<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/3\\/files\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Klunker950\\\" width=\\\"950\\\" height=\\\"945\\\" class=\\\"alignnone size-full wp-image-74175\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950.jpg 950w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-640x637.jpg 640w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-90x90.jpg 90w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-200x200.jpg 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-113x113.jpg 113w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-260x260.jpg 260w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-50x50.jpg 50w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-772x768.jpg 772w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-180x180.jpg 180w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-160x159.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-320x318.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-480x477.jpg 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker950-660x657.jpg 660w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;By Vernon Felton and Joe Parkin&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nPhotos by Anthony Smith&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nOriginally published in the March 2013 issue of Bike&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tested:&lt;\\/strong&gt; Transition Klunker&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n&lt;strong&gt;Price:&lt;\\/strong&gt; $550 \\/&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/transItIonbIkes.com\\\"&gt;transItIonbIkes.com&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A Word from the Designer&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n&lt;em&gt;The Transition Klunker is a time machine that takes you back to a simpler time, when it was all about getting loose on the trail and having a good time with your friends. a modern day take on the classic, the Transition Klunker pays respect to the guys who invented our sport while adding some crucial features like 31-inch moto bars, slack head angle, long wheelbase and DH tires to make it rip on almost any trail.&amp;#8211;Kevin Menard, Co-Owner, Transition Bicycles&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tester 1: Vernon Felton \\/ 24 years riding&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nTester locale: Bellingham, Washington&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Chances are, you\\u2019re looking at this bike right now and thinking either \\u2018cool!\\u2019 or \\u2018What the hell?\\u2019 A fully rigid, coaster brake-equipped, 32-pound cruiser is a love or hate proposition.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;In truth, I had no idea which camp I belonged to before I threw a leg over the Klunker, but I was definitely intrigued. Transition Klunkers are selling like hotcakes in my neck of the woods\\u2014 and not because people are using them to make some sort of ironic-mustache, hipster statement en route to their morning latte.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;People are riding the piss out of these things on very technical terrain and, by all appearances, enraptured by a bicycle that\\u2019s as technologically sophisticated as a ham sandwich. Like I said, intriguing.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Let\\u2019s dispense with the tech bit. The frame, fork, moto-style bars and three-piece BMX cranks are all made of steel. The downhill-friendly geometry (67- and 68-degree head and seat-tube angles) harkens back to that of the Repack-era racers. Frame sizing is a \\u2018one size fits all\\u2019 affair. That about sums it up. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_74181\\\" style=\\\"width: 950px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/3\\/files\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"One gear and a coaster brake--the Klunker ain&amp;#039;t for sissies. \\\" width=\\\"950\\\" height=\\\"742\\\" class=\\\"size-full wp-image-74181\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3.jpg 950w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-640x500.jpg 640w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-115x90.jpg 115w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-100x78.jpg 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-200x156.jpg 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-160x125.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-320x250.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-480x375.jpg 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker3-660x515.jpg 660w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;One gear and a coaster brake&amp;#8211;the Klunker ain&amp;#8217;t for sissies.&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;As the sticker on the chromoly frame proclaims, \\u201cKlunking ain\\u2019t free.\\u201d That\\u2019s true and then some. Climbing aboard the Klunker is a get-on-top-of-the-gear-and-muscle-the-hell-out-of-it proposition. You\\u2019ve got exactly one (42&amp;#215;18) gear and if that\\u2019s too steep for you, you can get off and push, or swap the cog and chainring for something a bit more knee-friendly. My local terrain is steep; this translates into a lot of pushing to the top of the mountain, which is where things get interesting. Fast.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;You\\u2019ll never know how much you normally rely on your brakes until you&amp;#8217;re pinning it down a treacherous stretch of track with nothing more than a feeble coaster brake standing between you and dismemberment.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Descending is all about controlled braking here, which requires both the perfect arrangement of your feet and the ability to find and surf along that fine line between maximum braking power and useless, holy-crap skids.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;If all this sounds horrible, it, surprisingly, isn\\u2019t. The moment I finished my first ride aboard the Klunker, I\\u2019d already decided to buy one, which I\\u2019d never have predicted. I like gears. I love suspension. Yet, there\\u2019s something refreshingly simple about the Klunker. Trails that you mastered long ago become thrilling again. You can fix almost anything on the bike with either a crescent wrench or a flat blade screwdriver. Nothing here is rocket science and that\\u2019s the whole point.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Is your chain tight? Bolts snugged up? Rear hub freshly packed with grease? You\\u2019re ready to roll. Would it be my only bike? Hell no. But the Klunker is a lot of fun, and at $550, it\\u2019s a flavor of fun I can afford. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/blogs.dir\\/3\\/files\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Klunker4\\\" width=\\\"950\\\" height=\\\"1074\\\" class=\\\"alignnone size-full wp-image-74183\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4.jpg 950w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-566x640.jpg 566w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-858x970.jpg 858w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-80x90.jpg 80w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-88x100.jpg 88w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-177x200.jpg 177w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-679x768.jpg 679w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-160x181.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-320x362.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-480x543.jpg 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-640x724.jpg 640w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/Klunker4-660x746.jpg 660w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 950px) 100vw, 950px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tester 2: Joe Parkin \\/ 30 years riding&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nTester locale: San Clemente, California&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nIf I never again had to throw a leg over a rigid singlespeed, I\\u2019d be fine with that. Our sport is old enough to know better, and modern mountain-bike technology has advanced to the point where arguing that suspension and wide ranges of gears are an unnecessary crutch is like claiming that helmets are for sissies\\u2014and that our world is flat.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Yet for some reason, the notion of a big, dumb, slack, coaster brake-equipped steel cruiser piqued my interest as much, if not more so than every single one of the bikes in this year\\u2019s &lt;em&gt;Bible of Bike Tests&lt;\\/em&gt;. Go figure. Perhaps there\\u2019s just something about a coaster brake.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Unlike every other bike that I\\u2019ve tested for this magazine, I simply climbed aboard the Klunker and started riding. I was wearing jeans and boots and a shirt with a collar. I didn\\u2019t even bother to take off the corporate-issue keycard lanyard I had around my neck. Nope, I just rode. And skidded. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;There\\u2019s something special about a coaster brake that simply requires one to lay down big skids, and there\\u2019s something about the Transition\\u2019s laid-back geometry that absolutely begs that it be thrown into flat-track-inspired, sideways slides. Riding the Klunker in our office parking lot, I felt like I was Mert Lawwill in the classic film, \\u201cOn Any Sunday,&amp;#8221; but on a bicycle instead of a motorcycle. It was glorious. Once out of the parking lot and on the dirt of the little pump-track luge-run behind our office, I was forced to realize that the worst modern disc brakes offer way more speed control than the Klunker\\u2019s coaster brake.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The Transition is heavy and, as Vernon Felton has pointed out, is about as technologically sophisticated as a ham sandwich. It lacks a front brake and the coaster brake isn\\u2019t going to stop you on a dime\\u2014you\\u2019ll probably need a much larger coin to get you fully halted.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;If we were pitting this bike against any of the machines featured in this year\\u2019s &lt;em&gt;Bible of Bike Tests&lt;\\/em&gt; and judging it by the same criteria, it would fail miserably. still, this retro-modern hunk of metal represents some of the most perfect bicycles ever made\\u2014ones that were ridden simply for the sake of having fun\\u2014no attitude or false pretense required.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;If you can find space in your garage for one more bike and the $550 price tag won\\u2019t put you in the poorhouse, the Klunker is a bike you positively owe it to yourself to own.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;It won\\u2019t make you a better, faster, stronger, cooler or more-attractive mountain biker. But it will make you smile. Honestly, if I were allowed just one bike to ride for the rest of my life, it just might be this here Klunker.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Transition Bikes\\u2019 Two Cents:&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n&lt;em&gt;I agree that the Klunker is about as sophisticated as a ham sandwich, but let\\u2019s face it, sometimes a plain old ham sandwich really hits the spot. I think the reviewers understand the purpose of the Klunker and about setting the right expectations when throwing a leg over it. The one thing to add that I don\\u2019t think the reviews hit on was that Klunking enjoyment grows exponentially the more people you Klunk with. Throw in a couple of beers and a pack of dogs and you are looking at some good times. \\u2013Kevin Menard, Co-owner, Transition Bicycle Company&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.bikemag.com/gear/tested-transition-klunker/>