Foldable Bikes Party: Throwback Thursday: 1993 Klein Attitude 'Gossamer'

Thursday, 13 August 2015

Throwback Thursday: 1993 Klein Attitude 'Gossamer'

http://ift.tt/1J2CUvQ

If you think things like hydroformed alloy tubing, press-fit bottom brackets, integrated headsets, internal cable routing, and one-piece cockpits are modern constructs, think again. Gary Klein was doing all of this more than two decades ago, proving yet again that what once was old is new again.

The concept of optimizing structures and assemblies is hardly new; itâ€™s a defining characteristic of engineers, and alloy frame innovator Gary Klein embodied that perfectly. Steel was the standard back in the day but Klein insisted that alloy was a better choice â€“ and by increasing the diameter of the tubes, he could make up for the materialâ€™s inherent stiffness and strength disadvantages.

Tube dimensions like this are commonplace now but that was hardly the case when Klein was in its heyday

By the early 1990s, he had the process dialed in with this 1993 Attitude mountain bike model standing as a shining testament of what could be done. The reliability of the oversized tubes was very good, the smoothly welded joints were beautiful to behold, and as an early pioneer of hydroforming, the square-to-round chainstays also furthered bolstered the rear end while increasing tire and drivetrain clearance, too.

Simply changing the frame material wasnâ€™t enough for Klein, however. He also saw deficiencies in how many of the then-standard ancillary components were built and attached, and many of his solutions were impressively forward thinking.