Kirk Frameworks

[fa63]

I like that Joe Bell is wearing a Kirk t-shirt.

[kam]

wowowowow. beautiful!!!

[timto]

Love the green and champagne. WOW!

[Pi Guy]

Yeah, that champagne/green combo is really nice and unique!

[jinbok]

Thanks Dave and JB..
She should be all built up within next 2 weeks..

[d_douglas]

I am curious - are the bends of the terraplane stays set, or do you adjust them to suit ride characteristics and size of the frame? I assume that if someone wants a really stiff, responsive Kirk, you recommend that they stay with straight stays?

Gorgeous bike!

[David Kirk]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

I am curious - are the bends of the terraplane stays set, or do you adjust them to suit ride characteristics and size of the frame? I assume that if someone wants a really stiff, responsive Kirk, you recommend that they stay with straight stays?

Gorgeous bike!

Hey there - great question.

Each pair of Terraplane seat stays is bent given the weight of the rider and the size of the bike.

I advise people to consider the Terraplane stays based on where they ride. If you live in Miami and ride on butter smooth flat roads all day you will not benefit much from having the curved Terraplane stays......if on the other hand you ride on less than perfect pavement and you like to go downhill and/or corner quickly the Terraplane stays can be a real benefit.

If someone wants the stiffest and most responsive bike it will not rule out the curved stays at all. When used on a smooth road they will not move and it's only when the rider goes over less than perfect pavement that the stays will do anything. The rider can't push into the bike fast enough with their body weight to get them to move....but when the rear wheel hits a bump the rate of movement is much faster and then the stays will help absorb that and help keep the wheel on the ground.

I know it seems counter-intuitive but that's how it works. I've built two bikes (JKS X's) for Brendan (ex owner of Competitive Cyclist) and the first had traditional straight stays. He loved the bike and it became his everyday go to bike despite having access to most anything he could ever want. In time he said he wanted me to build him a full on race bike and I told him I wanted to use the curved Terraplane stays. He was skeptical for the same reason you were thinking that a Terraplane equipped bike wouldn't be as responsive. He's going to use the bike for crits and circuit races and I wanted him to have the surefooted benefit of the stays when cornering hard. He agreed to try it and he loves it. No unwanted movement when sprinting and a solid surefooted rear end when cornering. A win-win. Brendan posted some photos of it around here a few months back. He loves his new Terraplane race bike.

Let me know if that makes sense and if not I'll try again.

dave

[Climb01742]

Originally Posted by jinbok

Thanks Dave and JB..
She should be all built up within next 2 weeks..

That is awesome. Love, love the look. Particularly the message on the chainstay.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by climb01742

that is awesome. Love, love the look. Particularly the message on the chainstay.

+1

[David Kirk]

This guy just went out the door headed to the hills of the Bay Area.

dave

[mnoble485]

Dave,
Looks like a big bike. I ride a 62 cm myself and appreciate a well proportioned looking bike. As a taller person yourself do you feel like you have an insight into bikes for taller riders?

I've always wondered why larger frames don't have longer chainstays. My limited thinking is as the seat tube and top tube grow so should all the others. What do you do to keep them looking so "right"?

Mike

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

This guy just went out the door headed to the hills of the Bay Area.



dave

In case smokel anyone was wondering, yeah no, that was not headed to my Bay Area hills. Crap.

[David Kirk]

Originally Posted by mnoble485

Dave,
Looks like a big bike. I ride a 62 cm myself and appreciate a well proportioned looking bike. As a taller person yourself do you feel like you have an insight into bikes for taller riders?

I've always wondered why larger frames don't have longer chainstays. My limited thinking is as the seat tube and top tube grow so should all the others. What do you do to keep them looking so "right"?

Mike

Hmmm?

I make zero concessions or changes to make a big bike look "right". I pick the contact points, connect the dots in a way that the bike will handle as it should and then make the stays long enough to fit the desired tire size. I don't generally make the stays longer on a larger bike so that it looks a certain way.......I do often make them longer for other reasons however.

Since taller riders often benefit from a more slack seat angle it can be important to make the c-stays longer so that the bike won't wheelie when climbing hard in the saddle.

This bike has a pretty normal seat angle (73°) but the stays are pretty darn long to give room for a 35 mm wide road tire as fitted.

I'm glad you like the look - thanks so much.

dave

[donevwil]

Nothing like a beautiful big-boy bike to get my attention, plus a 73 STA to boot.

Dave, do you mind sharing the TT length? I'm guessing 60, but if it's actually 62 please give me a moment to grab a tissue. I also can't tell if it's an oversized "X" build, doesn't appear to be but that may be an issue of perspective?

[Keith A]

Beautiful bike Dave!