Emanuele's Terrazzo Durmitor
Emanuele’s journey with us has been a long one, but every so often we get a customer who wants to push what is possible, and so we set off down a path of discovery. Sounds cheesy right, but there’s nothing insincere about Emanuele’s Durmitor, resplendent in stainless steel and our latest 3D printed head tube.
The brief was simple, Emanuele wanted a capable road bike to carve up his local lanes, integrated cabling to keep it sleek and aero, and most importantly stainless steel - and here lies the crux. To date all our hidden cable builds have been made using a custom machined 56mm oversized head tube. It was that or use external headset cups top and bottom of the headtube. Feeling that the external cups looked cumbersome with oversized bearings, and preferring the sleek lines that recessed bearings lend to the aesthetics of a frame we preferred the more difficult option of the machined head tube. The issue for Emanuele’s build is we are only able to make this oversized head tube cromoly steel, not stainless. So we hatched a plan.
For a while we had been planning developing a 3D printed head tube and some of the driving factors for this is for better integration of cables, stem and headset; something that would be functional but also a unique addition to the Quirk Cycles aesthetic. Emanuele’s Durmitor was our chance to do it, but it was going to take time.
After many months of development, testing and prototyping, we finally landed on the design. We opted for a fully integrated headset with a top cap that slices through the head tube. Currently it is matched to mate with Enve Composites integrated stem, but practically any integrated system can be catered for, and as you’ve probably guessed we will be releasing our own soon.
The build makes use of our 3D printed stainless dropouts and seat cluster, uniting the lines of the frame in unbroken flow from front to rear. Columbus XCr was used for its excellent ride qualities and weldability, the pinnacle of Italian steel for an apex road bike.
One of the first things to greet a viewer of this resplendent road bike is the otherworldly paint finish. Often mistaken for anodising, the frame has been coated in layers of translucent candy terrazzo islands which shimmer and shift in the light, reflecting the brushed stainless underneath. Executed by the accomplished Jack Kingston of Kingston Customs, the beautiful candy on the rear of the frame is contrasted to the front with a deep satin midnight blue.
As chance would have it the latest SRAM Force groupset accents of rainbow complimented the paint so well one would think it was intended, which of course it wasn’t, but what a perfect coincidence. What better way to crown such a dazzling build dripping with Enve components.
All in all this is one of the most rewarding builds to come out of the workshop, and without customers like Emanuele, it wouldn’t have been possible. What a wonderful collaboration.
Custom Quirk Cycles frameset
Columbus XCr Tubing
Terrazzo Candy-Raw Finish
3D Stainless Steel Dropouts, Cluster and Head Tube
Quirk Integrated Headset with Chris King Bearings
Enve Integrated Road Fork
SRAM Force Rainbow AXS Groupset
Enve Integrated One-Piece Cockpit
Enve SES 4.5 Wheelset
Fizik R3 3D Printed Saddle
Vittoria Corsa Tyres
Photos by Nikoo Hamzavi