# Klein Pulse 1996 Lightweight Build Thread



## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

here's the official start of my Klein Pulse lightweight build thread. first, i've included a parts list:

Klein Pulse 1996 (post-trek) frame
Rock Shox Judy SL 1996 w/ Englund TA Cartridges
Crank Bros. Cobalt Headset
Syntace F99 Stem
Easton CT2 Carbon Bar
Ritchey WCS Ergo Foam Grips
Kooka Racha Brake Levers
Avid SD7 V-Brakes
Alligator iLink Housing
Powercordz Cables
Grip Shift X-Ray 8-Speed Shifters
Shimano XTR M-950 Front Derailleur
Shimano XTR M-950 Rear Derailleur
Race Face Next LP Crankset
Real Ti Bottom Bracket
Specialites TA 30t & Shimano 42t Chainrings
KMC X9SL Chain
Shimano XTR M-950 11-32 Cassette
Shimano XTR M-950 Hubs
DT Revolution Spokes w/ Alloy Nipples
Mavic 217 CD Rims
Aerozine Titanium Skewers
Maxxis Larsen TT Exception 26x2.0 Tires
Thomson Masterpiece 31.6 Seatpost
Aerozine 34.9 Seat Collar
Selle Italia Flite Evolution II Saddle
Ritchey WCS Paradigm Pedals


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

to kick it off, here's some aluminum and titanium bits/bolts tuning i've done. the old stuff on the right came out to 371g, while the new stuff came out to 165g for a saving of 206g. of the new stuff, everything green is aluminum, and everything else is titanium.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

where is the bike?


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

the frame isn't presentable at the moment... i'm about to repaint it. pictures coming. the cranks and fork will also be repainted.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

I'm afraid the frame is green too.


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

ha! don't worry, it won't be green.


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## bridgestone14 (Mar 22, 2005)

I hope this is awesome. I really like the next lp cranks. Sweet rapid rise rear derailleur and I am still not sure how you got the brake studs off of the frame.


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## Stylus (Oct 9, 2008)

what, no carbon fork legs?


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## mattkock (Mar 19, 2009)

I am SO in Love with this Build. I always dreamed of having a Klein Attitude with matching rigid fork and Bar/Stem combo in the Purple and Pink color scheme. I can't wait to see this bike done. :-0


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

bridgestone14 said:


> I hope this is awesome. I really like the next lp cranks. Sweet rapid rise rear derailleur and I am still not sure how you got the brake studs off of the frame.


thanks, i hope so too! and good eye on the rapid rise rear derailleur; it's a little less conspicuous with the little cable wheel at the back deleted.

as far as the brake studs go, left loosey ;-)

seriously, they're a massive pain in the ass to remove safely. i've taken them out of a few kleins, and they've always been somewhere between stuck and totally seized, but with a little care, they came out fine. glad i took them out too... one of them was slightly bent, which i didn't notice til they were on my desk.



Stylus said:


> what, no carbon fork legs?


i do have a set of those hiding in my basement somewhere, but they're earmarked for a future specialized build. for this bike i've been keeping a eye out for a carbon shock bone, but no luck lately.


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

I got the frame completely stripped, brushed, and ready for paint today. here are a few pictures.


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

Why not anodized or left bare? I think paint typically adds a quarter of a pound or more.


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## Uncle Grumpy (Oct 20, 2005)

Red cranks, green bits, yellow bits...

Rasta FTW!

Grumps


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

Uncle Grumpy said:


> Red cranks, green bits, yellow bits...
> 
> Rasta FTW!
> 
> Grumps


ding ding ding!

the frame and fork will be repainted yellow (i have new decals for both). cranks are getting touched up but will remain red. a few other small red bits, and plenty of green pieces as you see. i'm just waiting for a warmer day so i can paint. my home paint booth is in my shed, and even with a space heater, it's too cold for paint at the moment.


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

well it looks like painting weather is on the way next week, so i should be able to get this project going again. i got some lighter wheels for the bike. 1360g with yellow tape and tubeless valves. i just hope the flanges don't pop off the hubs like my last set of 240s did...


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

Wow, this takes me back to those fun great years of managing a bike shop. Those Judy's were so much fun to play with. I loved specialized carbon version of those forks, they were just fantastic beautiful. 

I'm trying to figure if 1996 was about the time v brakes first came out. Those brakes single handiidly destroyed the American cnc cantilever brake market. 

I can't wait to see the finished product. 

I'm trying to remember if the Judy's had a light weight magnesium option, I seem to remember that. 

Bill


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

crossracer said:


> Wow, this takes me back to those fun great years of managing a bike shop. Those Judy's were so much fun to play with. I loved specialized carbon version of those forks, they were just fantastic beautiful.
> 
> I'm trying to figure if 1996 was about the time v brakes first came out. Those brakes single handiidly destroyed the American cnc cantilever brake market.
> 
> ...


thanks for the comments, and good memory... 95-96 was when v-brakes finally hit the mainstream, being incorporated into the high-end shimano groups as well.

as far as i know, all of the 28mm judys and sids had magnesium lowers.


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## shodog (Mar 20, 2013)

Looks great so far, what did you use to strip the paint from the frame? Jasco?


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

i forget the brand, but it was something similar from the hardware store. that and a couple hours of hand brushing the frame with a wire brush. 

i actually brushed the frame one last time last night to prep for paint, and it looked so good i decided to leave the frame raw brushed aluminum... at least for now. i can always paint it in the future if i change my mind. i finished touching up the dings and rub marks on the cranks, and began assembling stuff. i still need to repaint the fork legs, but i finally feel like i'm making progress. 

an early estimate of the weight is about 18.3 pounds with pedals and bottle cage.


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## embankment (Mar 22, 2013)

That is going to be one cool bike. What will the total weight be?


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## jm626 (Nov 12, 2012)

Good call on leaving it raw. Will you put the Klein decals on though? This is going be an awesome frickin' build, 18 pounds... damn..


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## jm626 (Nov 12, 2012)

Do you have a good source for those alu-ti bolts and hardware?


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

yes, i will still be using the klein decals on the raw aluminum. as for the bolts and hardware (which i'm really happy with) i got most of it from toronto cycles.


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

Wow, cool! I found a Pulse Comp on CL last summer for my son (9 and tall enough for a xsmall 26er), stock it is about 24.5#, which is quite good for a more entry level priced mtb. That's some serious weight loss you've got going on!


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

lucky kid! i got a 1997 klein pulse race for christmas of 1997 when i was 13 years old. the frame was identical to the one i'm using now, though obviously as a 13-year old, the upgrades i could afford for it were limited to barends and clipless pedals... if only the 13-year-old me could have seen this one i'm making now! that was the bike i completed my first ever race on. it would have been a little more special if i were using the same frame now, but the original one was folded around the front of a lincoln towncar circa 2001.


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

Wow, look at the welds, totally differnt from stuff today that looks like a kid squeezed a tube of toothpaste around a tube. That is some beautiful bike there.

Definetly add graphics. Maybe in bright yellow that Klein would pop with the green hardware. 

Cant wait to see finished build. 

Bill


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

Yes, he is a lucky kid, I often remind him that when I was 9 years old ('76) a bike that cool did not exist on the whole earth. I got it off Craigslist for $100, -what kind of pos can you buy from target etc for $100? That was a great buy, but I doubt I could resell it for more than $250.
He is a pretty good little rider (proud daddy moment); rides clipless pedals, did cyclocross racing last year on his old/smaller heavier 24" wheel kona.


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

well i got most of the bike together last night. tomorrow it'll be in the 60s here, so i'm hoping to get the painting done. more updates coming soon!


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

well i did some test painting this week on a junk fork, and there was a problem with the paint reacting with the humidity, so i held off on painting. hoping to try again next week. sorry again for the ongoing delays. 

the bike is otherwise fully assembled and ready to go. it's looking like the weight is going to come out to about 18.1 pounds with pedals and bottle cage. now that i'm within reach of the 17s, i might have to think about where to lose another tenth!


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## jm626 (Nov 12, 2012)

Go with a carbon rigid fork..


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

s4gobabygo said:


> well i did some test painting this week on a junk fork, and there was a problem with the paint reacting with the humidity, so i held off on painting. hoping to try again next week. sorry again for the ongoing delays.
> 
> the bike is otherwise fully assembled and ready to go. it's looking like the weight is going to come out to about 18.1 pounds with pedals and bottle cage. now that i'm within reach of the 17s, i might have to think about where to lose another tenth!


Again, get it anodized or polish it. You'll save a quarter pound over painting.


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## s4gobabygo (Sep 1, 2008)

jm626 said:


> Go with a carbon rigid fork..


i decided that my rules for the project were that it would have to have front shifting (no 1x setup) and front suspension. i could drop almost 3 pounds by going fully rigid and 1x8, but that seems like cheating to me, since the theme for the build is an xc race bike from around when i started racing in 1995.



Boy named SSue said:


> Again, get it anodized or polish it. You'll save a quarter pound over painting.


i did end up sticking with the bare brushed aluminum frame, but for my eye, the original judy doesn't look right unpainted. i did apply a test paint job to another random fork this weekend, and it came out very nicely this time with the lower humidity. best of all, the weight of the whole paint job, including primer, paint, clear, and decals only added 17 grams to the fork. this automotive paint i'm using goes on very thin. it's quite impressive looking too. better than previous paints ive used in my basic gun in the past.


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