Your bike is most likely slower than Ideal.

[Erik Timmerman]

That Klein probably came with a 120 or even 135mm stem back in the day (or paint matched one piece bar/stem combo if it was really cool). Even though the trend now is shorter stems, I wouldn't expect that bike to handle well with a teeny-tiny one. 100mm is probably just fine. And by just fine, I mean just fine for a 20 year old bike.

 

[Josh Matta]

if your Klein is a small its ETT is 22.6 which is fairly small. My ETT on both my bikes is 24.5 to 25 inches. a 100mm stem(but I bet its longer) adds another 3 inches to the TT lenght compared to what lenght stem I run.

 

[Philpug]

if your Klein is a small its ETT is 22.6 which is fairly small. My ETT on both my bikes is 24.5 to 25 inches. a 100mm stem(but I bet its longer) adds another 3 inches to the TT lenght compared to what lenght stem I run.

Center of Post to center of handlebars is 25.5. By no means is this ideal but it is still a fun and playful little rig. I would prefer a medium for myself but we share this.

 

[Josh Matta]

yeah its due to the huge stem......

 

[Philpug]

yeah its due to the huge stem......

Don't judge.

 

[Monique]

I would prefer a medium for myself but we share this.

Do you just never have the opportunity to ride together?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Trish sits on the handlebars. She loves the huge stem.

 

[Tom K.]

I race and train on a Fuel EX 29er, and am also fortunate enough to have a Remedy 29er, which has a bit more travel. That is the bike that goes on "rocky" road trips to places like Moab and Gooseberry Mesa. For that application, I'm not sure I wouldn't like a 27.5+ bike like the new Fuel EX+ even more, simply due to smoothness.

But for now, given that I own both bikes, I am looking forward to trying what I'll call "almost +" with some new 29 x 2.55 Bontrager XR4 tires.

The link to this video was posted previously (https://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=crmas&p=steve+peat+wheel+size+video) but it is worth repeating. I kind of hate watching videos, but this is very entertaining and educational. NONE of these very fast riders cared for the 27.5+ tires. As Tracey Mosely notes "for me, faster is fun, so I stick with the 29er" -- on which she's won three Enduro World Series titles.

 

[Tricia]

how long is stem on your klien? No way I could fit a stock L trance but no way I would want a M with a 100mm stem either.

Not sure, about 100mm but Klein hard tails are inherently long.

That Klein probably came with a 120 or even 135mm stem back in the day (or paint matched one piece bar/stem combo if it was really cool). Even though the trend now is shorter stems, I wouldn't expect that bike to handle well with a teeny-tiny one. 100mm is probably just fine. And by just fine, I mean just fine for a 20 year old bike.

When I did the SS build I got a new stem from @Mike Thomas when he was at his previous shop. Its a Thomson, and I also swapped out the handle bars for RaceFace Next SL, which also changed the position a bit because the handlebars and stem weren't a good fit, and I wanted to go lighter. I was trying to get the Attitude below 20 Lbs, which I almost did. I think it was at 20.8 or something like that. (It started at 28.6)
Original set up. Bontrager Stem and bars. comp II 15* 2014 T5

We'll get some current photos
Here is a Facebook album with the original photos of the bike before and after the SS transition. Not sure why I don't have any after the finished project.