Kirk Frameworks

[Jayme]

Cool.

It's funny. To us here in the northern USA it sounds funny to hear someone say - "drive south to Bozeman.' It's all relative I guess but we here in Montana feel pretty northern.

I welcome your visit to the balmy south. Bring your speedo! It's hot here in the south.


dave

It's definitely hotter there today...fall has come early to Calgary. 8C (46F) today.

Jayme

[Dave Kirk]

So Dave, how is the prototype work coming along? I love seeing this smoked out continue on. I bet there are many eager folk interested in what you have in store...

The frame is built and most of the parts are hung on it and once Brown Santa shows up tomorrow I'll have everything I need to take it out for a spin. I'm kinda excited I must say.

I'll quash a bit of speculation and say it's not revolutionary - more evolutionary and geared toward those that like stiff sprinters max type rides. It's not max (tubes should ALWAYS be round) but it is burly. I'll know pretty soon if it will be offered.

Dave

[Dave Kirk]

It's definitely hotter there today...fall has come early to Calgary. 8C (46F) today.

Jayme

That's a bit low for the high eh. We are having a spectacular late summer. 75° today and so dry and calm. I could stand about 8 months of this and then let it snow like hell.

Dave

[Jayme]

That's a bit low for the high eh. We are having a spectacular late summer. 75° today and so dry and calm. I could stand about 8 months of this and then let it snow like hell.

Dave

Sounds perfect.

Jayme

[Dave Kirk]

The Lovely Karin was able to make the time to update the Frameworks photo galleries and there are a good dozen or so new rides featured. Here's the link -

Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles - Photo Galleries

Let me know what you think.

Dave

[drewmanchew]

Bike 187 is right in so many ways, great color and the blk components fir the bike. I'd like to see more pics of bike 181, love that green color. Top notch as always, Thanks for sharing.

[Dave Kirk]

Bike 187 is right in so many ways, great color and the blk components fir the bike. I'd like to see more pics of bike 181, love that green color. Top notch as always, Thanks for sharing.

I agree on both counts. The green frame you'd like more photos of is owned by a Salonista - I'll bet he has photos of it all built up.

Bike 184 also puts a smile on my face - I love that root-beer color and the proportions are very nice.


Dave

[Jayme]

Dave,

Are the new graphics striking a chord with buyers? How long will people be able to get the old style? Given a choice, I would pick the new.

Jayme

[Dave Kirk]

Dave,

Are the new graphics striking a chord with buyers? How long will people be able to get the old style? Given a choice, I would pick the new.

Jayme

Hey Jayme-san,

Thanks for the question.

Yes for the most part new buyers are loving the new graphics. Many of the folks that put orders in way back wanted the graphics the bikes had when they placed their order and I fully respect that. Because of the backlog I'm just now getting to the point where I'm building bikes that were sold after the new graphics were introduced and I expect most will have the new package.

I can set you up with the new ones - just let me know and I'm all over it.

Thanks again,

dave

[Lionel]

The frame is built and most of the parts are hung on it and once Brown Santa shows up tomorrow I'll have everything I need to take it out for a spin. I'm kinda excited I must say.

I'll quash a bit of speculation and say it's not revolutionary - more evolutionary and geared toward those that like stiff sprinters max type rides. It's not max (tubes should ALWAYS be round) but it is burly. I'll know pretty soon if it will be offered.

Dave

So.... How was that first ride?

[Dave Kirk]

So.... How was that first ride?

Hey,

I took the bike out for it's second ride tonight and did the climb up to Hyalite reservoir - 10 miles or climbing and 2000' of vertical and the bike worked very well. I'm pleased. It's crisp and precise and bomber all at the same time. It eats rough pavement at high speed very well. Did I say I was pleased.

There will be a few tweaks and I need to sort out some issues with raw material supplies but it's looking good so far.

Thanks for asking.

Dave

[Lionel]

Hey,

I took the bike out for it's second ride tonight and did the climb up to Hyalite reservoir - 10 miles or climbing and 2000' of vertical and the bike worked very well. I'm pleased. It's crisp and precise and bomber all at the same time. It eats rough pavement at high speed very well. Did I say I was pleased.

There will be a few tweaks and I need to sort out some issues with raw material supplies but it's looking good so far.

Thanks for asking.

Dave

Sounds cool. We need to know more. Maybe some pics?

[Dave Kirk]

Sounds cool. We need to know more. Maybe some pics?

In due time I think. I'm not trying to be cagey at all I just don't want to show something I can't actually offer and then spend my days explaining why. Once I'm sure I can offer it you will get tired of my talking about it and showing photos. I feel the ride and handling are right about where I want them an now it's a matter of being able to reliably get the stuff to make them.

I hope that makes sense and sorry for the hight drama.

dave

[geoffk]

It's crisp and precise and bomber all at the same time. It eats rough pavement at high speed very well.

Not to drift this thread, but that's a great description of how my Terraplane feels. I took it to D2R2 this year and I swear it felt better (and more fun) on fast rocky descents than my FS mountain bike. I still find myself daydreaming about that ride... But to bring this back to questions: Dave, have you made any MTBs under your own name? Would a Terraplane hardtail make any sense?

Photo from D2R2.

[Dave Kirk]

Not to drift this thread, but that's a great description of how my Terraplane feels. I took it to D2R2 this year and I swear it felt better (and more fun) on fast rocky descents than my FS mountain bike. I still find myself daydreaming about that ride... But to bring this back to questions: Dave, have you made any MTBs under your own name? Would a Terraplane hardtail make any sense?

Photo from D2R2.

Hey there,

Cool photo - thanks for posting it.

To your question - while I have made a very large number of MTB's over the years I've never made one under the Kirk nameplate. I keep wanting to make myself an ultra light, ultra simple single speed MTB for blasting around on the town trails here in Bozeman but for some reason have never taken the time. I seem to always be too busy making bikes for customers so I tend to ride what ever I have on the hook in the shop.

I do not think the Terraplane stays lend themselves well to MTB's or even cross bikes for that matter. The reason is that the tires on bikes like these will always be a good bit softer then the stays will be.

Think of it this way - the stays are springs and so are the tires and when you stack the stay springs on top of the tire springs you get something interesting to happen. The softer of the two springs will move long before the harder spring comes into play. In this case the stiff stays are stacked on top of the soft tire so when hitting stuff the tire will deflect and the stays not. So when you hit a bump it's the tire that will be doing the work and the stays will just look pretty.

Or think of it this way............. Take a party balloon and set it on the floor and then take a coil spring from a car and place it on top of the balloon............... now push down on the coil spring and note what happens. The coil spring will not deflect at all while the balloon will deflect all the way to the floor or until it pops. This is the same thing that happens with cross or MTB tires and the Terraplane stays.

The Terraplane stays come into their element with a hard tire ridden on a hard surface. The stay springs have an extremely high spring rate and will do nothing if the air spring they are stacked on top of gives.

Did I explain that well? I feel like it's nap time on a gray and wet friday and who knows how well I explained this.

dave

[geoffk]

Did I explain that well?

You sure did. Simple enough for my little kids to understand. And they're going to love popping all those balloons.

Thanks,
Geoff

[roguedog]

Huh.. Makes me think of more questions..

Are there times then when you'd say to customers "Ya know, I know you want the terraplane but I think you'd be better served with just the straight stays"? If so what might those factors be? (I'm guessing that it'd be for someone who really wants a fast bike comfort be damned or something like)

And another question.. Can you or do you tune the terraplane stays to your customer's needs? Like can they be cushier or stiffer or whatever the terms might be?


Btw, love that pic geoff.

[Dave Kirk]

Huh.. Makes me think of more questions..

Are there times then when you'd say to customers "Ya know, I know you want the terraplane but I think you'd be better served with just the straight stays"? If so what might those factors be? (I'm guessing that it'd be for someone who really wants a fast bike comfort be damned or something like)

And another question.. Can you or do you tune the terraplane stays to your customer's needs? Like can they be cushier or stiffer or whatever the terms might be?


Btw, love that pic geoff.

Good morning and thanks for the question.

I don't think I've ever recommended that someone not get the Terraplane stays - I have told people that they will see little benefit from them though. If the rider rides on butter smooth roads without hills and fast corners then the advantage of the Terraplane stays will be limited. I don't see the Terraplane stays as something that is meant for comfort but instead they are a performance enhancer and they do so by keeping the rear tire in more firm and consistent contact with the road. I do think that there is a side benefit of being a bit more comfortable but that is just a side effect and not the primary objective. If all the rider wants is comfort then putting some fat tires on and running them at low pressure will get the job done. The Terraplane design allows for a narrow tire, with high pressure, to stay stuck to the floor.

Yes the stays are tuned for a given rider's size and weight and where they ride. Smaller and/or lighter riders get a tighter bend with a longer duration and larger riders get a larger radius bend and less duration. There is no 'stock' Terraplane bend and ever pair is bent by me, by hand, to fit the rider and that bike. In the end it's a matter of tuning the spring rate of the stay to match the loads it will see.

Time for me to get into the shop and give it a cleaning - I have a group coming by tomorrow for a 'tour'. Tour is a bit much of a word since one can stand in one spot and see everything. Maybe instead of a 'tour' I should give a 'viewing'? I'll need to work on it.

Thanks again,

Dave

[Dave Thompson]

Dave, don't use the word 'viewing'. It sounds like you are dead. You're not.

[Dave Kirk]

Dave, don't use the word 'viewing'. It sounds like you are dead. You're not.

"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Mark Twain.


dave