Kestrel Brand Manager saying hi
 

Just want to introduce myself to the group. I'm here for any Kestrel questions or anything related to carbon fiber.


You can also visit www.kestrelbicycles.com for our new 2009 lineup and tech questions.

Thanks,

Steven

hello!

love your bikes! and i love the history of kestrel as leaders and innovators! i've almost bought a kestrel on several occasions, most recently as a backup roadbike to my Look 595. i'm sure i'll end up with a kestrel one of these days!

Kestrel has really cool aspects to it as a company. Welcome to the forum.

hey man sounds good! thanks for joining us!

Is your EP /Pro deal pricing out yet? just curious...

My question:

Why the hell is BikesDirect selling your bikes?
Do you expect real bike shops to carry Kestrel when BD can sell them for what we pay for them?
Ditto for Fuji.

PlatyPius
Fuji Dealer

Toasty!!!

Welcome, how are your boys doing in the Tour of Cali? :)

You just realize that you unintentionally gave them one of the best BD marketing lines ever, right?

(I'm neutral toward BD - I may buy one of their bikes, but I see lots of benefits in my LBS purchase)

I'm just really pissed off with BD and Fuji at the moment. I was looking at BDs hybrids....they are Fujis that are rebranded with one of BDs purchased names (and some of them are actual Fujis). They're selling them for what we pay for them.

I'm more pissed off at Fuji about it. They're just starting to come back after being on the brink of non-existence, and now they do this crap. I guess I should expect to see Breezers on BD soon too.

Looking over BD, the only bike that isn't a super bargain is the one that they have to buy like the rest of us....the Surly LHT. I'm sure they get a discount from QBP (the maker of Surly, Salsa, etc) for buying in volume, but a local shop could come close to their price on that bike.

Then they (Fuji) wonder why bike shops drop them. The shop I currently work for (for the next week) just dropped them. The shop I'm going to used to be Fuji-only, but has now added a bunch of other brands so we can buy fewer Fujis. Once I'm fully in place as manager, we'll be buying even fewer. I'm not going to compete with BD. Advanced Sports (Fuji, Kestrel, SE Racing, Breezer) is going to find itself solely a BD brand if it doesn't get it's ***** together.

I own a 2005 KM40 with 650 wheels , it's a sweet bike. Its fast, very fast, Ive added a old picture of it. http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3281/dsc02884cs0.jpg
I just had a crack on the top tube repaired by Calfree. I cant wait to ride it again next week. If I ever need to buy another Tri Bike again it will be a Airfoil. In you next model you should put the brakes behind the forks and behind the cranks. Also this might be crazy but, I would like to see a set of forks with a built in magnetic pickup to measure speed. :thumb:

I'm not in the bike business, but in an industry the works in a very similar way. I'm part of a large network of distributors and wholesale suppliers (I'm a distributor which essentially is a retailer). Every once in a while we have to deal with someone selling direct, but it never amounts to much of a threat because word gets out and their volume from distributors goes way down, forcing them to hold a certain price point. In turn, the true wholesalers get a bump and end up slashing prices so we can compete with the direct sellers.

So my questions is, instead of being angry at direct sellers, why not dump them for exclusive wholesalers? If you all did that, the exclusive wholesalers (the smart ones) would lower their margins enabling you to compete. That would be a win for them, you and us consumers.

It just seems pointless to me to try to shame them into selling exclusively wholesale. Money talks and will force them to go one direction or another. If it makes better financial sense to sell direct, no amount of shaming in the world will convince them. But considering the number of LBS's, I can't imagine why you're not more competitive.

Now, if the wholesale companies are refusing to budge on their margins, that's different, but it only takes one to lead the way. That company needs to be rewarded big time. The others need to suffer. It's just the way it is. For retailers to survive, they need to become better buyers.

My 2¢

Need to ask...anything you can do for all of us BF'ers by way of great deals/discounts on Kestrel bikes and gear?

It is out. Your local Kestrel dealer handles all sales. Kestrel doesn't sell direct to consumers.

Hope that helps.

when you guys tested your aerodynamics in the wind tunnel was it with a person on the bike ride or just the bike by itself?

Right now, we are testing all facets. The bike is being tested now without a rider but we head back with our final prototype and test with a rider and without. We also test our competitors bikes the same way. Our testing procedures that I follow are always to compare the bikes out of the box, meaning how the customer would receive it.

We use the same size bike, set all the seat heights, bar heights, etc. at the same measurements or close to even where we can.

All that said, the riders is still 80% of the equation so we really focus on stack and reach and our overall measurements of our bikes. We also test what parts work best on each bike. i.e which wheelset works best, what bar works best, etc. etc.

Hope that helps...

Good responses,good to hear from you on the forums - it takes a lot of guts to get out here nowadays, ESPECIALLY the bike forums, where the word "shill" seems to come from the corners faster than a speeding bullet. (I think I've been called a shill for 3 different products now. Maybe I am?) It's always cool to hear the manager's take on things, and for us to have a line, however small, of communication.

Congrats to your coup in the Rock Racing team using your bikes. I know it's mostly rider, but it does count for some that an entire team can ride successfully on bikes that are accessible to many buyers. I'll be looking closely at your lineup in the near future.

Oh - and I like that you sell bikes through Bikesdirect.

I'd like to know how much of an incredible moment it was when Rock Racing won a stage on an RT800. What was the general mood around Kestrel? It had to feel pretty good!

Hey,

I almost bought a Kestrel Talon. It is a sexy bike and my friend had one and loved it... until he had a small crack in the top tube. He never wrecked the bike or raced it and had about 4,000 miles on it. The bike was not in bad shape of poorly kept either. He spoke to a Kestrel dealer and didn't get any where, they refused to warranty his bike. The reason I didn't buy a Kestrel is because of fear that I could have faced the same problem but a company like Specialized would take care of it, and I've seen it happen with a Tarmac and Epic.

Unfortunately, no on on our school team will ever buy a Kestrel, the hate for kestrel is pretty epic around our team and some other local school teams that have heard teh story.

making a UCI TT legal bike anytime soon?

I think my first tri bike will be kestrel ...... from BikesDirect.

Sorry... I bought my road at my LBS......... and for the price.....no one in my area touches kestrel and bikes direct.


No.........I'm not shilling for them either.
I actually try to avoid BD.
But...
Cant this time.

Something is VERY fishy with this.

First, the dealer doesn't warranty the frameset, Kestrel does so they story doesn't sound quite right.
Second, NOT everything is a warranty. When a frameset comes back for evaluation, is is immediately inspected for an impact. Customers don't always realize that an impact is not a warranty.
Third. We always offer up the option to repair or replace a frameset at a reduced price

So, the epic hate for Kestrel seems a wee bit out of place here.

I'm happy to help out your friend and he can contact me directly @ sharad@kestrelbicycles.com

New TT bike
 

Ready to go in 2010.

It was very cool! I just spent the weekend with the team. They were in town for the Philly Bike Race and it was the first time I got to congratulate them on their season. Really a great group of guys and they provide me with a lot of great tips and feedback.

I passed on your e-mail to my friend. I hope something works out. I was test rode the new 2009 talon this weekend and it goes toe to toe with the Orca I am looking at, for far less...