Kestrel

This company advertises itself as “the first name in carbon,” a claim it can rightfully make. These monocoque marvels were first introduced in the 1980s (it made the first all-carbon tri bike in 1990) and since then Kestrel has usually been at or near best in class in carbon bike design. Yes, Kestrel makes the Talon and, yes, this has been considered a tri-specific model in years past. But living in a garage doesn’t make you a car, and having only a Talon in your garage still means you’re withou t a tri-geometry bike. Yes, Chris McCormack rode the Talon in triathlons and, yes, Tim DeBoom rode a Trek Madone in the Hawaiian Ironman. Neither are tri bikes. Both are good bikes. But they’re road bikes.

If it’s Kestrel and tri specificity you’re wri ting about, you can start and stop with the Airfoil Pro. This is a bike built to be ridden in the aero position, and that’s what makes this a tri bike – and a good tri bike it is. Kestrel’s tri-specific bikes were popular even when they were built in two sizes, and even when this company offered only a single size. The Airfoil Pro is built in 6 sizes, making it easy to find one that fits. In fact, for any rider shorter than 5’8” its shorter head tubes are almost unique in triathlon. The Airfoil Pro’s 47 cm size, with a 76 millimeter head tube, is absolutely unique. There is no tri bike made offering a better fit for a rider under 5’4” tall. If you put on your industrial designer’s hat, the Airfoil Pro has got lines that make this frame just plain superior than just about anything else in cycling. But you have to take that hat off in order to put on your bike helmet, so let’s look at it from a cyclist’s point of view.

The Airfoil Pro is seat-tubeless, which gives the bike a ride quality others can’t duplicate. Is it aerodynamically superior? Kestrel says so. I don’t know. But I do know that McCormack has switched from the Talon to this model, based on his wind tunnel test results showing that the Airfoil Pro has geometry better suited to McCormack’s new, more tri specific, riding position.

Who ought to buy the $4000 (Ultegra) or $5300 (Dura Ace) complete-bike Airfoil Pro? In our view, the shorter you are the better this bike. Why? Kestrel’s geometries become increasingly shallower as the bikes grow taller. Yes, they’re also reasonably long in the top tube. Since this bike is made with a round, 27.2mm seat post, it’s easy to retrofit it with a steeper post if sliding the saddle forward on the rails won’t do it for you.

That said, the larger the bike size the more Kestrel closes the door to riding steep. Consider the old, very nice handling Airfoil (the first of what would eventually be made in two sizes). It had a front/center of 65cm (bottom bracket to front wheel axle). That was for its 56cm size. The current Airfoil Pro his bike in size 59cm has 63cm of front/center, and with 73.5 degrees of head angle. In our view (we have a gentle disagreement with our friends at Kestrel about this) the bike in this size would’ve been better with a head angle of, say, 72 degrees. This would’ve given the bike more front/center and, without changing the fork at all, would’ve had a more tri-typical 6cm or so of trail. As it now is, riders may find the bike a bit on the nervous side if it’s ridden steeper than its 76-degree factory seat angle, and with more weight on the front wheel than might’ve been optimal. This isn’t to say the 59cm version of this bike is problematic, just that you ought to consider your personal riding style before you buy this bike in this size. If you’re tall and you ride steep (Faris Al Sultan, Torbjorn Sindballe), this is probably not your bike. If you’re tall and ride mid-steep (Simon Lessing, Cam Widoff) this would be a nice bike for you.

None of these potential issues exist in the 47cm version of the bike, or the 50cm, or 52cm sizes. The 54cm size -- the first in 700c -- is also fine, especially if you ride low in front and are looking for that 700c bike with a short head tube (this one is it).

One thing about Kestrel; this is a classy company. It’s always been headquartered a short ride from Silicon Valley and its bikes, trade show booths, brochures, ads, have always reminded me a little of Apple Computer. Also like Apple Computer, it’s pretty hard to damage these products. Unlike Apple Computer, Kestrel backs its bikes up with a lifetime warranty. Your money is well spent on a Kestrel.