1980 Chris Kvale
 

Chris Kvale recently restored and refinished this frame and I added my normal classic campy build. The bike weighs in at 20.75 pounds with tubulars. Chris incorporates a lot of subtle details in his frames. If you have one of Chris' frames I would be interested in seeing photos of it.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d9365d4a7.jpeg
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Beautiful, love the color and nice classic build.

Chris does a very nice job of filing his lugs!

:thumb: Great work as usual Andy, beautiful.

Paging gomango

He has been our in house Chris Kvale authority for quite some time.

Kvale may well be the best lugged builder of our time, the popularity of some others not withstanding. Absolutely elegant, meticulous work. If I could pay for a new steel frame it would be one of his.

Got to meet him once. It was a pleasure.

What a beautiful machine….And, the closer you look, the better it looks…

Chris built me a frame back in '78 which I still have, I chose Chris back in 77 because he was hand filing the lugs down to paper thinness and using silver solder and not bronze braising the frames together like the majority of builders back in the day. Chris's way of building frames had a very similar view to how I was taught to make jewelry and my understanding of metallurgy from my studies in college. His also like using dupont imron truck paint because he felt is made a stronger finish. Although I don't ride anymore, I still love looking at the bike.

That is indeed pretty. :thumb: I see the brake adjuster o-rings are mismatched; I saved a link a couple of years ago that someone posted, of colored o-rings: RINGS I see they have blue but, alas, no yellow.:(

Love the fastback seat stays and full braze-ons back in 1980! And those hidden rack mounts are just awesome.

Andy, you are getting a very nice collection of the finest American builders (not including the European ones) . Besides one of mine, I think you have a Gangl? Do you have a Jeff Bock already or do you need to get one? And of course all the super fine builders from the west coast like DiNucci, Erikson and Baylis among others. You better stay healthy so you have enough life left to complete your best of Americans collection. Good start!

If someone wants to buy a Kvale from Chris, they better do it soon. He is a bit older than me and must be at least 80. His shop was destroyed by a fire a couple of years ago and must now be repaired. His last name is pronounced like the start of the word quality with the v silent and not with a harsh K sound with the v audible (like some people presume).

I haven’t heard fro gomango in awhile. I hope all is well, great guy that has helped me more than I can count.

Mr. Barron displayed a very similar Kvale at the 2016 Classic Rendezvous gathering.

https://live.staticflickr.com/7534/2...7d8e33_b_d.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7366/2...2f20fb_b_d.jpg


Brian Chapman also displayed a Kvale at that event. Looks like you are in good company!

https://live.staticflickr.com/7399/2...047656_b_d.jpg

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Lovely bikes!

Steve in Peoria

This reads that Chris was able to resume work after the fire. Very Good.

I hope to find a 59-60cm Kvale someday. Living in Minneapolis, I’ve seen a good amount of them, but the time hasn’t been right when I’ve seen them available.

Chris painted my Curt Goodrich two winters ago. He did a great job and it was a lot of fun to see his workshop. Lots of amazing frames to look at.

I don't know if Chris Kvale designed that seatpost binder, but Raleigh USA must have been watching, because the Techniums had an almost identical set-up.

I think he's fine, liked a couple of posts in the last week.

I hoped a page would draw him out, always great to hear from him. ;)

Last I heard he was doing a lot of gravel riding and not much wrenching. I really with the @ function worked like it used to and email would be sent

I got an email the other day for a PM, first in a long time, not sure why. :twitchy:

The excellent workmanship on th8s bike was typical of the American artisanal builders of that time.
Just beautiful and flawless lug shaping and brazing and hardly no frills on the frame like chrome or pantographing.
The paintwork on them were excellent quality to, with msny done with Dupont Imron paint.

stunning bike :thumb:and superb craftsmanship on it

Fastback Stays
 

Thank you to everybody who has responded to this post with all the kind words. I shared this thread with Mr. Kvale and he asked me to share the following with the C&V faithful.. Over the course of Chris restoring this frame we corresponded over email. I asked Chris about the fastback stay design and this is what he shared with me:

"Hi Andy,
My fastback style is not all unique--it's a shameless copy of Mark DiNucci/ Strawberry. I met Mark at the Nationals in Milwaukee in 1973 before I started building frames. I was working at the first pro bike shop in the Twin Cities, and because of my chance meeting, we started selling Strawberries. When the shop and I parted ways, I took the Strawberry account with me and sold the frames out of my basement, and quite a few had this design. When I started building my own frames, I copied Mark's work. I met him again in 1978, and over the years I'm sure he's seen my work (I got a nice note from him after my shop was destroyed in the anarchy here in 2020), so he most likely knows what I do. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Very cool note. Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting that Chris invented fastback stays (I wasn't aware who had), but just that was an unusual and forward looking choice in 1980 - as far as I had seen. Serotta adopted it much later in the decade.

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Here’ a photo of my ‘96 at the end of ragbrai L in 2023. Normally built up with SunTour SP. Currently Chris is repainting it light blue. I second others comments regarding Chris’s workmanship. He elevates the bike frame from craft to art. This frame is fast, comfortable and disappears beneath me when I ride it. More photos to come as bike should be ready soon.