Saturday, December 17, 2011

Klein Track Bike 1975


"Klein track bike at the New York Bike Show, February 1975. 

 This marked the introduction of Gary Klein's welded aluminum frame to the public. I remember speaking to Gary Klein at the show that day. As you can see, the booth was bare-bones; I think he had a flier explaining his design idea. From my basic engineering knowledge, I understood what he was driving at, and realized this could be a real breakthrough. Little did I (and Gary) know that as usual, a Frenchman, Nicholas Barra, had beaten him to it by about 40 years. But I remember talking to Gary Klein and telling him that while the design and craftsmanship were great, I found his bicycle very ugly. He laughed and said "I think it's beautiful". Spoken like a true engineer. Note the steel (!) Cinelli track bars and stem, and the steel fork. Sugino track crankset."

From Chris Protopapas' Flickr.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

One of my top five bikes ever.