On a recent trip through Chattanooga, TN we managed to get a look inside the American Bicycle Group and managed to snap a few images of the people there and some of the ongoing projects.
by Herbert Krabel, February 16, 2011
With the 2011 racing season almost upon us, Andy Potts traveled to the A2 wind tunnel in Mooresville, NC to get checked out and dialed on his new Kestrel 4000.
The CD0.1 has a unique narrative. Clever, really. An asymmetric down tube that moves air from the drive side of the bike to the left side, with a smartly-spec’d midrange kit at $3300 for a complete bike.
If a Cervelo P3 and a Kestrel Airfoil Pro mated and had a baby, it would be the 4000. It is, stylistically, a fair representation of the heritage of high style that has distinguished the Kestrel brand.
Felt correctly understands a trend and a truth the rest of the bike industry is slower to grasp: The more the price of a complete tri bike exceeds $5000, the more Di2 elbows its way to the forefront of the discussion.
Cervelo is to tri what Colnago is to road: a storied headbadge with a tradition and a caché unmatched by any bike brand. But the cycling world is catching up, or has caught up. How does the P3 fare in 2011?
Like the resuscitated Dodge Challengers and Chargers, and Ford’s Mustang, the mid-price, $3500 Felt B12 is reminiscent of muscle cars of the 1970s. It’s all go and no show (well, there’s a little bit of show).
Quintana Roo’s Seduza remains a potent buy for 2011, maybe even more so as other manufacturers set their attention to tri bikes higher in price. But are the geometric changes for 2011 a plus?
“Life moves pretty fast,” noted Ferris Bueller. ” If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” You could miss the new swim skins legally usable in Kona, Cancun, Cozumel, and elsewhere.
The industry has chosen pitched battle at a price range between $3300 and $3700. The Slice 3 sits right in the middle, and it holds its own admirably. Plasmas, Transitions, Speed Concepts, this is your worthy competitor.
It used to be that a brochure was enough. Not any more. A superbike without a white paper just doesn’t seem that super. Here’s the authoritative guide on the 2011 DA.
It’s been just 3.5 years since Felt remade its tri line-up, top to bottom. But you can’t stand pat these days. Here’s Felt’s new mold, the DA for 2011. Felt’s stab at a superbike hits its mark.
Prior to this year, the major bike brands, in particular those selling more than $150 million a year, were asea in the tri market, because of ambivalence and indecisiveness. Now, they’re focused. But can they compete?