Klein is coming back to the US
Fri, Apr 11, 2008
In the last few days, Trek has been doing a fair bit of shuffling in its brand portfolio, sparked by the fact that the brand’s relationship with LeMond appears to have hit rock bottom. Trek has been producing and marketing LeMond bikes under a licencing agreement since 1995, but the partnership has lately turned into a legal fiasco, with LeMond filing a suit against Trek on March 20, and Trek responding this Tuesday with an application to terminate its licencing contract immediately due to LeMond’s breach of terms of the agreement.
No matter the outcome of the legal mess that is brewing, it appears clear that the relationship between LeMond and Trek is rocky at best, and the future doesn’t look bright for continued partnership. What, then, is Trek planning to fill that LeMond-sized hole in its line with? Gary Klein to the rescue: Trek has announced that it will be resurrecting the Klein brand in the US, as early as this summer. Klein silently shrunk away from the US market several years ago, but has continued to develop and sell new models elsewhere.
According to a report by BRAIN, plans are only to bring Klein’s road bike line back this summer. However, Klein does still have a mountain bike in its stable, so there is a possibility that Klein may make a push back into the fat-tire fray. Past Klein mountain bikes such as the Mantra and more recently the Palomino have brought some innovation and fresh thinking to the mountain bike world, so we’d be excited to see what a modern take on a Klein trail bike would look like.
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