Kinesis GFTI for the GF

Girlfriend wants a winter bike, and I still have the Kinesis GFTI frame that I replaced with the Demon.

I bought it 2nd hand in 2015 so it's been well used but is still in good nick. It's a V1 GFTI so rim braked and just enough clearance for guards and 25c tyres. It takes standard drop rim brakes.

The decals are a bit naff and also they've cracked over time, so first job is to remove them. They seem like paint but also like stickers, not sure. Will probably use paint stripper, then brush then frame with Scotchbrite red pads...

Parts are coming from the parts bin (DA9000 shifters and PDW fenders) and a couple of DA9000 bits gifted by a friend and a couple of new bits. Possibly a slight anodized blue theme as the hubs are blue.

Preliminary build spec:

Wheelset: Hope RS4/Boyd Altamont Lite/CX Rays (from her summer bike)
Skewers: Ultegra 6800
Shifters: Dura-ace 9000
Front mech: DA 9000
Rear mech: DA 9000 with Wolftooth roadlink (for 11-32)
Crankset: 105 R7000 50/34 165mm
Brakes: DA 9000 (if the guards fit) or Ultegra 6800
Gear cables and housing: Shimano
Brake cables and housing: Shimano
Bars: Specialized short drop 38cm
Bartape: Arundel gecko grip
Stem: tbc
Seatpost: Easton EC70 zero offset
Saddle: tbc
Seat clamp: Hope blue?
Chain: KMC X11 black
Cassette: 105 11-32
Tires: Continental GP4 Season 25c
Pedals: Shimano 5800 carbon
Bottle cage:
Guards: PDW metal fenders
Garmin mount: Aliexpress special

Turns out acetone works on the decals, so should be fairly straight forward to remove...

Looks great, can you go into more detail re removing the decals with acetone? Will normal off the shelf nail varnish do? I have the v2 and looking to do the same!

First we tried with some Boots nail varnish remover I bought years ago specifically for this purpose but it didnt do much, hence my mention of paint stripper earlier.

Then we tried this and it's working much much better. Just rubbing it on with a cloth and putting in some elbow grease.

Maybe they have different concentrations of acetone in them? who knows.

Once all the decals are off, I'm planning to attempt a brushed finish using some Scotchbrite maroon pads I ordered on ebay (thou haven't arrived yet). Ebay link

Thank you! Will wait to see how you get on before I start :).

Here is mine for reference. (Have since upgraded to a thomson stem, seat post and fitted bar tape.) I'd highly recommend the kinesis fend off guards too.

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Looks great. I think they changed the fork on the V2.

This was mine in it's last guise when it temporarily had carbon rims...

My inspiration for removing the decals is this photo I found. Cable stops have also been removed and it's been etap'ed...

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Will you still brush the frame with Scotchbrite?

That's the plan, as there's now "fresh" ti where the decals were so you can see the lines.

Finished removing the decals on Saturday. Ended up using nail varnish remover and some fine steel wool (https://www.screwfix.com/p/oakey-fine-steel-wool-200g/96385). All came off in an hour or 2.

After a quick wash it looked like this. The frame was lightly scratched up from use and then also the steel wool. The scotchbrite pads arrived on Satuday so next it was time to take it inside and get a brushed finished.

I ordered Scotchbrite 7447 "maroon" pads off ebay for a few quid. Basically the idea (from the vids I'd watched) was to rub the pad around the tube uniformly. We got stuck in and it didn't take much to get a decent finish.

Most of the scratches went quite easily. For the deeper ones we just rubbed the frame for longer. You can see the before and after in this photo:

You could spend ages getting it absolutely perfect but being a winter bike we were after "good enough" and were pleasantly surprised with the final outcome...

Stuck some temporary wheels on it to get an idea of sizing for stems etc... As good as deep carbon looks, we'll be sticking with solid alu wheels for winter.

I love it when you get results as good as that for a few quid and a day of hard graft, very satisfying.

Excellent work.

The frame came up so well!

Another reason to love Ti; DIY home refurbs.

At least the home refurb allows you a decent inspection of the frame. This is what I found on my GFTi v1 in spring 2017 (2013 frameset).....it's the underside of the chain stay bridge area....

Kinesis at least replaced the frameset without quibble. By contrast, I have a similar vintage Burls Ti frameset. That's still going well and managed the Paris-Roubaix parcours three times!

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Yikes, I haven't noticed anything on mine but will check again to make sure before I put it all together!

but "frame 4 lyf!"

I have other anecdote about cracked Kinesis Ti frames. I'm not the only one.

I believe Justin Burls outsources his production (via his Russian partner) to a small Russian team (ex aerospace, or was it submarine). Anyway, mine has proved more robust than a Taiwanese factory job from Kinesis!

A mate gave me some old battle scared Dura ace 9000 bits. 2 brakes which I dismantled and cleaned up...

And a well crashed rear mech!

Plus a front mech which was in decent nick but missing a bolt. Together with a pair of DA 9000 shifters I had in the cupboard and a new R7000 crankset, we had a winter bike groupset.

PDW fenders went on with not too much bodging, albeit drilling a hole for the chainstay bridge. Clearance was quite tight with 25c GP 4Seasons, which I realised measured 28mm width on the Boyd Altamont rims. So it's now got a 23c on the rear and a 25c on the front which will be replaced with a 23c when it wears out.

Finished it off on Saturday...

Everything went together pretty easy. The DA rear mech even worked well with a 11-32 cassette with the b-tension screwed in alot.

We took it out for its first ride Sunday, a 100km on wet essex roads. Perfect weather to test out a winter bike. Verdict was "so smooth". She's been drinking the Ti-wonder-material kool aid...

Need's a better rear flap! And a better looking saddle. Those Spesh Mimics are comfy and all but they dont look right.