I am in the way to buy a new road bike that I will also use in some tris. After a long search I have decided to pick a Kuota Kredo or Khan or a Cervelo Soloist Carbon. Money apart, what is the best choice?
I actually never considered the Kuota since I wanted carbon aero frame with internal cabling and an available dual position aero post. That left the carbon Soloist and the Kestrel Talon at about half the price, about the same as the aluminium Soloist. In the end I chose the Talon based on economics.
Anybody else?
Cervelo-less Cerveloguy, let’s see your review of the Talon. Kestrel is the original Carbon Fiber company that made this entire carbon craze happen. I had my first Kestrel 200SC going back to 1991. I still ride my second Kestrel 200 as my commuter.
I am thinking of getting something that is a bit less steep than my QR Lucero so that I can ride it around 76. The Kestrel Talon in 52 has the same front centre as the QR, but it has almost 3 cm of additional Chainstay length.
The good news is that if I ride it at around 76, I am going to split this additional difference by having around 1.5 cm of additional bike in front of me and another 1.5 behind me. The Talon is also 1 cm taller in the head tube, but I can take care of that with a minus 17 degree stem instead of my current zero degree rise.
My question to you is, “how does the Talon handle when ridden semi steep”. Also any difference betwen the Talon and Talon SL aside from a bit of weight and esthetics?
Please let me know on this thread.
Dev
"Cervelo-less Cerveloguy, let’s see your review of the Talon. Kestrel is the original Carbon Fiber company “A”“how does the Talon handle when ridden semi steep”.
Dev, I’m riding a 52 cm Talon with a 110mm stem. I’m 5’9", that’s about an inch taller than you? Kestrel really knows carbon. Even Slowman has said they are one of the best.
I think a lot of guys screw up both the Talon and Soloist by trying to go too steep on these bikes, jamming their seats forward as possible trying to turn them into steep angle bikes. They were not designed to be rode beyond 76ish, so don’t ride them beyond that or you’ll effect the handling. I shake my head when guys post on ST that the Talon or Soloist aren’t tri bikes, completely ignoring Lessing’s win at IMLP or Macca’s many wins on a Talon. They’re tri bikes for people who don’t want to ride super aggressive. And often their riders can win this way.
The 52 cm frame comes with a 74.5 degree seat tube angle, quite steep for a road bike. On the forward seat position I’ll guess it must be at least 76. My other 53/54 size road bikes were around 73 degrees. Still, I feel the Talon fits me like a glove in the road position. It’s the nicest handling road bike that I’ve ever owned. I’ve rode a lot of high end road bikes - Cervelo R3, Look 585, Litespeed, etc but am really impressed with the ride/handling qualities of the Talon. It’s as good as anything else I’ve tried. As a roadie the Talon is a great handler, smooth rider and handles high speed descents wonderful.
I’ll be doing Kingston tri this weekend. I won my AG last year but have no expections of anything near that this year due to a bout of pneumonia, lack of training and motivation. I’ve set the bike up at 76ish or this race, so it will be my first race experience with the Talon steep. I can give you a report after the race. Last year I was on a 80ish P2K that was fast, top AG bike split , but killed my crotch and neck.
Personally, I think the the 76ish angle will work better for many of us AG’ers, especially on long course and for peope with neck/taint issues. I’ll find out this weekend how it works for me.
Personally I found that the steep aggressive position worked for me in short stuff quite well, but I suffered at anything longer than 40 kms. Of course I’m 56, not 26, but even so, I’ve been doing yoga stretches for over 30 yrs and have better flexibility than many people much younger than me, although that still doesn’t make me younger than them!!!.
ST has become rather myopic IMO about seat angles. Seems every post demands getting low/steep even disregarding Lance, etc. Steep and low has sort of become a ST cult irregardless of the individual’s abilities, measurements or flexibility.
If I make it to Ottawa this year feel free to take the Talon out for a spin as it’ll be set up 76ish for that course. Not sure if I’m doing the aquabike or a century ride in PEC that weekend.
Cervelo hands down… ride the bikes… they speak for themselves.
I am in the way to buy a new road bike that I will also use in some tris. After a long search I have decided to pick a Kuota Kredo or Khan or a Cervelo Soloist Carbon. Money apart, what is the best choice?
Off brands…but I am serious…ride a Planet X…own a Cervelo and many miles on a Kalibur…PX IMO is much nicer ride.
Cerveloguy…this is exactly what I wanted to hear. I totally agree with you. My Lucero won’t go further back than nose over BB with the saddle I am riding, so I am stuck at 78+ even though I want my saddle to be more like 76, which is exactly where the Talon would put me. Nice to hear. This is certainly an option and you might see me on one by the Canadian Half Iron
so if you go 76 or less what aero bars do you like?
Thom
ktown tri eh… you’ll have to introduce yourself, I’m doing the SC… I’ll be riding a cervelo soloist with giant carbon wheels…
Advices on KUOTA or CERVELO toad bikes, please!!
i have a kuota kredo and really like it. ultegra model and with carbon keos it weighs under 17.5. the frame is very stiff and great for climbing. i have not rode a solist but im pretty sure your paying a lot more for the cervelo name. ride both and you decide.
Dev
I am riding my Talon semi steep. I use a Thomson set back post in the forward position. THe head tube height is a bit of an issue and I am using a -17 stem. It’s OK though. I would imagine that I am about 76 degrees or so. At that seat angle, handling is OK. Probably not as stable as a true tri bike but not really a problem. It is absolutely not an issue at all on the flats. On a fast descent, you need to be a bit more attentive than a road bike or a true tri bike but it’s not a big deal. Overall, I really like the ride and am finding it hard to justify a tri bike. The position is similar to sitting on the nose of my road bike saddle and riding deep in the drops. It feels like a powerful position. I am about 1-1.5 mph faster on the Talon than on my road bike in the drops though.
The only drawback is the internal cable routing. I was afraid to touch it for a couple of years but I finally gave it a shot. I have changed the cables and housings 3 times now and it is pretty easy if you use fishing string to guide the cables. Overall I have no complaints about the Talon. Good value for the money.
Mike
I’ve ridden a lot of road bikes over the past 20 years (Cannondale, Pinarello x2, Merckx, Kestrel, to name a few) and I can’t rate any of those bikes above the Soloist Carbon.
As far as Kuota goes, I have taken a spin on a Kalibur, but haven’t tried their road line.
Hey guys, if I get a Talon, I will ride it semi steep. The 52 has similar geometry to my Lucero, in that is has the identical front centre and similar head tube 100mm vs 90mm. Head tube angle is 73 vs 72.5, putting the headset around 1 cm further out from the saddle than on the lucero. Finally, obviously I have the option of moving from 77 degrees and back, while the Lucero only gives me the option of realistically going 78 and forward. The chain stays on the Talon are 41 mm vs 38 mm on the Lucero, which means your back wheel is tucked less under your butt than the Lucero. When ridden at 76, I can see the handling being OK, but not much greater than that as you move fuirther away from the back wheel. Also ridden at 76 with a 73 degree head tube would mean that I add 3 cm of extra “reach” at the front end which would likely entail putting a 90 mm stem vs the current 120 mm stem…alll doable. I guess for a guy like me who really does not like riding much steeper than 78, and who loves riding big mountain climbs with technical descents, the Talon gives me the option of having “more bike” between me and the front wheel if I slide it back to 74.
Now, sorry for hikacking this thread, but Cervelos I have experience with. The Soloist I wrote a review for on the Cervelo website…it is awesome in the tri position and I used it at a 76-77 degree angle (at the limit) and it worked fine. I also rode the P3SL for a year and it is a terraffic bike. I never rode an Aluminium bike with such a sweet ride, and best of all, it was fully adjustable from UCI legal 5cm behind BB all the way to Dan Empfield approved 82 degree…
Kuotas, I have not ridden, but my bike choice is now down to either the Talon or the Kuota Kalibur, which is a 76 degree bike and comes with options of slack and steep seat post.
Dev