Any of you folks have the Kestrel Talon Road or the Cervelo Soloist that use the bikes interchangeably between road and tri? I’m debating the merits of owning just one bike that I can train as a road bike, ride in some crits and then clip on some aerobars and scoot the seat forward for tris. I’m curious what personal experiences those of you that do this have had with these bikes or perhaps some other model that you can recommend. Also, do you know what effective seat tube angle range you can achieve with the Kestrel? I could not find that data, which was otherwise readily available for the Soloist. Thanks folks.
I just picked up an 02’ Soloist about 2 weeks ago, just couldn’t wait any longer for the 03’ team bikes to come out. Anyway, so far I’m loving the bike. I’m not a bike expert but it handles great in both the forward and traditional set-ups.(I’m riding in more of the forward position=76*) The versatillity is a great addition to the bike. Meaning someday when I get enough $$ and get a P3 I’ll turn the soloist into the full time road set-up won’t feel there is any compromise in the road position. As long as they fit I find it hard to go wrong with either.
When I moved to Hawaii ten years ago I went from ten or so bikes to a road bike and mtb. With good reason as I went from a big house with a gartage to a small condo with no garage.
I found that putting on areo bars, changing shifters ,storing wheels ect. were a drag so now I am back to five or six bikes. It is much easier to pump up a set of tires and go roadie, fixed, aerobars or mtb without changing anything. If you have the room have two rigs. Aloha G
I have a Giant TCR-1 and Cervelo P2K. Probably a more sensible and definately more economical situation would have been for me to have bought a Soloist and have one bike only. Since most of my riding is with a roadie group, I don’t spend that much time on the P2K. I’ll ride it once a week for an hour and then use it for tris. In contrast, I’ll spend six or seven hours a week on the TCR-1. As a triathlete, I’m a middle aged MOP Ag’er who runs a handful of sprints/Oly’s each season, so whether I’m on a P2K or Soloist wouldn’t make that much difference.
I’ve used the TCR-1 as a tri bike and it’s worked well. It has a compact geometry very similiar to the Soloist. Run either at 75/76 degrees in a “multi-sport” position and they are quite adequate for running tris.
For the riding that you decribe the Soloist seems like the ticket. The only reason that I’d pick one over the TCR is because there are more sizes available(may or may not be important) and because of the aero tubing.
The Kestrel is a great road bike. I can get mine to about 77 degrees with a Thompson Setback turned forward. I have a Litespeed 40 mm fork (a 43 Kestrel comes standard), and at 77 degrees I begin to have real concerns about handling issues; I don’t ride in as straight a line as I want to…and in fast downhill turns, I don’t feel as comfortable as I’d like. It’s OK at 76 degrees for me, but doesn’t really handle correctly until it’s back to 75 or slacker. Remember, that’s just for me. You may be different.
I can’t compare it to the Cervelo ride quality from a personal comparison…BUT, I’d bet the Cervelo will ride better in the forward position, because I think the Cervelo is longer from the BB to the front axle, so it should have better weight distribution than the Kestrel shoved forward.
I’ll bet the Cervelo would have a hard time matching the vibration dampening effect, or the stiffness of the Talon, but, the Cervelo will be lighter! Oh, the Talon has a lifetime warranty, too.
If you are only going to have one bike, I’d nudge you gently toward the Cervelo instead of the Talon. If you want to consider other bikes, I’d probably nudge you even another direction…Yaqui, maybe?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started a race and had my gears not shift right (I use special wheels on race day, and the rear gearbox doesn’t align the same) or had to change a chain a week before the race, only to find out that my chainring was too worn to work with the new chain, so I’m replacing my chainring a day before the race…
Having a second bike is a luxury? Maybe, but anything worth doing is worth overdoing.