[This is the unsolicited write-up I sent to Klein regarding the new Reve model.]
I took out a 61cm Reve on my normal Tuesday/Thursday ride yesterday and, as one of my guys likes to say, It's All Good!

The ride- 30.9 miles, 3,000 feet of climbing, varied road conditions (including a section we call "Le Petite Paris Roubaix") & some fast twisty descending. My normal bike is an '01 5900, set up largely with 9-speed DuraAce & Bontrager Race X-Lite wheels.

I was expecting to notice the added weight, since the Reve is about 2-3 pounds heavier than my 5900. I didn't. I expect part of this is due to Klein's slightly-quicker handling characteristics, even though the Reve has the longer tail section. The route from my house involves an immediate 300 foot climb, so there's no breaking in, no warm-up, just go. And the Klein goes!

At first I found myself standing quite a bit, which is normal anytime I make even the slightest change to anything having to do with my saddle. Standing, you don't feel much difference in the frame.

After a mile or two I was comfortably sitting on the saddle, and I do mean comfortably. It's kinda like the Y-Foil tail end; small bumps just go away. After a while, you even stop weaving around them. We chose the steep route up King's Mtn(through Huddart Park), and I never noticed the bike holding me back. I found no pogoing of the tail end under hard pressure (although a couple other members of our staff did notice a bit of movement). At all times the bike felt like it wanted to GO.

I did intervals up the main hill (a 1600 foot climb), since the others weren't all that fast yesterday. Sprinting uphill the bike feels like any other really nice bike. You don't notice the suspension effect at all (other than a bit smoother ride). The flat run across the top of Skyline wasn't noteworthy; I don't think this would be my first choice for a time-trial bike (but it's possible that lighter, more aero wheels would have made a difference).

The *fast* descent into Sky L'Onda was what I was really looking forward to, wondering if any looseness in the tail section might keep me from the lines I usually take. NOT a problem. This bike is very sure-footed, and the bumpier corners seemed easier to handle on this bike than on my 5900 (and nobody keeps up with me on that section when I'm on my 5900).

The final climb, up the west side of Old LaHonda, was interesting. The two other guys riding with me thought that elastomer was compressing/expanding a lot more than they thought it would and mentioned that to me. They were thinking that, if it's working that hard, it's probably eating up a lot of energy. If so, I didn't feel it, and furthermore, I asked how the compression of the elastomer compared to the deformation of my tires, and they confirmed that it was similar. My theory? If a tire can compress & decompress like that, what makes it so different from an elastomer? Why worry about the elastomer robbing you of energy and not the tires?

This bike's a keeper. You're going to sell a lot of them when they come out.