I purchased this 2008 53 cm Kestrel RT 800 at Bicycles Direct. The Kestrel brand is vastly underrated. When the Rock Racing team showed excellent early 2008 season results in pro racing on the RT 800, I made the decision to buck the trend and go with something different. I do not have any regrets.
I have listed the component changes I've made under RT 800 Mods. The RT 800 is not a comfort bike. There are no "zerts" in the forks or otherwise flexy parts to soften road vibrations. The frame and fork are designed for stiffness and power transfer. This rigidity shines on climbs, accelerations and long hard pulls. The trade off is more than acceptable to me, and is unnoticeable on all but the roughest road sections. I guess at the end of the day it comes down to the question of which makes you more tired, feeling a little more of the road or working a little harder to get down the road?
Kestrel introduced the first carbon monocoque frame back in 1986. The Kestrel design team, based in Santa Cruz, CA, is headed by former aerospace engineers. Yes, they have been acquired by Advanced Sports and yes, the carbon frames are now manufactured in China, but the dedication to advanced engineering is still there. Kestrel frames are tested in the wind tunnel and close attention is payed to the layup of tube thickness in critical areas for maximum efficiency. The RT 800 features in-frame cable routing, varying tube shapes and thickness and a well tuned stiff straight fork. The result may not be the overall lightest or most comfortable frame, but the attention to efficient power transfer is obvious. Francisco Mancebo rode his RT 800 to a break away/sprint win in the first stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. I'm not so ambitious, but I enjoy riding the RT 800 around the Santa Ynez Valley/Los Alamos, CA area.
I have listed the component changes I've made under RT 800 Mods. The RT 800 is not a comfort bike. There are no "zerts" in the forks or otherwise flexy parts to soften road vibrations. The frame and fork are designed for stiffness and power transfer. This rigidity shines on climbs, accelerations and long hard pulls. The trade off is more than acceptable to me, and is unnoticeable on all but the roughest road sections. I guess at the end of the day it comes down to the question of which makes you more tired, feeling a little more of the road or working a little harder to get down the road?
Kestrel introduced the first carbon monocoque frame back in 1986. The Kestrel design team, based in Santa Cruz, CA, is headed by former aerospace engineers. Yes, they have been acquired by Advanced Sports and yes, the carbon frames are now manufactured in China, but the dedication to advanced engineering is still there. Kestrel frames are tested in the wind tunnel and close attention is payed to the layup of tube thickness in critical areas for maximum efficiency. The RT 800 features in-frame cable routing, varying tube shapes and thickness and a well tuned stiff straight fork. The result may not be the overall lightest or most comfortable frame, but the attention to efficient power transfer is obvious. Francisco Mancebo rode his RT 800 to a break away/sprint win in the first stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. I'm not so ambitious, but I enjoy riding the RT 800 around the Santa Ynez Valley/Los Alamos, CA area.
