Fast, responsive, sharp. A connectivity to the road that asks for you to keep ticking over the pedals. To feel the acceleration over and over. Now imagine with your eyes closed you are being lowered onto the perfect fitting road bike. When you combine those two ideas you have what it is like to own a KirkLee road bike.
At KirkLee we build for the individual that wants something special. We have never built the same bike twice. Having much of our molding in house gives us the ability to be very detailed on achieving a custom fit and ride quality.
Some of the things that set KirkLee’s apart are:
We realize what we build often is closer to art than machine, but as we tell each of our owners, “The ride is every bit as good as the look.”
This bike was built to be subtle, but have striking qualities on the inside edges. When viewed from the side you only see logos, but at an angle you see the highlights inside the fork and rear triangle. For the extra touch, logos and panels are pin-striped in white. Yes, just like all the others,…
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This KirkLee started with an Indonesian bike fit and a translator who owns a KirkLee. The only instruction given was to build a custom bike, make the logos gold (emas in Indonesian), and use Di2. We do our best work with that kind of freedom.
This was a fun bike to build. We were given just enough information to deliver the customer’s needs, but freedom to “make it elegant.” Things to note are internal Di2 and external Chris King headset. Paint directions called for silver logos, red highlights and a final clear that is between flat and gloss. The name…
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hat happens when a professional fitter tells you your really nice bike needs tall spacers under the stem? You call KirkLee to build a similar bike, but with fine tuned geometry and no spacers. We finished this KirkLee off with a candy maroon fade and metallic silver logos. Looks amazing outside in the sun. It’s…
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What do you do when you own a Green Machine and need another KirkLee? You build the “Blue Machine.” Custom geometry with three-color metallic blue fade and five color tribal paint using our independent rear end stay. We finished this one off with Super Record, Rotor cranks and ROL Wheels on Chris King R-45 hubs.
This bike was wonderful to build. Starting with a custom fit, we discussed every aspect of the bike. We raked out the front fork due to a shorter top tube and lengthened the chains stays to gain wheelbase. Most KirkLee’s start simple and get complex. This one started out complex with ideas of a dragon…
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Long conversations over geometry, discussions over handling traits, and bike comparisons led us to finalize the geometry on this bike. While this bike will run a mechanical gruppo, if you look closely you will see custom made hole plugs with no wire provisions (under the top tube and bottom of the seat tube) to be…
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This bike started out as most KirkLee’s: custom tubes, geometry, the works. Paint began with a rocking geometric street art theme that ties in the stem and seat post. The metallic silver color was matched to Dura Ace components and inside the pattern we used a dark metallic gray. We added blue pin stripes to…
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The inspiration behind this bike was a balance of just enough, but not too much. The paint was based off of a production frame that used logos in obscure places. All white panels evolved into flowing paisleys with scrolling panels highlighted in metallic silver. The custom geometry is complemented by the ride qualities of our…
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The latest generation KirkLee is the result of using our in-house manufacturing to offer an independent-stayed road bike that further shows off the KirkLee craftsmanship. We designed the seat stays with hour glass curves that round, ovalize and gain height depending on the location and angle. The chain stays are sculpted inside to clear extra wide…
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This bike started with a fitting at Shama Cycles. The customer left it up to us to design and build the frame. The cosmetic rules were simple: incorporate preexisting dragonfly artwork into the design and make the bike purple and white. Nordy Design did an amazing job with the paint. Of course the bike still…
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The Cheval Noir is a nickname from a 2003 two-week Stephen Roche Tour de France bike ride. As the stages wore on our customer earned the nickname “The Black Horse.” When it came time to paint the bike, the customer wanted a tribute to those days. The bike is clear coat carbon with pin striped logos…
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This customer wanted something sedate. An anti-cycling team bike. Team Backlash if it existed. While the bike was to be understated, we still wanted small amounts of color to contrast the carbon. The geometry of the bike is the result of a fit session from Bike Effect in Santa Monica, CA. To reduce toe overlap…
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How do you build the perfect road bike for a triathlete? Contact KirkLee of course. The build started with a custom fit from Tad Hughes to help us dial in a geometry great for riding all day long. We did our regular magic and built a frame with our in-house molded tubes and custom layups. A…
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Simplicity, clean lines, translucent carbon work and the trademark KirkLee ride were the goals on this custom frame which is a tribute to the Ayn Rand novel. This art deco design includes straight lines and powerful figures that took a lot of work to portray on round tubes. The end result is beautiful. The bike…
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This bike started at the 2011 NAHBS with a prospective customer looking at a similar painted bike and complimentarily saying “You guys have to build me one like this.” We agreed but we do not build the same bike twice. The result you see here is version two. Full Campy Super Record, Ritchey cockpit and…
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“I want logos, pearl as the snaps on a cowboy shirt.” This bike goes to a good friend / track racer who has waited a long time for his KirkLee. We custom laid the top and down tubes to build a bike that means something to each of us. You may also note a true…
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It started with a phone call. It ended with the main tubes tinted candy maroon fading into clear carbon tube junctions; topped off with logos frosted into the clear coat. Look close or you will miss the detail.
Simulated lugs, light blue panels, dark blue KirkLee’s and orange metallic pearl end stripes make this as classic as KirkLee gets. Built up with a Ritchey Classic cockpit, Shimano DuraAce and Lightweights it becomes one sweet machine.
This KirkLee was developed with the idea that one could ride all day and still turn the pedals in anger when needed. Built with carbon tubes made in-house with a SRAM PressFit BB30 and tapered head tube. The idea behind the paint job was to let people know a KirkLee was rolling in and to…
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KirkLee built this “Killer” for Christian Heule to withstand the rigors of European racing. Setup with Di2 internal cable routing and an integrated seat post. A tapered headtube, extended carbon wraps along the chainstays and a matte black finish complete this build.
Winner of Best Paint at the 2011 North American Handmade Bicycle Show. This KirkLee was built as a surprise birthday present. The excited owner asked if we could do Van Gogh’s Starry Night. We accepted the challenge and came up with this handcrafted carbon work of art.
Walking the isles at Interbike we were handed a picture of a frame, basic dimensions, and instructions to “Build something like this.” This frame uses a standard 1 1/8″ steer tube, Ti shell English thread BB. If you look closely you will see an externally butted seat tube. After finalizing the dimensions we built what…
DetailsLess is more was the theme for this bike. The bike’s original design was to be stealth with subtle logos and graphics. The logos you see here are frosted into the clear with no actual color applied; only a change in texture. When the bike gets wet, the logos disappear. Stiffness is the #1 ride…
DetailsZero stack head tube, Ti Shell bottom bracket and custom paint make up this custom geometry KirkLee. The metallic pearl red fades into a custom mixed black with a bit of gold mixed in, while silver logo’s give contrast. A very beautiful bike.
A custom bike fit from Durata Training led to a large frame with a 225mm 1.5” tapered head tube, 590mm top tube and a 608mm seat tube that connects to a Press Fit 30 bottom bracket. Maximum stiffness was our goal and this is reflected in the tube and joint layups, while the seat tube…
DetailsA KirkLee custom with a twist. Along with all the attributes that make a KirkLee this one was painted to simulate raw mahogany. The KirkLee logos are burned into the wood with a branding iron and stain was applied which consisted of candy brown with a bit of tangerine. Although it is hard to believe,…
DetailsWe mixed up the frame wrapping techniques by using the lugged style for the seat tube and tapered for the rest of the joints. The two black widow spiders on the head tube and seat stay offer something unique on this bike.
KirkLee’s first international bike goes out to Christian Heule, 6-time Swiss cyclocross champ. Strengthening the bottom bracket and chain stay areas were key to keep up with Christian’s needs. Maybe we’ll have a ‘cross bike for him next.
We built this bike for Bicycling’s Editor’s Choice – Dream Road category. This 54cm frame was finished with Sram Red, Edge cockpit, and Ligero Wheels. Throw on the Edge 45 tubulars and this machine tips the scales at just below 13 lbs. Kudos to 2 Wheeler Customs for providing a phenomenal paint job. We had…
DetailsRed accents were the focus of this KirkLee. Minimal paint allows for the carbon work to really shine.
Looking for a KirkLee that’ll stick out in a crowd? This purple and green KirkLee will do just the trick.
This KirkLee was built to show off the possible layups. The vertical joints are wrapped to give a lugged look and the horizontal wraps are tapered. Aside from the KirkLee logos, only a clear coat was used.
Want a light bike… how about 13.9 lbs? SRAM Red with a few light things thrown in. The KinLin 27mm / Tune wheelset and Fizik K:1 Arione saddle really bring out the finer points of this build.
This frame was built for Shama Cycles in Houston, TX. Special attention was made to beef up the bottom bracket area. Measuerments were placed around the frame to allow Shama Cycles to present how customized a frame can be for their clients.
These two KirkLee’s are built with our stock geometry. Custom is our norm, but some people do just fine with standard measurements.
This KirkLee was designed from the inspiration of a canvas oil painting. Meticulous detail was put into the clean shaping of the joints down to the brush strokes of the paint. Anything is possible at KirkLee.
This KirkLee was designed around the needs for a more compliant bike than full on racing machine. It’ll still go fast though. Paint was inspired by hibiscus flowers with bare joints showing off the carbon layups. A mix of tapered and lugged joints was used for a unique look.
Featured in the November / December 2008 issue of ROAD magazine. This bike was built to the reviewer’s specifications. He likened it to a rocket ship. Exactly what we were going for. Image by Tim Schamber.