What to do in the event of a total blackout: a Revolution!

[Obi-Juan]

No están subestimados, pero la construcción del elenco es un callejón sin salida interesante.
Desde entonces no se ha vuelto a hacer, por una buena razón.

Es un diseño muy interesante, pero no cumplió con lo prometido:

Es muy pesado, muy flexible y muy propenso a romperse.

Aunque tiene un aspecto asesino de los años 80

In general, magnesium hasn't performed as expected in the cycling market. I remember having some magnesium Mach1 rims. The rear one broke within two months, and they gave me another one. By then, the front one had already broken, and they gave me another one, but the rear one broke again. 3 rims in four months was a very high percentage; in fact, they disappeared from the market shortly after.
I also had a Selle San Marco Magma magnesium saddle. It had no coating or padding; it was just a metal plate. Curiously, it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever had.
After about six months, it cracked completely, and they didn't give me another one because they had stopped making it. They refunded me my money, which bummed me out because that saddle was incredibly comfortable. And they probably don't sell that many, because I've been looking for one for years, even if it's just to collect it, and only one appeared about a year ago at an exorbitant price.

Anyway, magnesium hasn't been very successful, even though Merida or Pinarello (ah! the Dogmas, how beautiful!) and some others have used it at some point.
In Kirk's case, I think he really needed more time to evolve. Perhaps many of his "youth" problems would have been resolved. We'll never know, but I want to believe that's how it was.
The cheap builds in an attempt to get quick sales didn't help either; he deserved better pieces.

 

[bikeworkshop]

In general, magnesium hasn't performed as expected in the cycling market. I remember having some magnesium Mach1 rims. The rear one broke within two months, and they gave me another one. By then, the front one had already broken, and they gave me another one, but the rear one broke again. 3 rims in four months was a very high percentage; in fact, they disappeared from the market shortly after.
I also had a Selle San Marco Magma magnesium saddle. It had no coating or padding; it was just a metal plate. Curiously, it's the most comfortable saddle I've ever had.
After about six months, it cracked completely, and they didn't give me another one because they had stopped making it. They refunded me my money, which bummed me out because that saddle was incredibly comfortable. And they probably don't sell that many, because I've been looking for one for years, even if it's just to collect it, and only one appeared about a year ago at an exorbitant price.

Anyway, magnesium hasn't been very successful, even though Merida or Pinarello (ah! the Dogmas, how beautiful!) and some others have used it at some point.
In Kirk's case, I think he really needed more time to evolve. Perhaps many of his "youth" problems would have been resolved. We'll never know, but I want to believe that's how it was.
The cheap builds in an attempt to get quick sales didn't help either; he deserved better

Casting a cycle frame in metal isn't a great idea - the structure of the metal won't be condusive to either strength/weight or fatigue life.

I'm sure every engineer knows this - but the bicycle market is about marketing, and the mtb boom pushed innovation to the fore.

After 50 years of bicycles looking the same, coming from the same names and even mostly painted in the same colours, the market suddenly changed, late 1980s.

You don't always design something because you know it's going to be superior, you do it because it's novel, and will get media coverage.

Kirk may have believed that this method would lead on to a superior product, but I'm sure they were aware that the product was not light or strong, long before it hit the market.

It's a fantastic piece of history, every museum should have one, but it's not a good frame in functional terms - and surely they knew it.

 

[Obi-Juan]

The cast idea was revisted by Empire Cycles in more recent times, not sure if they are still available cast. There are a few that were even 3d metal printed by Renishaw. My brother had one of the standard cast ones and did remark it had a dead feel.

Superb job on the Kirk, nice to see one built up with quality parts.

I have a friend who calls them "the anchor."
In fact, I'm thinking about making a little anchor sticker and sticking it somewhere.

Well, for now, it doesn't look too heavy, no more so than any other '90s bike. What I don't know is how agile it is, at least not yet.

Thanks for the comment. I liked the XTR front derailleur, and I know it won't be long before I see another one; I had to buy it. Having a pair of cranks and a derailleur helped a lot in my decision. I also have some XT brake levers that I tinkered with back in the '90s to eliminate the STI (I've always had Grip Shift). They're light, VERY powerful, and pretty, and I'd never be able to use them on another project. They'll be fine here, along with an X-Ray I have in a box.
On the other hand, to be honest, I needed to find quality parts that weren't too expensive, as I'm working on another project that's draining my budget. While searching for purple parts, I found a site with a multitude of NOS Shogun parts at reasonable prices. Shipping was also quite reasonable since they're in Germany. I liked these parts; they're lightweight and attractive, and I'd never used the brand before, so I think it's a good idea.

Even so, I've been searching hard for some parts I absolutely wanted, like the Hutchinson Rock-X-Country tire in cream and 1.95. I assure you, it hasn't been easy.

And I still have some very interesting NOS parts for this bike, like the pedals.

 

[Obi-Juan]

Casting a cycle frame in metal isn't a great idea - the structure of the metal won't be condusive to either strength/weight or fatigue life.

I'm sure every engineer knows this - but the bicycle market is about marketing, and the mtb boom pushed innovation to the fore.

After 50 years of bicycles looking the same, coming from the same names and even mostly painted in the same colours, the market suddenly changed, late 1980s.

You don't always design something because you know it's going to be superior, you do it because it's novel, and will get media coverage.

Kirk may have believed that this method would lead on to a superior product, but I'm sure they were aware that the product was not light or strong, long before it hit the market.

It's a fantastic piece of history, every museum should have one, but it's not a good frame in functional terms - and surely they knew it.

I absolutely agree with everything you've said.
MTB is a North American sport (this is what the UCI decided at the time in the dispute with the French federation, which wanted the sport's official designation to be "VTT" and not "MTB" and that the official language of the competitions should be that of the host country and French, exactly the same as road racing. We all know how that ended, haha), and as an American sport, marketing carried a lot of weight. Brands came up with ideas to differentiate themselves from each other, and many of those ideas were just absurd or of no importance at all, even though they told you they were essential to building a good bike. Other ideas were good, like the GT triple triangle, which really made bikes stiffer, and in fact, some other manufacturers, like BMC, have continued using the idea.
But it was fun, more so than now when they're all the same.

And yes, casting metals isn't the best solution for a bike, not just for the frame, but also for other parts like cranks, etc.

And yes, it's a fantastic and interesting piece to collect, part of our history, but little more.

 

[Totoro]

I think it looks great, I've always wanted to own one since I first saw them even though I know they are flawed.

If I had space then I'd have one just as a curio, there are a couple for sale I've seen last week. One example is a one owner from new complete bike and another is frame only which I could find space for I just think they are interesting.

Always nice to see somebody keeping one going although I wouldn't want to use one often due to the fear of it, or me or both ended up being scrapped.

 

[baron von greenback]

Looking good up to now mate fancy putting a link up to them shogun parts cheers

 

[vtwinvince]

Blackout? Obviously time to invest in more 'wind farms' and crappy Chinese solar panels.

 

[Obi-Juan]

Looking good up to now mate fancy putting a link up to them shogun parts cheers

I found some interesting things like a replacement cleat for the MKS pedals, so I'll soon be able to go out for a ride with my recent '90 Raleigh Chill (yes, I put some MKS pedals on it, )
https://www.ebay.es/str/mtbkultde?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211

 

[lukewheels]

I have the purple "top end" dx version. I love looking at it but don't ride it. It travels sideways as much as forwards.

 

[Obi-Juan]

I found some interesting things like a replacement cleat for the MKS pedals, so I'll soon be able to go out for a ride with my recent '90 Raleigh Chill (yes, I put some MKS pedals on it, )
https://www.ebay.es/str/mtbkultde?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211

Good description
Actually, I'll probably only take it for a spin. I'll put it away and occasionally dust it off and pump up the tires.
Maybe I'll give it an update in the future, and it will be lovingly cared for, but I highly doubt I'll ever use it.
In reality, it's just a youthful dream, a romantic idea. And I also think it's devilishly beautiful.

Yesterday, after "bikeworkshop" commented that it was a nice museum piece but not very functional, I thought, 'I really do.' If you're looking for your first classic bike, or if you already have two or three, maybe this Kirk isn't the best option. But if you already have several, it's definitely a piece of history and deserves a place in my garage (or maybe stable? After all, in Spain, we always called bicycles "burras").