I test rode some bikes today. I went to a store believing
that they carried Konas and Yetis, but it turned out they
dropped those lines since last year. They carry Trek, Klein,
Fisher, and Cannondale.
I didn't bother to ride the Trek since that's what got
busted -- I know how it rides. For the record, I like the
ride and the fit of my Fuel 90, and I never had mech
troubles (less than a year old, though). It had a duke fork
that I was already thinking of replacing, not because it
was giving me trouble but because I suspect I could do a
lot better.
The Fisher Cake small was rubbing my crotch, and I really
didn't want a bike quite that friendly, so I nixed that one.
The women's versions were respectively way too small and way
too large.
The Canondale Jekyll 800 with a lefty was ... okay. Nothing
really impressed me about it, except that it did seem to fit
me well in the cockpit. It felt clunky, somehow.
Which brings me to the one I *did* like ... the Klein
Palomino 5.
kleinbikes.compalomiOpen ↗
no_v/index.html
It was very light -- extremely easy to pick the front up
while riding around. Light compared to what I'm used to,
anyway. XT rear, everything else LX. They actually had a
road front der (shimano 105) and I don't quite understand
that ... it has a Fox float 100R as a fork. One interesting
thing about this is that I can comfortably grip this bike to
put it on the car. Many bikes seem to have "stuff" right
where I need to put my hands. This may seem like a minor
thing, but it made an impression on me. Hayes disc brakes
(does hayes vs. shimano matter?).
There's a 15 that also has disc brakes (shimano instead
of hayes) and has full XT. Also a much nicer Fox fork. So
if I were thinking of upgrading to XT, it would probably
be smarter to just buy the 15. Unless, as the owner
pointed out, I didn't like the new combo XT thing, in
which case I could upgrade the 5 with the old XT parts.
Getting the 15 would be $600 more, though, and past my
"hard" limit of $2500.
I understand that the palomino has been reworked a bit this
year to address some of last year's complaints. I've also
been told it climbs surprisingly well. This bicycle store
seems competent (the owner was the one helping me), gives me
a discount through my club, has low prices, and will
discount all rental costs (not just one day) from the
purchase price. So I'm tempted to try it out this weekend
and see what I think on my normal terrain.
I understand that I'd do better with a Maverick frame, but
looking around, I don't think I can afford that. Well, maybe
the frame, but not the rest of the bike.
I'm not done looking, obviously, but I really did like this
bike. The seat tube is angled back a tiny bit compared to my
Trek, which I think gives me just a slightly better cockpit
fit. (I tend to bend my wrists, which is probably a
combination of poor form and poor fit.)
Thanks for letting me ramble. I'm open to opinions and I
know that most of you will hate it just because it's Klein.
But if you could give me some data points to back up the
hatred, that would be of interest.
--
monique