Zipp News

Butterfly emerges at NAHBS

Part of the fun of wandering the floor of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show this week in Denver was to discover one-of-a-kind bikes, and also to learn the stories behind them.

The “Butterfly” bike from KirkLee Bicycles of Austin, Texas, is a perfect example. David Riggs, partner at KirkLee, said the bike was created for his fiancée, Shannon. She’s a triathlete who wanted a road bike able to gracefully handle the hill country around Austin. Shannon also wanted a design that was “pretty but not overly girly,” said Riggs.

The result was teh KirkLee Butterfly. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly,” reads the delicately painted inscription on the top tube.

The custom carbon frame is purple with light purple accents featuring a butterfly and henna design. This KirkLee also was outfitted with Zipp 404 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers, a SRAM RED – 2012 drivetrain and Quarq Power Meter. “This thing’s a rocket ship,” Riggs said.

The KirkLee Butterfly, designed using custom rider fit info, was built with in-house molded tubes in custom layup. “We take pride in never doing the same thing twice,” said KirkLee builder Brad Cason.

PHOTO OF KIRKLEE BUTTERFLY

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