I remember when I was first getting into triathlon, the Kestrel 4000 was the hottest bike, and waaaaay out of my price range as a student at the time.
Now that I’m old and fat, I was thinking of trying to track one down for a bit of nostalgia… but nothing on ebay, and I can’t even find a picture of one on the net.
Have they all ended up in the various dumpsters behind bike shops over the last 2 decades?
I know someone with one hanging in he garage. I just stare and laugh everytime I see it. It’s the original tri aero bike. I can ask her is she wants to sell it. Let me know.
i have an original KM-40, which is like the 4000, but sexier.
-mike
The 4000’s pop on eBay from time to time. I too lusted after these in my early days. I have both a 200sci and 500sci and love both.
One caveat: the rear dropout spacing on most of the 4000’s is 126mm to accept 6/7spd. Some were retooled later(early 90’s?) to 128mm spacing to accept 8spd(and I guess 9/10). I know several guys who ride a 126mm but just carefully get a 9spd 130mm rear hub in there, but I would be a little worried doing that on carbon fiber.
HC
That 4000 is a fine bike…spacing is an issue…but the KM 40 is still a great tri frame …EMS even better…if you ride 650c…it is a good deal…loved my km40 and km40 ems…and 500sci
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Ah…the bike that “started it all”. I got my first Kestrel 200SC in 1991 and then got a warranty replacement in 1999. That baby is still my “commuter bike”. It is a sweet ride. I would never part with it.
I have a buddy in Raleigh North Carolina who has a 4000 frame, size 54. I bet he would sell it as he also owns a 200SCi and a Look KG486
I have one of the original 4000 bikes, built up with Sante. I put over 26000 miles on this fine ride, but now every one of the joints have cracks running along them. It’s now hanging in a place of honor in my basement.
I still have an original 4000. Still do sprint races on it and love the thing. With the narrow spacing I still run old DA 7-speed with GripShifts on the ends of Scott aerobars. I love the GripShifts and wish they still made them for roadbikes. A bike shop near where I live (Central Illinois) still has a new one for sale hanging on the wall and I saw another at a shop in Madison WI about a year ago. Still a sweet ride after all these years…
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I can’t even find a picture of one on the net.
Are you looking on the same internet I am. In less than 30 sec I came up with this:
A classic, very cool… also a pretty good paper weight… 
Me too!! I’ve had a KM40, 500 and all I got left is my 200! I figure the little money I’d get for it wouldn’t be worth what it means to me!! 
My main bike is now a Giant and the 200 is my back-up!
Would that be Russel’s in Washington?
…oh man, that Kestrel 4000 is a beauty. Makes me want to be 25 years old again and rolling back the clock to 1990 when those 4000’s were “the bike”. Still a beauty after all these years.
…oh man, that Kestrel 4000 is a beauty. Makes me want to be 25 years old again and rolling back the clock to 1990 when those 4000’s were “the bike”. Still a beauty after all these years.
Rolling back the clock… I remember M. P-G racing out of King City Tri T1 with one of these and just had to have one (I believe Trimble helped start Kestrel):
Would a Trimble frame and a non disk rear be legal in Kona? I wonder what it would be like to be hit by a powerful crosswind riding one of those?
You could’ve simply said “here, let me help you out” and posted the pics. I probably would have thanked you.
Thanks to those with bikes to offer -unfortunately too small. Actually, I don’t even know what sizes were available, since I assume that there would have been limited moulds.
Would a Trimble frame and a non disk rear be legal in Kona? I wonder what it would be like to be hit by a powerful crosswind riding one of those?
I think it would be. Somewhere out in webspace I’ve seen a picture of a guy coming out of transition at Kona on a Trimble.
Actually it was pretty stable in windy conditions. However I never rode mine at Kona (only IMC which at the time had a non disc rule).
Sorry, I did not mean to be so rude, but you didn’t ask sor someone to post pics. You said you could not find pics on the internet, which I found difficult to believe. So I went to google and typed in Kestrel 4000 clicked on images and found the ones I posted. I was just wondering how hard you looked on the internet. I hope that you a frame that fits you. I knew a guy who bought one used in 1998 and loved it.
Another interesting Trimble pic:
Check out the hinged door to allow for cable access and storage of an extra tube or pump. Bet you’ve never seen a bike with a hinged door in the frame before!
