Kirk Frameworks

[Dave Kirk]

hi dave,

have any of the jks x frames been built other than your original test model?
do you have any feedback from customers thus far?

thank you,
joel

Hello Joel,

Thanks for the question.

Nope. I've not built any more at this point. I have 1/2 dozen of them in the queue but they are still a few months off I think. I fill orders in the order they were placed so there is naturally a lag in getting to the first of anything new.

I've been getting out a good bit on mine and like it more each time I ride it. Now if it would ever stop snowing (4" last night) I'd get out and put some real mileage in.

Let me know if you'd like any info on the JKS X.


Dave

[ashwa64]

dave -- i had written a post some time ago about how lucky this community is to have you contributing so actively here (among other things), but it was lost somehow and i didn't rewrite it. it was a long time ago and this post is considerably shorter, but i would like to thank you on the record. i particularly appreciate your contributions to and thoughts on design. i love your dropouts; i'm a big fan of your custom chainstays as well. and, needless-to-say, your execution is superb.

[Joel Benjamin L]

Let me know if you'd like any info on the JKS X.

Thank you, Dave.

-have you been able to secure a source for the seat post? are you willing to disclose who it will be?

-you say in your online description that the bike is meant for the larger rider. i would include myself in that category if we are talking about height, but not body fat %. is it your feeling that the bike would bear certain advantages over your other offerings for a taller and hence non-featherweight rider? what i mean is: do you see this os bike accomplishing other ends than accommodating a bit of extra time at the dessert table?

Thank you,
JBL

[Dave Kirk]

dave -- i had written a post some time ago about how lucky this community is to have you contributing so actively here (among other things), but it was lost somehow and i didn't rewrite it. it was a long time ago and this post is considerably shorter, but i would like to thank you on the record. i particularly appreciate your contributions to and thoughts on design. i love your dropouts; i'm a big fan of your custom chainstays as well. and, needless-to-say, your execution is superb.

You made my day - thanks.

dave

[Dave Kirk]

Thank you, Dave.

-have you been able to secure a source for the seat post? are you willing to disclose who it will be?

-you say in your online description that the bike is meant for the larger rider. i would include myself in that category if we are talking about height, but not body fat %. is it your feeling that the bike would bear certain advantages over your other offerings for a taller and hence non-featherweight rider? what i mean is: do you see this os bike accomplishing other ends than accommodating a bit of extra time at the dessert table?

Thank you,
JBL

yo,

The seat post project is ongoing and I've teamed up with a few other builders and we are working on multiple sources. I hope to have good news soon but will wait until I have firm commitments and posts in stock to out them.

I feel the JKS X is good for riders needing a larger frame size and/or heavier riders. I'm a perfect candidate frankly. I'm 6'4" and 180 lbs and love bad roads. The JKS X is perfect for me because it doesn't lose as much stiffness when the frame gets large and the torsional stiffness is so good that it will holds its line on the rough stuff and lets me power through. So I don't see the JKS X limited to riders who like dessert.

Does that make sense?

dave

[ashwa64]

dave -- it seems like quite a few of your frames are going to international customers these days; do you attribute this to word of mouth or something more?

[Dave Kirk]

dave -- it seems like quite a few of your frames are going to international customers these days; do you attribute this to word of mouth or something more?

It's an interesting deal. What seems to have happened is that I'll have a single customer in some place like Taiwan or Belgium and they will enjoy the process and then love the bike and they then tell their friends and fellow club members and then I will get a stack or orders from those guys. It's good fun really. I like that my bikes end up in places I'll probably never be able to visit. I'm living vicariously through my bikes.

I now have bikes in Scotland, Belgium, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, England, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan.............. and of course Taiwan. It's funny - I've sold more bikes in any one of these countries that I have in Montana or Bozeman.

Thanks for asking.

Dave

[Dave Kirk]

If anyone has ever wondered how S&S Couplers are built into a frame I just put up a photo essay of the process here - Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles

Thanks for looking,

Dave

[Dave Kirk]

I just finished up a bike that for me is a bit outside the norm. Most of my work is sport or race bikes and I don't do that many touring bikes but I very much enjoy doing them and getting things just right on them. I like how pragmatic one needs to be when building a bike that the rider will live off of and depend on completely. The fancy and fashionable stuff needs to be set aside and good solid practical stuff needs to be used and integrated into the design.

Anyway.......... it was fun building this and it goes off to paint today to be sprayed a very bright yellow and I thought I'd share a few shots of it.

Thanks for looking.

Dave

[DCT]

dave-

whats your queue looking like these days?

has business picked up or slowed down lately?

cheers
d

[Dave Kirk]

dave-

whats your queue looking like these days?

has business picked up or slowed down lately?

cheers
d

Hey Darren,

Good to hear from you. My queue right now is about 11 months from deposit to delivery and it's been pretty stable there for some time now. It was a bit longer going into the 'downturn' but has since leveled out to where is is now. It's about perfect to be honest. While it would feel good to have a multi-year wait I'm plenty happy to not spend my time managing a list and instead spend it at the bench getting bikes out the door. It's sort of like the Goldy Locks thing - is the queue were short I'd be nervous and it it were really long I'd be nervous but at a bit less than a year i'm relaxed. I feel fortunate.

Deposits have been a bit slow over the past month or two but that seems to be normal ad people are out riding what they have and not thinking of something new. I usually see much more interest in mid-late summer and into fall.

Thanks so much for the question.

dave

[Tristan]

Dave - are there any problems removing that rear wheel? The forward facing dropouts make it look like the tyre will be fighting the fender.

[Dave Kirk]

Dave - are there any problems removing that rear wheel? The forward facing dropouts make it look like the tyre will be fighting the fender.

Good question - no there's no issue. I need to be sure that the chainstay bridge is the right distance from the dropout so that the tire just touches the inside of the fender when the axle slips out of the slot. One also needs to be sure you are using the biggest tire that would be used. With the tires fitted (larger than anything the client will use) the tire just touches the inside of the fender and the axle drops out of the drops.

I like horizontal drops for a touring bike so that if the rider is in the middle of no where and the shifter or derailleur fails/breaks they can set the bike up as a fixed gear and make it to the next town. Don't ask me how I know this is a good idea. I had to walk a long way.........

Thanks again,

dave

[Dave Kirk]

I just wanted to give a quick heads up that Karin has updated our photo gallery pages. Take a look if you have a few minutes - Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles - Photo Galleries

Dave

[steve garro]

The fedex truck is going to drop you a package from Coconino World HQ tomorrow, Dave. - Garro.

[Pi Guy]

OK - here you go.

It works like this -

* cut your head tube to length and place it in the upper and lower clamps.
* set ALL four center to center distances for all tubes, including head tube, and lock down the pinch bolts.
* clamp BB onto post on plate and clamp the head tube and seat tube into V blocks (V blocks hold tube centers 2.500" off plate)
* adjust top tube to seat tube angle and lock down slide.
* clamp seat tube V block to plate (not shown).
* double check head angle and clamp head tube V block to plate (again, not shown)
* measure from top of head tube down to edge of head tube V block and make a note.
* now remove the whole deal from the clamps and plate. Take the head tube out of the faux frame and clamp back into V block at the correct elevation.
* Put actual BB shell to be used onto post and miter seat tube. Place seat tube in V block and clamp in place.
* now miter top tube and down tube and slip in place.
* call it a day and go for a ride - you've worked long enough.

The beauty of the system is it's accuracy. It is by far the most accurate set up I've ever used. It's also so cheap it's nearly free. The downside is that it's slow to set up.

I built a good 100 bikes or so on this deal and it kicked ass. I eventually got an Anvil to save time but this stays around just in case. I encourage you to take the idea and run with it.

Let me know how it goes.

dave

Dave,
This is super late but I just wanted to say thanks for the awesome post above. That seems like a really neat and accurate way to put together a main triangle. How did you go about the rear triangle when you were building like this? I ask as a build as a hobby w/ fairly minimal tooling. Thanks much for any info!

-Jason

[Dave Kirk]

Cool -

I don't think I've ever shared this for whatever reason. Here's how it was done - and still could be if need be -



* I unbolt my BB post from the plate and it gets bolted to a right angle plate which has 3 pins that locate it squarely to the slots in the plate.

* so now the BB post is horizontal and square to the plate and the front triangle goes onto the post so that it's standing straight up.

* now I slide the rear end piece into the slot and set the chainstay length by moving it fore/aft on the plate. Once set it gets locked down.

* now the last thing to do is set the seat tube/top tube centerline intersection the right distance from the rear axle centerline by rotating the front triangle fore/aft and lock it down once the seat stay length is set. It sounds complicated but really it's just setting the center-center seat stay length from my drawing and I'm good to go.

* then all that needs to happen is that the seat stays themselves are cut to the right length to fill the space and then it's tacked and removed from the set up to braze in a park stand.



Unlike the front end set up this one takes just a minute to do. Again it's extremely accurate as long as all the parts fit into the slots on the table well. There are many ways to do this without a slotted table and if one is clever it can be done with straight edges and c-clamps and still be just as tight.

I didn't have a frame in the proper state of construction at the moment to set up in the rig but these photos should give you a good idea of how it's done.

Let me know if that all makes sense and if you have any questions. IMO stuff like this is 'fabrication' and if one thinks outside our little 'bike box' that we work in and looks at how the rest of industry makes stuff it opens up lots of possibilities. I had someone tell me a very long time ago that if I learned to make stuff in general and then made bikes, the bikes would be easier to make and better for it. At the time I thought this was BS and all I wanted to make was bikes but he was more than right. Learn to fabricate well in general and then making straight and tight bikes will be easy.

Thanks for the question.

Dave

[72gmc]

Dave, thanks again for all of your posts. There's an annual car show in my neighborhood that took place last Saturday--one car in particular made me think of you.

[Dave Kirk]

Dave, thanks again for all of your posts. There's an annual car show in my neighborhood that took place last Saturday--one car in particular made me think of you.

Wow! For a second or two there I thought that was my old Lotus Cortina. Mine was in the Scottsdale area last I knew but stuff moves around. But that appears to be a 1965 and mine was a 1966. Holy crap they are fun cars and true giant killers. They are a very rare car in the USA too.

Thanks for the photo.

Here's mine on a winter day in Bozeman.

Dave

[Pi Guy]

Dave,
Thanks so much for taking the time to set up those pics and describe your old rear triangle building method. I really appreciate it. What a neat way to put together a frame!
Jason