300 miles later

After 300 miles spent just this week on my Kestrel airfoil, It is time for a review. I wanted to wait until I spent some time on the bike before I gave my Impressions. Here are 5 thoughts on my new ride.

1. The weight-As the old saying goes "Aero trumps weight", But what happens when your bike has every aerodynamic advantage (and more) than your previous bike, and is 4 pounds lighter(yes this is weighed at a LBS)? Its a thing of beauty. The obvious place you would notice this is while climbing, but I have actually also noticed things like trying to get up to speed after standing at a traffic lite are a much quicker process.
2. The Geometry-The airfoil allows you to ride in a steep, yet comfortable position. Most TT bikes are built to be ridden in Time trials, and built for pro cyclists riding in a grand tour. The airfoil is built for the needs of the triathlete, offering a steep front end for aerodynamics, but achieving it with a geometry that is still comfortable. (I would also like to thank Todd at TTbike fits.com for helping find the right position.)
3. No Seat tube-Yes it is a little strange, but this bike has no seat tube. At first I did not know what to think of this. (and yes your buddies you ride with will try to think of stupid jokes of what happened to your seat post) But I quickly came to love the Idea that I no longer hear that horrid sound of gravel tearing through the carbon of my rear wheel cutout.
4. Descents- Yes the climbing is great on this bike(for a TT bike), but the descents are even better. I no longer get squirrelly when I am flying down a hill. I feel it is because the Kestrel has a longer wheel base, but when I am flying down hills (50mph reached so far) the bike stays straight as an arrow, and you feel nothing but smooth sailing.
5. The name- So when I got the bike I quickly looked up on wikipedia to see what a kestrel actually was. I had visions of a huge prehistoric sized bird that strikes fear into small asian towns, leaving their villages torched from the flames the bird spews from its mouth. But in reality it is actually a small hawk, about the size of bird my cat caught the other day. So I guess I won't be getting a tattoo on my arm after all.

In Nutshel-I love my new ride.