I have an older Kestrel 200 and am thinking of replacing it. I was talking to the folks at Kestrel about the Talon and Evoke and he mentioned the 200 was more of a crit style geometry (ie, steeper head and seat tubes, lower bb, etc) that was a popular style in late 80’s and early 90’s. He said something with a more relaxed geometry (ie, stage race or “Euro geometry”) might better fit my needs. My current Kestrel has a 74 degree ST and 73.5HT angle. Is that considered steep for a road bike?
I have found that the 200 seems kinda squirely after riding my tri bike for a while and wonder Kestrel’s explanation is the cause. I have no interest in racing the new bike and just want it for group rides, recovery rides and long solo stuff in the mountains around here. Can anyone help me understand how a “Euro geometry” bike will better fit my needs?
The “Euro” geometry, at least as I understand it, is a more slack 72/73 seat tube which makes for a good handling bike for road racing, climbing, descending, etc. A good example is the Lemond road bikes. I generally prefer this geometry in a road bike, but it’s a matter of personal preference.
Well, a bike with a longer wheel base and more relaxed head tube angle may be a good bit more stabile and more comfortable riding. Cannondale’s new Synapse has this more relaxed, “all day” geometry as opposed to their Six13 series which is full-on race and optimized for high speed cornering, fast acceleration (shorter chainstays), etc.
My understanding is that Kestrel’s original geometry for the 200 SCi series was designed for Kestrel by frame builder Tom Kellogg.
Additionally, due to either a CPSC mandate or the cost of some liability insurances some bike manufacturers have started going with steepish seat tube angle to open up the front center dimension and reduce toe clip overlap. This has had an effect on what geometry some companies are using and explains why a company’s 52cm road fram may actually have a 75.5 degree seat tube angle (52cm Felt F55) which actually approaches that of some tri bikes.