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

[Obi-Juan]

Well spotted about the cable runs , they are dummy cables at the moment just to see if it works out and it seems to be ok .

The frame was chemically/physically stripped by hand , keeping chemicals well clear of the many bonded parts . It was then

etch primed and wet painted using air drying enamels . Powder coating is not really an option with these as the oven temperatures

reached can seriously degrade the strength of the epoxy adhesive used to bond the seat and down tube panels etc in position

Good tips for painting it
I didn't dare repaint my old one because I don't really know how magnesium behaves with chemicals. Besides, the paint and decals are generally fine, and I like it to be as original as possible (if I can maintain it).
Liquid painting is a great idea. I've personally used this method with the Raleigh Chill and the Sakae Litage, precisely because I was afraid the tubes would come loose in the heat of the oven (I think it's 400º). I also couldn't find a suitable RAL powder coating for the Raleigh.

 

[Obi-Juan]

Thanks!You should restore your bike, it deserves it.

Thanks for your story!
I think you've smashed that build. I had one of these as a kid (it's still in the garage...)
You may have made me think about restoring it!

 

[Obi-Juan]

Oooh. Need to find a pair of those pedals.

I've had them stored away for many years. I have Time on all the bikes I regularly ride.
Even my son uses them (so he can use my bikes too).
This model is really unusual and was from a time when clipless pedals weren't yet widely used, and the other side allowed you to use it safely if you didn't like the cleat system.

 

[focomat 1c]

Didn't think they would be heavy just noticed as well that the competion yellow frame has all the notches cut out along the top rail and the purple one doesn't yet it has the notches I know it probably weight but it makes it look a lot better

There seem to be several small detail changes to the Kirk frame during it's production life .

1 The 'top tube' ' I ' Beam has potentially five cutouts/windows along it's length . It appears that some versions

only have the rear window/triangle ' open ' and the rest left ' closed ' , While other frames have four windows/slots

' open ' with just the front ' closed ' . Presumably because the front slot is too small to ' open ' easily

2 The cable guides/stop positions are the same for all models , bonded back to back along the top tube with stops also bonded on the

seat tube and seat stay . However the variation is that some frames ( DX ) have all the guides/stops slotted with the rear brake

outer split , while others ( 200GS & 400LX ) have no slots and the rear brake outer is continuous .

Is it possible that the split rear brake outer put too much load on the bonded stops ?

There are seven ' lightening ' holes in a Kirk frame , with a reinforcing rib around each on both sides of the frame .

If there were no holes there would not be a need for any ribs , the material saved from the ribs would ' fill ' the holes !

So there is no appreciable weight saving , I believe this to be pure ' whimsy ' and nothing to do with CAD . Just saying