PaulE
12-01-2007, 02:59 PM
A few weeks back I posted some pictures of my Kirk Terraplane in the custom image gallery here:
Image Gallery (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=35748)
While I am hardly qualified in this area, here is my ride report to follow it up:
In a word, the ride is SUHHWEET. All the superlatives and glowing words you've read in other ride reports and impressions apply to this bike. On smooth roads the ride is sublime. On rough roads the bumps are felt, but not harsh at all. The handling is also fantastic. This bike is stable and corners and descends as if it's on rails.
My other reference points are my 2001 CSI and my 2003 Legend, which are both 60cm x 60cm. Those bikes are great too, but the Kirk feels different. Compared to the CSI and the Legend, the Kirk has chainstays that are about 1/2 inch shorter and the Kirk's wheelbase at approximately 40 inches is about an inch shorter than both the CSI and the Legend. Although the Kirk's chainstays and wheelbase are shorter, to me it feels more stable than my other two bikes.
All of my bikes have 32 spoke wheels with either Open Pro or Velocity Aerohead rims. All three bikes also have Thomson Elite seatposts and Salsa Road Pro handlebars. On my CSI and Legend I have always used Vittoria Open Corsas but I put a set of Continental Attack and Force tires on the Kirk. The other difference between the bikes is that the CSI and Legend have Terry Ti Liberator saddles, while the Kirk has a Fizik Aliante with Ti rails. I like the Aliante and my Christmas list includes Aliantes for the CSI and Legend.
So far I've put 150 miles on the Kirk. I don't know how much my perceptions are affected by new bike syndrome with the Kirk, or how much, if any, of my perception is due to the differences in saddles or tires. The Terraplane stays look sharp, but I also can't tell you what impact they have on how this bike rides. I'm sure the stunning beauty of this frame and fork and its lugs and paintwork are also subliminally affecting my perceptions. But hey, like a good bottle of wine or a fine meal, I know what I like without knowing everything that went into it and what makes it so good to me. I can say for sure that this bike is a keeper for me.
For those who may be able to interpret, here are the details of the frame and fork per Dave Kirk:
It is built with a blend of Reynolds tubing. The main tubes are Reynolds 725 while the stays are special 653 that Dave has made for him by Reynolds. The fork is built using a Cinelli semi-sloping crown and Reynolds blades.
Seat tube – 61.5cm c-c
Seat angle – 72.5 degrees
Top tube – 60.5cm Top tube slope – 0 degrees
Head angle – 73.5 degrees
Fork rake – 4.0cm
Trail – 5.9cm
Bottom bracket drop – 7.25cm
Chainstay length – 41.0cm
Head tube - 19.9cm
Image Gallery (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=35748)
While I am hardly qualified in this area, here is my ride report to follow it up:
In a word, the ride is SUHHWEET. All the superlatives and glowing words you've read in other ride reports and impressions apply to this bike. On smooth roads the ride is sublime. On rough roads the bumps are felt, but not harsh at all. The handling is also fantastic. This bike is stable and corners and descends as if it's on rails.
My other reference points are my 2001 CSI and my 2003 Legend, which are both 60cm x 60cm. Those bikes are great too, but the Kirk feels different. Compared to the CSI and the Legend, the Kirk has chainstays that are about 1/2 inch shorter and the Kirk's wheelbase at approximately 40 inches is about an inch shorter than both the CSI and the Legend. Although the Kirk's chainstays and wheelbase are shorter, to me it feels more stable than my other two bikes.
All of my bikes have 32 spoke wheels with either Open Pro or Velocity Aerohead rims. All three bikes also have Thomson Elite seatposts and Salsa Road Pro handlebars. On my CSI and Legend I have always used Vittoria Open Corsas but I put a set of Continental Attack and Force tires on the Kirk. The other difference between the bikes is that the CSI and Legend have Terry Ti Liberator saddles, while the Kirk has a Fizik Aliante with Ti rails. I like the Aliante and my Christmas list includes Aliantes for the CSI and Legend.
So far I've put 150 miles on the Kirk. I don't know how much my perceptions are affected by new bike syndrome with the Kirk, or how much, if any, of my perception is due to the differences in saddles or tires. The Terraplane stays look sharp, but I also can't tell you what impact they have on how this bike rides. I'm sure the stunning beauty of this frame and fork and its lugs and paintwork are also subliminally affecting my perceptions. But hey, like a good bottle of wine or a fine meal, I know what I like without knowing everything that went into it and what makes it so good to me. I can say for sure that this bike is a keeper for me.
For those who may be able to interpret, here are the details of the frame and fork per Dave Kirk:
It is built with a blend of Reynolds tubing. The main tubes are Reynolds 725 while the stays are special 653 that Dave has made for him by Reynolds. The fork is built using a Cinelli semi-sloping crown and Reynolds blades.
Seat tube – 61.5cm c-c
Seat angle – 72.5 degrees
Top tube – 60.5cm Top tube slope – 0 degrees
Head angle – 73.5 degrees
Fork rake – 4.0cm
Trail – 5.9cm
Bottom bracket drop – 7.25cm
Chainstay length – 41.0cm
Head tube - 19.9cm