I once owned one of the notorious Merida magnesium road bike frames, which I attained despite the bad press and word of mouth that warned of a harsh ride and inevitable cracking. It actually rode quite nicely, and then cracked. It was pretty much the last time magnesium was seen in mass use for bicycle frames, but for MTB suspension forks it is still the material of choice for the lower legs so it has found its place in cycling.

Back in the 80s the Kirk magnesium frame was heralded as the way of the future for frames, and they even infiltrated the Pro peloton with the TVM team in the Classics and Tour de France, most notably under our Aussie hero Phil Anderson. Here Skippy talks diplomatically about the frame and its foibles (“a bit soft in the rear” ie flexy as fuck) while rocking the iconic jersey and staying as Casually Deliberate as always.

A comprehensive history of Kirk can be found here, and for the non-readers this video is an interesting watch…