As of late Thursday Joan’s new ride is all done and in a box and will be shipped first thing in the morning. It went together so well it just seemed to fall together. Dura-Ace seems to be that way.

The saddle and post are not Joan’s but just some stuff I had lying around so I could assemble the bike. She has her own saddle that she loves that will get put onto a shiny new Ritchey WCS carbon post when she gets the bike.

Submitted for your approval.

Dave

I just got this frameset for Joan back from JB and tomorrow it gets a new Dura-Ace kit hung on it. I thought I might share it with you as a good example of the proper tubes being used for a given size rider. Joan is neither tall nor heavy and frankly most bikes out there would be too stiff for her. She originally came to me for a JK Special but after getting to know more about her and how she was going to use the bike I thought that the JKS would be stiffer than she needed and that she’d be better off with a bike make from smaller diameter tubing than the JKS uses.

The diameter of the tubing used on a bike has much more to do with how stiff the frame will be than the wall thickness of that tube. So in Joan’s case I chose to use ‘standard’ diameter tubes to make the bike lighter and to give it the appropriate stiffness. In the old days most all bikes used standard diameter tubes that had 1″ diameter top tubes and 1 1/8″ diameter down tubes. Somewhere during the 90′s this all changed and these diameters were bumped up by 1/8″ to 1 1/8″ top and 1 1/4″ down tubes to add more stiffness to the bike. This larger tube became known as ‘oversize’. Currently almost every builder out there only offers oversize tubes and to my surprise some don’t even know that other sizes are available. Most builders, even some that are highly renown, use the same tube diameter and wall thickness for every bike they make regardless of the size, weight, or power of the rider. So the 120 pound gal has the same tubes that the 220 pound guy has. And when you consider that the smaller person is getting a smaller bike that is inherently stiffer due to it’s smaller size it’s easy to see that the lightweight rider gets the short end of the stick.

If you are a smaller, lighter rider like Joan you most likely don’t want or need the extra stiffness that oversized tubing will give. It’s too bad that more builders don’t offer standard sized tubes for their lighter clients and most smaller riders will never even have a chance to ride a bike that is the right stiffness for them. They won’t even know what they are missing. Most light riders will think that being rattled and bounced around on the road is just how it is and that it’s that way for everyone. But it’s not. Designing and building the bike with smaller tubes can help make the bike be much more comfortable for Joan and give the bike the life and snap that a stiffer bike just won’t have. In addition the smaller diameter tubes are lighter than their larger cousins so the lighter rider gets a lighter frame. Serendipity.

Joan’s fillet brazed frame has a sloping top tube to give a bit more standover room and to give it a modern race look. Tomorrow I hope to have all the parts to build it up and get it sent off to it’s new home. I think I might look a bit silly test riding it around my neighborhood as I’m 6’4″ but that’s why I’m paid the big bucks.

More after I get the bike assembled.

Dave

This summer has been the summer of shop improvements and the final phase of the work is done – The Green Floor. I don’t know if you’ve ever painted a garage/shop floor before but if you haven’t you are really missing out on the fun. I painted the floor many years ago and it had worn reasonably well but it had started to look pretty rough. So after much cleaning, degreasing, sanding, painting and waiting for the oil based industrial paint to cure it’s all done. I had to take a few photos of it while it looks good because I have a feeling that it might not be too shiny for too long.

So if you want to see it while it still gleams come by soon.

Later,

Dave

Most of the bikes I build are ordered by riders here in the USA but some are overseas. The next few weeks are “overseas” weeks for me as I have a JKS to build for a gentleman in Belgium and an all rounder for another gentleman in Ireland. It’s fun for me to work with folks in other countries on the other side of the world. Almost all of our communication is by email and it’s surprising how well it works. As long as neither side is in a big hurry it works very well.

The first up will be a JK Special for Belgium and I’m looking forward to sending a my work to the part of the world I consider to be the center of hardcore cycle racing.

I’ll post some photos of the bikes in progress next week as I get into it. Until then have a good weekend.

Dave

I got this frameset back from JB the other day and words can not describe how cool the paint is and how magnificent it looks in the sun. The orange on the upper half above the fantails is darker than the orange below and both of them just glow.

Anyway I thought you might like to see it. It should be at it’s new home in a day or so and I hope it gives it’s new owner many years of long miles.

Dave

Like I wrote a few days back I got Irv’s bike back from JB and was getting ready to hang a Super Record Eleven speed kit on it. Well I got it done the other day just in time to take a few photos of it before getting it boxed and on it’s way to it’s new home.

I like the way it came out, clean and simple. I think Irv is going to have some fun with it.

Dave

As I mentioned recently I occasionally end up with a few extra of one thing or another and here is the latest round. I have some fine Reynolds products for sale. All items are new and in perfect shape. Please add a flat rate of $10 for shipping. If you want more than one of something let me know and we’ll work out the shipping costs. Please call 800 605 5475 or email me at  info@kirkframeworks.com . I will accept paypal payments only (paypal address is  info@kirkframeworks.com)  and once these are gone they are truly gone.

First we have Reynolds aluminum stems. They fit a 31.8 mm handlebar, a 1 1/8″ steerer (1″ with shim – not supplied), have an angle of 6 degrees and can be run tilting up or down. I have them in 120 mm and 130 mm lengths. They are $30 each or 3 for $75. You can mix sizes for quantity pricing. I’ve been using them for a number of years and they are light and simple and strong. Just how a stem is supposed to be IMO.

Next up we have some Reynolds Ouzo Pro carbon forks. All forks have 1″ steerers that are 285 mm long with an axle to crown race measurement of 370 mm. All forks come with an internal expander plug and a special brake nut. I have a number of different rakes available – 40 mm, 43 mm, 45 mm, and 50 mm. The cost for one fork is $225 and two can be had for $400.  I very nice riding fork.

I think that’s it for now. Let me know what you need and I’ll get it right out to you.

Dave

Hey,

I just got Irv’s bike back from JB and I must say even after all these bikes I still don’t get how anyone can make pin stripes so crisp. Just look at how clean the blue pin is between the red and the yellow. It just seems impossible. But apparently it’s not impossible but instead just silly hard to do as he pulls it off every time.

With any luck tomorrow I’ll be hanging a Super Record 11 kit on this frame and I’ll post some good photos of it then. But for now it’s just a sneak peek.

Dave

Jeff’s bike is nearly done and will get wrapped up tomorrow. Here are some macro photos of today’s work.

Dave

I had a bunch of office work and errands to run today but I still managed to get a good chunk of work done on Jeff’s bike. The front triangle is all cleaned up and aligned and the stays are now ready to be added. I also have the fork ready to braze. Tomorrow I play with fire.

Dave