Price Paid:  $1960.00 at milewide sports

Favorite Ride:
anything with hills...

Bike Setup:
da/ultegra mix with ceramic bearing and pulleys,caymano saddle,fsa stem,ritchey wcs classic os hb,time pedals,am classic wheels w/powertap,michellintires,oval concept seatpost.

Summary:
came with ultegra parts but i replace crankset w/dura ace w/ceramic bottom bracket,switced derailler pulley w/ceramic pulleys,am classic wheelset w/powertap(stiff and light).maiden voyage with this rig impressed me a lot;stiffness in the right places which translates to fast but comfy ride,hammer down and it responds with authority...looks muscular too(looks like the hummer w/its edges)..my choice of bike in fast group ride/race..

Strengths:
value,looks,responsive and feels light,comfy in long rides.

Weaknesses:
nothing so far...I never had any trouble switching wheelsets(done it 3 times already and it comes off easily hope they know how to do it right cause it hurts the reputation of this well built,well design bike.

Similar Products Used:
roi antares,giant tcr 1 carbon,cannondale 6/13,sworks e5.

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at Everywhere

Favorite Ride:
Glendora Mountain, Ridge, Mt. Baldy

Bike Setup:
Mostly DA 9s, ITM bar/stem, Ksyrium SSC, Look A5.1 pedals, Thomson post, Concor Light saddle, Michelin carbon tires

Summary:
I wanted to replace my Italian steel lugged ride. I originally wanted a Litespeed Ti (and actually still do) but couldn't pass up the deal I got for this Kestrel. Everyone I know who rides Kestrels likes them. My steel frameset had carbon fork and seatpost upgrades so when I ride this Kestrel, I don't feel any major difference in the ride/smoothness. I'm not Lance and I don't pretend to be so wannabes might notice a difference. I do feel the 3.5 pound weight saving though. It's noticeably lighter and more responsive and is a very good all-around bike, especially for climbing.

Strengths:
Light and responsive, very good climber.

Weaknesses:
Evoke written 16 TIMES on the frameset. 32.4mm seatpost limits your options. Awkward rear dropout shape.

Similar Products Used:
Bianchi lugged steel, Schwinn 974 PDG aluminum

Price Paid:  $0.00 at montclair bikery

Favorite Ride:
harriman state park

Bike Setup:
Dura Ace 9-speed

Summary:
Overall, I am disappointed in this bike. Kestrel customer service/tech support is weak. You are basically told to take a hike with your problems.
It is poorly designed and Kestrel does not stand behind their work.

Strengths:
Light, good ride characteristics. Cheap when compared with other frames of its weight.

Weaknesses:
Poor rear dropout design (as noted in other reviews). You will never get a quick rear wheel change. You will never fit it into a stationary trainer without damaging the frame.


No clearance between drive-side chainstay and inner chainring.
Forget about anything other than a 39-tooth inner chainring on a double.

The replaceable rear deraillieur hanger is very soft and bends if the wind blows on it.

Similar Products Used:
Guru Racelite, Ritchey Breakaway, Cervelo R3-SL

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Price Paid:  $800.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Boulder City, NV

Bike Setup:
DA / Ultegra mix. Ksyrium SSC SL wheelset, Easton EA70 bar, FSA SLK Carbon compact cranks, Fizik Arione saddle, Campy Record Carbon Seatpost, Speedplay Zeros/ 17.2 lbs with cage, computer, and pedals.

Summary:
Great handling bike, very comfortable geometry and a great climber. Though the 32.4 seatpost is more comfortable and stiff during rides, it limits your ability to select your favorite post, there are only a few out there that are 32.4 without using a shim.

Strengths:
Snappy out of the saddle, fairly light, good vibration dampening, great strength to weight ratio. Stiffer than I expected for the comfortable ride.

Weaknesses:
understated the actual frame / fork weight by .2 lbs; rear dropout design stinks.

Similar Products Used:
Cervelo Dual, Cannondale R-1000

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Ebay

Favorite Ride:
Kings Mountain; Old La Honda, NorCal

Bike Setup:
Full Dura Ace...Thomson post and stem(X2). Selle Italia SLR(135 grams)saddle,WCS handlebar, Nokon Cables, full Dura Ace group, Look Keo pedals, Specialized rib cage, and R600 Wheelset.

Summary:
Having read the reviews, I was a little skeptical about the rear drop out of the evoke frame(mine 05 red and black with the loud but nice graphics)...but that was perhaps only a minor complaint,having had 968.6 miles as indicated by my computer. I bought the frame on ebay, paid about 1 grand, and built it up with full Dura components with R600 wheelset. This bike is really fast and it does a good job getting me up the hills. I built up this frame with the intention of using it as a climbing bike and with pedals, computer, cage mine comes out to be about 17.4 pounds. The frame(without fork) is advertised as 2.4 pounds but mine is 2.6 and it is a small frame(52cm) so I surmised that 2.4 is the weight of the 47cm(their smallest frame).

Strengths:
-Good climbing geometry
-Looks really nice(especially the 05...06 and 07 graphics are ugly as hell.
-My evoke fork has steel steering tube...some prefers carbon but for me this is a strength.
-The carbon frame is stiff but does a good job absorbing road chatters. I ride a full alum bike around school campus and the difference in ride quality is very noticable.
-accepts oversized seatpost (32.4 when the standard is 27.2). The oversized seatpost makes my tush quite comfy not to mention stiff motor support.
-at one grand for both both frame and fork(and a crappy headset...which I suggest you upgrade bearings rightaway)

Weaknesses:
-rear drop out design--must remove the quick release completely by loosen the bolt before you can take your rear wheel out.
-Made in China...(when I receive the box,I was expecting Made in Taiwan)...but the truth is that the quality of the ride is equal if not better than my other carbon frames(Look,Felt)

Similar Products Used:
Felt F1C,Look 486