Hi. Anyone have first-hand experience with the Kestrel Airfoil? There are very few reviews on-line and most are a few years old.
I recently acquired a new 2010 Kestrel Airfoil Pro frameset and am debating whether to build it up or sell it to buy a different frame.
Thanks.
Ray
i saw it in a shop the other day. the head tube and bottom bracket are huge, generally meaning not very aero.
Great frame. Currently on the 2009. Same frame and it is the fastest bike I have ever ridden.
Ride quality is fantastic, accelerates well and, more importantly, I was able to get very steep on it, which is important for me.
I really have no complaints with the bike at all. Customer service was fantastic and quality seems to be great.
For the money (great deals on kestrels at the moment) I don’t think you can beat it.
Great frame. Currently on the 2009. Same frame and it is the fastest bike I have ever ridden.
what sort of testing methodology did you use and what else have you ridden?
accelerates well
oh
I fell in love with mine the first time I test rode it, smooth, solid and comfortable. Is it as aero as the rest? IMO, there’s no way to know. So much is dependent on postion that I don’t think comparisons make a whole lot of sense. It feels fast to me and when I get to the steep downhills where we’re coasting, it’s faster than most anything around me, for what that’s worth.
I also ride an AF Pro (2009 SE edition). It fits me well and is fast and comfortable. BUT, it is my first real Tri bike.
I don’t know if it means anything to you (and it’s probably a coincidence) but if you look at the photos of the Timberman 70.3 on the ST front page, there are 2 or 3 AF’s (it may be 2 AF’s and one 4000).
I have been using my Airfoil Pro since 2005. Before that, I had the Kestrel KM40. I’m very happy with it and have no plans to change. I am not the faster rider by any means. But I feel fast on it, but, more importantly (for me), I am comfortable on it. Good balance between aero and comfort. I’ve done 2 IM, lots of 1/2s, Oly’s and sprints.
No idea why they don’t get much love -
In my experience they are great bikes, depending on your body type a very, very good position is achievable, and they are less common
those items may or may not be important to you - but such as they are…
If I had a long-low type body I’d be riding one of them right now.
Assuming the geometry fits with you, and you like a low-stack setup, I’d do it for sure.
I have been riding one since 2005. I love it and wouldn’t trade it or sell it for anything, except maybe a 4000… I think it is sleek and looks great, I won’t talk aero cause there’s no real numbers to compare. I ride mine with a disk on back and have raced well at all distances from short sprint to IM. It does have long and low stack and reach, so fit is a consideration. Bottom bracket and seatpost on mine is a little flexy side to side, Steve Harad from Kestrel tells me this was fixed in 09, which may be why yours has a fat bottom bracket.
Personally I don’t care how aero my AF Pro is compared to other bikes. I just love how it looks. Initially I was not that happy that I could not get it SLACKER, but now that I am used to its steepness, I love it. It handles like a charm. I really ripped the descents at IM France like I was on a road bike…nice long front centre and more roadie like head tube angle take care of that. I’m Kestrel sponsored, so take my posting with a grain of salt. Bottom line is I love it, but then again, I’ve had Kestrels in my garage since 1991 regardless of what tri bike I rode. I never gave away/sold my Kestel 200’s. Finally I really thought the “seat tube less design” would be pure marketing fluff on the comfort side, but each time I ride it, I am convinced that it truly is a smoother ride and there is no marketing fluff in the statements about it be “plusher” in the vertical compliance department…but you’ll have to ride one yourself to believe if the fluff is true or not.
Finally on speed, on group rides, I’m fastest descender despite my 140 lb weight, but I’ve been the fastest descender because of my position. I can’t say that the AF pro is a enough of a barn door to make me slower on descents. If anything my terminal velocities on a known hill are consistently faster, however, that is not a wind tunnel and there are too many variables at hand…maybe I keep showing up on low atmospheric pressure days…who knows. My 2 cents in this department is that if you are an age group and even if you want to Kona qual, this bike will not hold you back. I won’t make any unsubstantiated marketing claims about it making you faster…but you will LOOK FASTER and really that’s the same reason why the mid life crisis guy buys a Porche. Everytime I stop, people ask me about the bike!..sorry for the Mismatched wheelset!!!
Where are you finding great deals? I am looking for a 4000 pro. Thanks!
re: numbers -
A friend who does TTs and tends to win colorful shirts at big races just came back from the windtunnel after spending a bunch of time there testing bikes from 3 different manufacturers. He buys whatever he wants, and he has an entire stable of TT bikes (5 at last count?) and while he’s keeping the numbers close to his vest until after nats, he’ll be on a 4000.
He said the numbers for the airfoil weren’t as good, but still very solid.
I spent two years on a P2C. Then this year I switched to the airfoil. I am riding faster than ever (recently had the top amateur bike split at the lake stevens 70.3). For me the position I achieved on the airfoil is what made the difference. Yes an aero frame is great, but it is small potatoes in comparison to the position of the rider. I am riding a bit steeper, but am still really comfortable. If you like to ride steep It is a great bike! I also love how the bike handles and how smooth it rides. My advice would be to go test ride one and see what you think. I am quite happy with mine.
Nice bike. Is that a vision cockpit? I have the alloy Vision base and aero bars from my old tri bike that I’m planning to use for my Airfoil build.
Ray
One bike can accelerate better than another. A flexy front end or poor geometry can prevent a rider from giving it full gas in a sprint. I’m sure you meant that given an equal “engine” output bies will all accelerate at the same rate (pretty much), but with people, confidence matters.
Styrrell
Nice bike. Is that a vision cockpit? I have the alloy Vision base and aero bars from my old tri bike that I’m planning to use for my Airfoil build.
Ray
yup it is a vision alloy bar
Profile Carbon base bar that the AF pro came with but the aerobar is vision old aluminium. The Profile aerobars that it came with had too much stack height, which would mean that I have to drop my base bar to get the aerobars low enough (not that they are that low). I’m actually somewhat picky about my basebar position for out of the saddle climbing on long 10-20 k climbs (like IM France) and also where the base bar sits relative to my body for technical descents (low basebar position is not that great on technical descents). So if I used the profile aerobar with big stack height, and have the pads spatially in the right place for my aero position, then the basebar position ends up being somewhat low. With the Visions, I can actually get the basebar position Higher with the same aeropad position by adding spacers below the stem (non ST approved) while removing the 2.5mm riser and inserting the 10mm Vision riser.
Dev