Road Cycling - Carbon frame+Double crank=Happiness

Proud owner of a brand spankin' new Kestrel Talon 105... This bike is awesome :) The choice was down to the Talon or a Cervelo Prodigy. The Cervelo is a Columbus steel tubed frame that only weighs 3.2 lbs which is the same weight as the Talon. Both bikes had a very similar, very smooth ride. My first ride on the Kestrel had me a little confused until I realized the seat was loose :D I Puttered around a little while longer and the seat got real loose. Time to switch bikes... I immediately liked the Cervelo. You guys are right about a good steel frame. The Cervelo is a great bike. Unfortunately, the 54cm frame had a little too short a wheel base for me. I road around for a good 15 minutes on it, Sprinting (lightly mind you, it was equipped with toe clips) up and down an alley and also riding over a good broken up section of asphalt with lots of little cracks that really let you feel (or not feel) how smooth the bike was. I would highly recommend this bike to anyone in the market for a bike. It's Ultegra equipped with a double crank set and It's quite an attractive bike as well... have a look see...

http://www.cervelo.com/images/prodigy-2001-bg.jpg

Once we adjusted the seat back a little and tightened it down on the Kestrel, well, the rest is history... Smooth. Quick. Pretty. I kept riding it back and forth down the alley and then across the broken asphalt. After about 5 minutes I felt really comfortable on the bike. After about 10 minutes I knew my credit card was about to get maxed out.

This is a great bike that can only get better. Which it did as soon as I got home. I Put on my Bebop pedals and WOW! The bike really does accelerate well. Next I swapped seats to my Selle Italia Flite with Ti rails and got the height dialed in. Even better :D
What next? Maybe I should ride it for a couple of months before I swap the wheel set... :p Carbon fiber cranks? Hmmmm...

Here's a pic of my new joy... Mine is all black though...

http://www.kestrel-usa.com/products/graphics/bikes/whitetalon_large.jpg

Thanks to everyone for all the input over the last couple of days regarding frame types and cranks.

THIS FORUM ROCKS!!!!!!

Congrats on the new ride!!!

Good to hear you love the new ride.

Quick ?, if you don't mind my asking. What was final price?

L8R G8R

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
Congrats on the new ride!!!

Good to hear you love the new ride.

Quick ?, if you don't mind my asking. What was final price?

L8R G8R

Got it at Supergo for 1399.00+tax. Everything in the store was already marked down, but the guy took another 15% off my shorts, computer and helmet plus my tubes mysteriously weren't on the receipt :D My LBS wanted closer to 2k so the 20 mile drive was well worth it.

Took me longer to find a helmet that fit than it did to pick the bike...

Sweet ride. You're going to have a blast.

People I know who ride CF tell me that it's a lot like steel in smoothness. The kestrel has very fast/agressive geometry. It has a fairly steep seat-tube angle [74.5 degrees for a 52c frame] and longish chainstays [41 cm -- not really THAT long, just at the long end of normal]. I'd pick the Cervelo for climbing [shorter chainstays, slightly lighter wheels], but the Kestrel is definitely built for speed on the flats. It's much more of a sprinting, TT machine. Excellent price. If you rode with me, I'd bug you to let me take it for a spin. :-)

Originally posted by velocipedio
If you rode with me, I'd bug you to let me take it for a spin. :-)

If I road with you I think I'd have to be in a lot better shape :D My legs are sore just from screwin' around yesterday. Completely different than a MTB grinding up a fire road...

Originally posted by *WildHare*
If I road with you I think I'd have to be in a lot better shape :D My legs are sore just from screwin' around yesterday. Completely different than a MTB grinding up a fire road...
Embrace the pain. It means you've discovered some new muscles. :-)

You're going to amazed how far and how fast you can go on a road bike. Those 30 km [20 mile] rides you did on your MTB are nothing. I feel like I've gone around the block if I've done anything less that 50 km, and my week just isn't complete without at least one 100 km + ride in there.

But it's not just distance -- you go fast. I averaged 30 km/h [20 mph] on a 55 km solo ride today. That includes two fairly signigficant climbs, warm-up and cool-down. At one point, with a tail wind, I cruised for @ 42 km/h for 15 km. Felt perfectly energetic afterward.

I'm not saying you'll get an average as fast as that on every ride [on a typical rolling solo ride, I'm more like 26 km/h, on a long group ride, it's usually @ 30 km/h, cruising in high-30s], but it's certainly do-able. And when you fly like that, you REALLY fly. Total gas.

Welcome to the brotherhood of the road.

Glad to see you got the carbon. You will have many long hours in the saddle, and enjoy everyone of them. I would also say, take it for some rides before changing to much. Enjoy your new ride.

Wildhare,
Ahh, the spring time of love.
Go and take a long, loving look at your mtb. and say goodbye.
Enjoy!

Originally posted by Greg
Wildhare,
Ahh, the spring time of love.
Go and take a long, loving look at your mtb. and say goodbye.
Enjoy!

NEVER!!!!!

Though my MTB does feels like a porker at 26lbs now :p