Introduction
When the first JK Special road bike was introduced in 2007 I knew that a cyclocross version of the bike would be the next development for Kirk Frameworks. In late 2008 I began developing the JKS Cross, with the first JKS Cross debuting at the 2009 North American Handmade Bike Show in Indianapolis.
I thought it would be fun to document the build in a more extensive way and share these photos on my website. What you are seeing now are the results of the frame construction and special documentation of the inaugural JK Cross frameset.
This documentation is by no means a complete tutorial in how the frame was made but it is a glimpse into what it looks like during the different stages of the build process. Some obvious things are missing – like my hands doing the actual work. For instance there are no photos of my hands filing tubes into the ideal miter because I can’t take photos and do the work at the same time. This means you’ll need to imagine what it looks like to see the file passing over the metal, sparks flying from a Dynafile or the flames wrapping around a lug.
The work shown, with the exception of the paint process, took place over a one week period in November 2008.
The construction of the frame is presented in a series of 5 installments to make it more digestible. The process starts with the raw tubes on the bench in part one and concludes with photos of the painted and assembled bike in part 5. Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts or questions. I’ll be happy to hear from you.
Part 1 - Frame design, fork and seatstays
Part 2 - Tube mitering and lug shaping
Part 3 - Brazing, finishing and braze-ons
Part 4 - Machining and alignment
Part 5 - The painted frame and assembly
