Some more info from the seller...
Hi Jeff,
I researched these frames for about 2 months before buying them. The polisher had no input, nor did Kinesis. I finally found someone who was a worker at Kinesis back in the day, here in PDX, a manager-type, and he told me the basic story. I also contacted Storck, (my wife is German, so we were able to go through a relative in Germany) and had corroboration on this story-
“RBA: Can you give us a quick history of Storck Bicycle? Derrick: Storck has been around as STORCK for just over ten years now. Markus Storck worked with Gary Klein in the 1990s and helped develop much of what we consider to be standard now in the carbon-fiber world. We pride ourselves on having a unique product that exceeds all manufacturers testing and harmonizes low weight with great stiffness, while still maintaining a comfortable ride. That takes great engineering German style! “
http://www.storck-bicycle.de/en/web-anz ... 00&objekt=
http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail/0, ... -0,00.html
Marcus Storck was a former Klein employee and team rider who went it alone when Gary Klein sold out to TREK.
That’s the corroboration story. As far as Kinesis goes, all I can get is the prototype info....and the dimensions/welds/quality are very Storck-ish, not Klein-ish, except for the headset. I can’t stress enough how nice the welds are. There’s no hiding anything with filler or even paint, since they’re bare, a trick used all the time nowadays.
I’d sell one of the bare frames for $400, if you’d like. They’re wrapped in plastic, and brand-spanking new. Take a look at Poshbikes, a UK site....some of their Storcks are $6000. - Rather 6000 English Pounds! Of course, you could spend $5000 on components, but I’m sure they don’t. I think you could spend $2000 on all the components and have a $5000 bike with one of these frames. A full gorgeous powder-coat in cool custom colors would be about $250, a solid color is only about $125.
I’m thinking of getting some really cool vintage decals – some obscure Italian/French brand and having one painted in super-retro colors with vintage Campy components...just for fun.
It took me a full month to find the correct headset....REALLY exciting.
If you find anything out, I’d appreciate it. Kinesis in Taiwan was no help at all, and the folks at TREK weren’t either. The TREK guys were nice, just couldn’t help. The Taiwanese folks were coneheads.
Aloha,
Shawn
BTW, I just lowered the price to $795, need the funds to start on the next
one....
Shawn
