein suggests is for a taller rider than myself - for the record I am all of 5'8" with a 32" inseam and this bike fits me perfectly. The seat tube has a pretty drastic angle so the higher your seat the further back over the wheel you are. It appears that this is another example of Gary Klein gettig it exactly right.
Finally, just to pound that last point home, unfortunately Klein was bought up by Trek. So why exactly was it bought? Because Trek wanted to to use Gary's patnted Z9000 series tube sets which are now appearing on all things Trek and Gary Fisher. So, in short I am very impressed with this ride and the deal I got on it was unbeatable. The Fox forks are fantastic and you won't find them on bikes in the same price range. A great fully suspended XC machine is what this bike is. Lastly, thanks to all the other reviewers whose input helped me in my decision. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Broughton
a Racer
from Winfield, WV USA Baby
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Run Gauley Mtn WV | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Purchased At: | N/A Borrowed | | Strengths: | Smooth riding. Climbs great, really hooks up. Stable on decents. A West coast bike. | | Weaknesses: | Hard to wheelie. It reminded me of trying to wheelie the Cannondale Delta-V's with the long assed chainstays. This bike needs viagra to help get it up. Because of this it was hard to jump large logs with the finesse I usually exibit. Not an East coast bike. | | Similar Products Used: | Amp B-3, Jamis Dakar Race (Easton Elite tube set), Cannondale Jekyll and Scalpel | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | I have a Klein Rascal. This is a great bike that has multiple patents. Because of its many inovations I have a great deal of respect for Gary Klein. I don't know if it was his idea or Treks to put the Maverick rear on a wicked Klein tubeset, but I think it was a mistake. This bike just feels dull in the pedals | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dale
a Cross Country Rider
from Littleton, Colorado
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1299.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Village | | Strengths: | Typical Klein fit & finish, rear suspension, fox floater, Hayes nine hyd. discs, and tubeless tires | | Weaknesses: | nothing yet | | Similar Products Used: | Pro-flex 555, old diamond back HT | | Bike Setup: | still stock | | Bottom Line: | I love this rig so far......still have not done an "EPIC" ride yet, but have done lots of after work rides in Boulder, and it handles great going up or down. No bobbing while climbing, and the disc brakes are a godsend! I'm still used to old cantis'. I also like the reduced number of pivots to wear/flex/maintain. I'm Going up to Copper Mt. this weekend to give it a downhill flogging, but it is mainly a XC rig that does everything well. DER- | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wile e Coyote
a Cross Country Rider
from Salem, OR
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Gailbrath MTN WA. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1800.00 | | Strengths: | The bike is designed well and is a good all around mtn bike. Climbs & descends well. ery good on single track. | | Weaknesses: | Front Derailer is tempermental. need the right amount of preasure in the rear shock to work right, you will figure out what that is based on your size and it will work fine. They could have installed a rear brake support prior to having problems with rear brake squeel. The Polomino V comes with disk as an option so you have the ugly brake bosses on the rear. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Hardrock, Nishiki Colorodo, & Panosonic , all no suspension bikes. | | Bike Setup: | Changed Bars to Easton Monkey Lite 70s | | Bottom Line: | Great Bike , Very High quality , nice paint and well engineered | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Westchester, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Very efficient, pretty light, very reliable, and FUN! | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Klein Mantra, Specialized FSR, Trek Fuel | | Bike Setup: | Custom setup: Fox Float R 100, Rolf Dolomite Disc wheels, Race Face LP cranks, Hope Mono Mini discs, old XT thumb shifters, XTR RR rear der,. XTR cassette, LX front der., WTB seat, WCS stem, bar, barends. | | Bottom Line: | The headset on my Klein Mantra finally died, so I was offered a crash replacement price on a new Palomino, So I ordered a Palomino V, sold most of the components on E-bay, and set the bike up how I wanted it. I am very happy with this bike. The suspension is very efficient, which is very noticeable when I switch bikes with my freinds (FSR, Fuel) they just feel very bouncy compared to the palomino. Even when standing and climbing, there is no bob from the rear. Not quite as plush as the Mantra was (it had 7" of travel) but the Palomino decends MUCH beter. I have not had any front shifting issues, but hat may be because I am running thumb shifters. I set the rear shock to 90% of my body weight, and it is perfect. The Fox Float is also great, very stiff and super smooth travel. I highly recommend this bike for general cross country and endurance racing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robert Good
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Oregon
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Banks-to-Vernonia linear trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2200.00 | | Purchased At: | River City Cycles | | Strengths: | Efficient pedaling - no bob. Smooth front shocks. Good riding position for longer rides - somewhat upright and not too laid out. Nice paint. Disc brakes are really nice. | | Weaknesses: | Front derailler - small chainring - can make chain noise when rear suspension flexes. More air pressure in rear shock helps. Could be lighter. | | Similar Products Used: | I owned a Pro-Flex, a first generation full suspension bike years ago. Didn't like more race oriented riding positon of the Specialized Epic. | | Bike Setup: | Changed tires to Maxxis Ranchero 2.0 for smooth fast roll on pavement but still has decent tread pattern for off-road. Changed saddle to Terry titanium. Added short bar extensions wrapped with bar tape used on road bikes. Speedplay pedals. | | Bottom Line: | So much fun to ride! I'n 64, ride about 1,500 miles a year and ride rather mild terrain, gravel roads, fire and logging roads more than single track and quite a bit on pavement. This bike is comfortable and fun to ride anywhere. The bike feels very efficient and pedaling energy drives you forward rather than getting sucked up by the suspension. Pedaling this bike does not feel spongy at all! The bottom line is this bike looks cool, has a comfortable riding position, a suspension system that works as advertised, and is really fun to ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GarryB
a Cross Country Rider
from Ohio
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Any and All | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2300.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Awesome Rear susp., Great Fork. Front to rear suspension matched very well. No pedal bob. Decent componenets. Hayes brakes work well. Klein Deathgrip tires work well in most conditions. Handles great in tight single track, great decender as well. Sweet paint! No stickers, graphics are debossed into paint. | | Weaknesses: | Somewhat tough to get front der. to shift correct. Preload must be approx. 90 percent of rider weight before it shifts Ok. Owners manual is terrible, it has the shock settings for the Trek Fuel listed! Tech manual on Klein.com has not been updated to include the 2004 models. I e-mailed Klein and got the preload specs from one of the tech's. 90-100 percent of rider weight is the correct setting. Make sure this bike fits before you buy because of the funky seat tube angle. Raising the seat lengthens the effective top tube. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek Fuel, Klein Adept, Fisher Sugar, Specialized FSR | | Bike Setup: | Stock with Easton carbon low rise bar, Spinergy Xyclone Disc wheelset, XTR rear der. | | Bottom Line: | Nice bike!! Great Trail bike/race bike (although you may want to lighten it a bit)I have had no problems with the bushings or shock as some of the 2003 bikes had, new shock and bushing problems must have been fixed. Once I got the preload dialed in it rides like a dream. This is a great bike for someone looking for a great trail bike and maybe race once in awhile. Also great for endurance racing 12/24 hour races. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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