Kenevans Frames

Ken wasn't a world champion, but was a top pro rider in Australia and won the Sun Tour, plus other top races in Australia. Plenty of world championships have been won on Kenevan bikes though, plus Olympic medals. Dean Woods won a couple of world junior titles on kenevans bikes and I'm reasonably sure ken built the 'Malvern Stars' the teams pursuiters used and won gold on in 84, although I'll stand corrected on this if someone else knows better.

Ken was based in Geelong but sold out to the guy who was building for him, Malcolm MacPherson. This must have been 1988 or so IIRC. MacPherson moved up to queensland and continued to build under the kenevans name up there, don't know for how long though. Ken later started up 'Evolution' frames sometime in the 90's with his son Paul.

My father still has and rides a 753 from about 1986 that was built by Macpherson (when ken still owned the business). He had one or two earlier frames built by ken. All were nice frames. One was especially bling, post office box red with gold lacquered chrome and had a very low bracket.

I'm reasonably sure Ken is still living in Geelong.

Hi there,

I didnt mean that ken was a world champion, but more like world champions rode on his bikes. Just out of curiousity how much were the bikes worth new?

Thanks

Ken is still living in Geelong and is still riding regularly with the bunch I ride with. He is a great guy and he still goes okay on the bike. He is no longer building bike frames.

thomas_cho said:

Hi does anyone have any information about Kenevans frames?

I have a Reynolds 753 frame, and want to find out more about the frame builder.

Do you wanna know about him or his frames?

753 was uber-cool stuff in its day, so I reckon you'd have a pretty good frame there.

I had a late 90s aluminium Evolution frame that was a bit on the horrible side. 🙂

531Aussie said:

Do you wanna know about him or his frames?

753 was uber-cool stuff in its day, so I reckon you'd have a pretty good frame there.

I had a late 90s aluminium Evolution frame that was a bit on the horrible side. 🙂

Hiya
Well, I'd really like to know more about the frames, and about Ken Evans as a frame builder.

Thanks

any other aussies here have one of Ken Evans' frames?

While we are at it, how does one tell the quality of workmanship in a frame? I have read that it takes some skill to build a 753 frame, but I am a product of mass produced factory built bikes, and do not really know how to appreciate or know what to look out for in a frame like the 753 one.

Thanks

thomas_cho said:

any other aussies here have one of Ken Evans' frames?

While we are at it, how does one tell the quality of workmanship in a frame? I have read that it takes some skill to build a 753 frame, but I am a product of mass produced factory built bikes, and do not really know how to appreciate or know what to look out for in a frame like the 753 one.

Thanks

Kenevans seems somewhat historical now. As does my following comments as a deviation. I had Reynolds 531 frames built every time in my heavy touring days and great attention was paid to the quality of frame construction; many touring bikes of the era were also show bikes, showcasing the skills of master framebuilders. At the time, 753 frames were the proverbial 'Holy Grail'; they were considerably stronger for taller riders requiring larger frames. It was considered vital that the framebuilder knew how to handle the 753 tubing. Christie Cycles (run by the cheerful Ian Christie but sadly long defunct) in Hawthorn built several beautiful high-strength tandems of 753, among others.

Quality of workmanship
Speaking of general frame building references across several shops, we (trans-Australian cycletourists at the time) looked for the quality of lugwork (which was popular in the 80s to mid-90s before lug-free frames became prominent). There was no visible sign of weld artefacts and infills, where used, also were jewel-like in finish. Fillets, chamfers, fork crowns and dropout welds were super smooth. I saw a few kenevans road frames from about 1986-87 (I rode a CWC 531 d/b frame at the time); there were 2 on a Bendigo Double Century (Melbourne-Bendigo-Melbourne). All appeared to be exceptionally well made. I assume, generally, if the framebuilder is dodgy, this will reflect badly in the handling and longevity of the frame. I've just never seen a dodgy 531 or 753 frame...

Reynolds licensing
I don't know for certain but I think, Reynolds in the UK provided framebuilders with specialist licencing to build 753. Does anybody have info on this??

Today technology seems to have plugged along in favour of alloys or titanium (BTW, we never ever touched anything titanium -- frames or parts -- as it was prone to fracture 'at the worst possible time' — particularly Ti screws!!). I don't see many 531, 753 or other derivatives of Reynolds much now.

there's definitely info on the net about 753 certification, if you can be bothered Googling 🙂

There might be stuff on the Reynolds site

http://www.reynoldscycles.co.uk/steel753.html

Hey all,

I did google for 753 certification, and I read that because 753 would weaken under high heat treatment welding, Reynolds insisted that the builders they sold the tubing to had the expertise to weld using silver which required a lower temperature. Apparently the builders had to submit a built up frame to Reynolds for approval before being issued the certification and sold the tubing.

The low "popularity" of 753 frames was the high cost of building the frames. Silver solder was much more expensive thatn the regular stuff. Also Reynolds then developed the 853 which was tig weldable, hence easier to build, and even stronger.

Sounds like this is definitely a keeper, even though I do not need another bike!

Not sure about the silver solder thing. We have a 1984 Miyata 610 which is made of proprietary Miyata tubing and it is silver soldered and we are talking a mass production bicycle here. I thought lugged steel frames were always silver soldered and never welded regardless of tubeset but I could be wrong - I'm not a frame builder.

matagi said:

Not sure about the silver solder thing. We have a 1984 Miyata 610 which is made of proprietary Miyata tubing and it is silver soldered and we are talking a mass production bicycle here. I thought lugged steel frames were always silver soldered and never welded regardless of tubeset but I could be wrong - I'm not a frame builder.

Lugged frames are normally brazed using brass. Silver solder is used on 753 as silver melts at lower temperatures. Too much heat + 753 = bad. My understanding is that brass is easier to work with and can be used to cover a multitude of sins as it can be used to fill gaps. Silver requires more dexterity. PM thylo. He could probably write a thesis on it.

Anyone know if I can still contact Ken Evans about getting replacement decals for the frame?

I am also thinking about respacing the frame from 126mm to 130mm to accept current day hubs. I have tried "squeezing" in a 130mm hub, and I can get it in relatively easy, but am not sure if this will damage the frame in the long run.

I have also removed a 2mm spacer from a shimano hub, and re-dished the wheel, and it just slipped in.

Cheers

I wouldn't worry about respacing the frame. 130mm spacing only means each stay is spread 2mm when you put the wheel in. Its bugger all. My father has been riding his 126mm spaced 753 kenevans with a 130mm hub for years.

You could possibly try and contact Ken via Geelong Cycling Club

geelongcycling.comgeelongcycling.comOpen ↗

classic1 said:

I wouldn't worry about respacing the frame. 130mm spacing only means each stay is spread 2mm when you put the wheel in. Its bugger all. My father has been riding his 126mm spaced 753 kenevans with a 130mm hub for years.

You could possibly try and contact Ken via Geelong Cycling Club

geelongcycling.comgeelongcycling.comOpen ↗

Cool, thanks. Will try and contact Ken Evans via the club.