In the earlier hours before my accident, where I destroyed my Gios, I brought home a Kestrel 200 EMS frame. I was directed to the eBay listing by one of the Sydney retro riders, and decided to get it as it was relatively cheap. Little did I know I would be building it up right away.


Now, from what I can tell, I believe this is a 1999 model. I found that the Ruby Weave colour and original EMS fork(with a titanium steerer) was released that year as per the brochure. The 200 model should be the second model Kestrel made, after the 4000 in 1987, with my frame being made in the last years of production. The frame weighs 1225g, and fork 500g, making it the lightest frameset I own. Built up with the 105SC group from my Gios, it ends up being a 9.1kg bike.

This is what I got done today. I have a carbon post which will go on, and will need to route the rear brake housing through the top tube which will take a while tomorrow.


The deep ruby colour is lovely. The gumwall and white touches surprising match well.






Now those who have owned the 200 models, I have run into an issue regarding the seatpost. At the end of the aluminium insert(the seatpost bolt place) inside the frame seems to be a small lip around the edge, which is preventing me from pushing the seatpost further into the frame. Is this normal? Or do I have something stuck in there? I dont want to go and cut my carbon seatpost to fit the frame.

pretty

Very nice! Is that colour done by a dye in the epoxy? I really dig that wheelset, too. Enjoy your new build and keep an eye out for those pesky cars next time Glad that GIOS frame took the brunt of the impact...

Great looking ride that red is sexy.

I am unfamiliar with the brand/model ( I mean I know Kestrel just not much about them) but I would suspect it is indeed a lip to prevent a post from being pushed into the inside of the carbon. A 'normal' seat post is what about 18cm? I would measure the depth and see how deep it is. I would suspect if you have a regular post it would fit OK, may need to switch or cut.

Italuminium, the carbon weave is the standard black/grey colour. There is clear red paint over the top. THe wheelset is actually just the SHimano RS-20 with the stickers removed. Surprisingly strong as they survived the crash.

I'll wait for other owners to tune in before I do some cutting. However, I may cut that post that is currently installed. Prob 5cm off the post would be adequate.

They used to have a archive-FAQ on the Kestrel WS that is now gone. The Seatpost insert is aluminum and I believe max insertion is 4" or you can screw up the bonding to the carbon seatube aluminum insert. . They said to use grease but with a carbon SP that would be your call. I have a 200SC and it is identical to what you are describing.

Very nice finish!

What a great looking frame. I've never seen a ruby colored one before. That'll look great all built up

QV, Kestrels were fairly popular in my area, but I don't recall one with the ruby tint; just lovely.

My last Cannondale build ('99 CAAD3) brought home the discovery of just how light a bike can be built without really trying, it's also 9.1 kg (~9.7 w/aero bars installed). Something to think about; rather than tie wrapping a sensor for one of my wired computers to the bladed CF fork, I think I'll use a wireless with the sensor mounted on a chain stay as my fork has a fairly acute rear edge.

Brad

Fred Smedley, the max insertion is 11cm, which is a touch over 4". I chose to cut my aluminium seatpost as opposed to the carbon one. From RobbieTunes, I have found out the reason behind it, which you can find below.

Bradtx, older Kestrels are almost non existant in Australia. I guess there wasnt a importer/distributer over here. I have seen a few 200 models and an old Talon around on eBay, but never have seen a 4000, or the 500SCi ones. I would believe I own the first 4000 here, which I just received today. Its 1.6kg as a frame only, compared to the 12 year newer 200 that's only 1.2kg. I could bring this one to sub 9kg if I chuck on my carbon wheels, or just chuck on better tyres and a liughter saddle.

Anyway, it's fully done now. The torn Turbo replica saddle was replaced, and a braze on FD was used. The rest came straight off the Gios. The bottle cages are only temporary. I will need to wait on some silver or white cages.






The clear ruby colour shows up well in sunlight.






The frame came from Santa Barbara Bikesmiths over in California. The Castle Hill owner before me bought it off some dude from Brisbane, and thats all I know where the frame came from. Dont know who brought it over to Aus.


As for the seatpost issue I had, I found the reason behind it. As told by RobbieTunes: The seat tube is made of carbon and there is an aluminum sleeve inserted into the top, which is used to clamp the seatpost.There is a cavity in the seat tube below the sleeve with a slightly larger diameter than 27.2, which allows for minor movement of the seatpost when subjected to forces when the bike is ridden. Over time, this movement can cause cracks at the top of the seat tube. If the seatpost is too short, and the bike tips over, this leverage can easily crack both the seat tube carbon at the top, and the aluminum sleeve inside. Cutting the seatpost to exact length eliminates most of this movement, and helps to avoid the cracking of the top of the carbon tube, and more importantly, the cracking of the aluminum sleeve.

Guess this is something Kestrel didnt take into account, even though they went to the lengths of wind tunnel testing for aerodynamics(first company to do so for a production frame), and FEA testing. This is why I am using the aluminium one, as opposed to cutting my carbon post.

QV, We're in similar boats. I can swap the lighter wheel set and tires from my crit bike to make the CAAD3 lighter, maybe sub 9.0 kg, but I don't see any reason to make the crit bike heavier. Still it's nice to have a compatible wheel set available if needed. I also have an older Cannondale project that I'm gathering parts for that and I expect it to be in the 10ish kg range.

The 200 really came out nice and I just noticed that the nipples match the frame.

Brad

Dropped another 600g off this bike. Now its running a mix of 7900, 6700 and 5600 bits with a RS-80 wheelset. Now 8.5kg as in pics. Still need to buy a pair of bottle cages for it though.


Lovely 7900 DT shifers. Each click resonates throughout the frame.


The ruby red weave doesnt come out until it's in the sun.






Where old meets new. 6400 pedals matched to 6700 cranks, and the end of the era 6500HP headset

Lovely bike! What I like about my 200SC is how smooth and compliant it is on Chip Seal roads. Have you ridden any modern carbon frames for a comparison? Most would say modern carbon is better , I know it's lighter , but does it actually ride nicer?

Only vintage carbon for me. I do know on my Cadex that the BB flexes a fair bit, esp when powering on as the big chainring scrapes the FD even though there's clearance.

Even if I jump onto a mate's new carbon frame, I wouldn't be able to tell on a short 5 min ride.

Love the CF + DA DT Shifters.

That color is awesome. My 1996 200 EMS came with the 600 tri color 8 speed STI group on it. I think yours my be an older model if it came with downtube shifters. I am jealous though because mine is just the boring white.. Nice ride.

I don't know the exact year of this frame. Previous owner had 10s Record on it, which wouldn't have been original. But it seems this had extensive use with integrated levers, as the bottom of the head tube is scratched from the gear housing running(visible in the last pic). the only reason why I suspect its '99 is because that's the only year that had Ruby Red as a colour as stated in the brochure. Then again the serial number is 41954 which is relatively low? Could be an earlier model.

White is is a nice and clean colour though. Wouldn't go with any other colour on my 4000. I'd be interested in seeing the clear amber colour that the 200 did come in as well.

I'm a sucker for red bikes--that is PRETTY!!! Nicely done!

Artistry, QV, very nice. I've now built 3 of those 200's. I'll build another, eventually.