Well, I’ve put in about 100 miles on my new Kuota Kalibur, and my initial impressions are that it is an exceptionally comfortable, stiff, fast bike. It seems as comfortable when hitting rough pavement as my old R2.5, yet is very stiff. I know some folks have mentioned on here that they felt the Kalibur was a bit flexy, but for me, out of the saddle on a 15% climb, I could not detect any flex in the bottom bracket. That’s not to say there wasn’t any, just that I couldn’t feel any, and the chain was never in danger of rubbing on the front der.
I love the fact there are two water bottle bosses on the frame. No more reaching behind me for a bottle. It might not be the most aero, but I probably lose more time trying to get that stinking bottle in on the left side when the bottles are mounted on the seat since I’m not the most coordinated dude in the world.
The Profile T2 base bars are nice…I was initially worried about them when climbing, but the flat spots near the arm rests are actually pretty comfy for holding onto during a climb if you want a different position than the cow horns. The jury is still out on the S-bend bars. I find myself resting my hands on top of the bars because my wrists start to ache a little when gripping the bars. Because the bike is so stable, though, it tracks just find even though I am not gripping the bars.
The Ultegra stuff works great…no issues shifting or braking at all. The Wheelie Fun guys did a great job on the build…the shifts are all spot on, and the bike rode without a sound the first time I hopped on it, just whirring along on the pavement (I really love that sound). Braking is fine, with good modulation. The right brake lever (Profile brake levers) buzzes very slightly…probably just needs some tightening.
The bike is also nice and stable…its no problem to descend at 30mph+ in the aero bars. There is no wobble or shimmy in the front end. I never felt the need to get out of the aero position and grab the cow horns. No handed riding is also better than some other tri bikes I’ve been on, but its not quite as stable as my road bike. If you’re not paying attention, you can find yourself swerving left or right fairly precipitously.
The Arione Tri saddle is really comfy when I’m sitting up and on the cow horns. It fits my butt perfectly. Exceptionally comfortable. Not as comfy in the aero position, but then I find myself scooting up a tad on the nose, putting a lot of pressure on my taintular area.
I’m in a new, lower position than my old tri bike. I think Bob at Wheelie Fun did a good job setting me up. I feel really powerful in the aero position…no problem motoring up small climbs while still in the aero bars. I find myself staying in the aero position more than I used to. One small issue is that my neck hurts a little more from looking up the road when in the aero bars, but I think I just need to get used to being lower. No back issues at all. Only tweaks to the fit I am considering is sliding the seat up a little to ease the pressure on my taint when in the aero bars, and dropping the seat slightly.
One problem that came up…the seat post slipped on me on my first two rides. The first ride it slipped at least a couple inches. On the second ride, I was a couple miles from Wheelie Fun, and called them while out riding when I realized it had slipped again. They had me come over to the shop, and they squared me away in a matter of minutes…Bob put some stuff on the seat tube that is supposed to help the frame grip the seat tube, and then he wrapped some electrician’s tape around the seat tube as well, so that if it did start slipping, it wouldn’t slip very far. So far, it appears that the stuff they put on the seat tube is working fine, because it doesn’t appear that the tape is wrinkling or anything.
So, all in all, I am super happy with this bike, and with the customer service at Wheelie Fun. I asked if they had any Tacx Tao water bottle cages when I took delivery of the bike, but they didn’t, so I got some plain looking ones. Sure enough, just a couple days ago, they called, and had some in. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they ordered them just for me, since I’m not sure I’ve seen them in the shop before.
Spot