Sunday, January 20, 2008

Kestrel RT700 hits the road


Tricia with Kestrel RT700
Originally uploaded by ccorlew
Here's Tricia with the new bike. Wow.
At last, the Kesrtel RT700 frame arrived and is built up. I took off the parts from by Motobecane Le Champion SL and moved them over. (except the front deraileur; had clamp-on, needed a braze-on)

Parts list:
  • Dura Ace Brakes
  • Ritchey WCS seatpost, stem and bars
  • Selle Italia SL-K saddle
  • Ultegra deraileurs and shifters
  • Ultegra compact crankset
  • Ultegra pedals
  • American Classic 420 wheels

I removed the AMERICAN CLASSIC stickers from the wheels, to good effect I think.

Now, we all know that when you wax your car and fill the tank it just runs better. So, it may be that I'm still on buyers high but: I sure like the ride. It's solid, tight, comfortable, and smooth. It seems to ride smoother than my aluminum bike. There are no rattles or pings. It seems to roll quietly. It seems like it doesn't transmit road vibration much.

It sounds different too. The American Classic wheels were like sounding boards before. The hummmmmmed. They do it more quietly now.

Because the bike is quieter, it seems to inspire confidence. There no hard vibration to make me feel like I'm going crazy fast when I descend. It just seems smooth. It's light enough,but so was my last bike. I'm sure it will climb well. I've only done short 1 mile climbs thus far.

This bike a jut a hair smaller than my last. It feels good now, but I'm going to move the seat back a tiny bit, then think about a longer stem.

Did I mention how cool it looks! Even better than the photos. Life is good, even if I have a cold.

Here's a four-photo Flickr slideshow of its first weekend out

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:53 PM

    She's a beauty! I'll take both you and Trish's foto when I come along on one of your journeys outdoors!
    But no matter how pretty, I'm still loyal to my Spanish steed. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5:51 AM

    Hi! How did you take the stickers off? they seem to be pretty tight, almost like painted...?

    cheers

    Mikko Kivela, Finland

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mikko, mine were just stickers that came of very easily.

    ReplyDelete

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