The 1989 Chequamegon Fat Tire
Festival
was sponsored by American Bicycle Manufacturing of St.Cloud,
Minnesota. They had a display where one could try out their
bikes. I took a Comp-Lite for a spin and immediately liked
it. I was serious enough about riding that it was time to go
from
a mid-line bike, a 1987 Trek 850 to a high-end bike. I tried
out
many different bikes but liked the Comp-Lite
better. When I was in Madison, Wisconsin there was a Klein
dealer. I had heard they were nice bike and gave one a
try. Within two hundred yards, I knew that the Klein it would
be. While I didn't buy an American, I've always had a soft
spot
for them. They went out of business in the mid-90's so I
missed
my opportunity to get one. In 2005, I saw a Comp-Lite for
sale
and knew that I had to get
it.
Americans use
a slightly smaller tube with fatter walls and aren't quite as stiff as
Kleins. That is a good thing to some and not to others.
They were known for their polished and anodized
finishes. The finish on this one was a little cloudy when I
bought it, but
after an hour with aluminum polish it looked like a mirror.
American Bicycle is also known for their very high quality
welds.
There
are other bikes that have welds of a similar fashion, but few can match
these for looks. Kleins hide their welds by their smooth
nature,
American's say, "look at this." Take a look at
those welds above. They're beautiful.
The parts on this bike aren't all unified in the sense they aren't all
from the 1990
model year but they're all from the 1990-93 time period. One
thing to note is that the stem is an American stem. They sure
did make some nice stems.
Frame |
1990 American Comp-Lite |
Fork |
Bontrager Comp |
Stem |
American 120mm |
Bars |
Syncros Ti |
Grips |
Grab-Ons Mtn-1 (nos) |
Cranks |
White Industries 175 |
Rear Derailleur |
XT M737 |
Front Derailleur |
XT M737 |
Cassette |
XT HG90 |
Chain |
HG91 |
Bottom Bracket |
Shimano BB-72 |
Pedals |
XT M735 |
Brakes |
Suntour XC-Pro (nos) |
Brake Levers |
XT M735 |
Shifters |
XT M732 7/8 spd. Thumb Shifters |
Headset |
XT M732 1" Threaded (nos) |
Saddle |
Selle Flite |
Seatpost |
Concept 26.8mm |
Hubs |
XT M737/738 32h |
Rims |
Mavic 231 |
Tire |
Timbuk2's |
Skewers |
XTR M900 |