Summary: This is a great bike, one you get rid of the FSA Gossamer crank. The stupid thing wouldn't shift from the small ring to the big ring. What kind of idiot from Kestrel would select this crank for a high-end bike.
Once I swapped the crank out for the Shimano R700 Compact, the bike rides like a dream. There is absolutely no road vibration. I can put on a lot more miles without feeling beat up.
Suited with a water bottle cage, a cateye computer, and Speedplay CrMO pedals, the bike weighs 19.3 lbs. I would have though the bike to be lighter. Still, it rides like a 16 lb. bike.
I love the internal cable routing and the aero tube shape. It just looks sleek and clean.
The jury is still out on the Shimano wheelset. The nipples tighten from the hub and require a special wrench. No field repairs allowed. While I haven't had an problems, i foresee something bad when I break a spoke on the road.
Since I only paid $1300 for this bike, I think it is the best deal in the world. Had I paid $3000, i might have a different attitude. Still, I think its a great bike.
Summary: The reviewer who rode this bike for 10 minutes and gave it a 1 out 5 rating should not be submitting a review (I'd say the same thing if he gave it 5 stars). I find it hard to believe that he was properly fitted (stem length, stem height, bar width, saddle, saddle position - fore/aft, up/down - crank length, and maybe even frame size)for his brief test ride. I've owned a Talon for over 2 years and raced a Trek 5200 (same geometry as the reviewer's Madone)for several years and there is no way on earth the Kestrel is less stable than the Trek. Both bikes were carefully fitted to me down to the last component, and both perform beautifully. But, if anything, the Talon is more stable than the Trek, and has a quieter, less buzzy ride when both are similarly set up. The only way a Talon would feel less stable is when it is set up for TT/Triathlon with a forward body position and allot of weight out over the front wheel - but then all bikes get squirly when set up like this (remember Zabrisky's fall in the Tour?). One of the great values of this forum is that people with real experience with products - dialed-in bikes, wheels they've ridden for hundreds of miles or more, etc. - weigh in with careful reviews. 10 minute test rides don't cut it. If I rode a bike with stellar reviews and it felt "horribly unstable" the first thing I would do is question the fit, not the product. And I certainly wouldn't write a review based on a 10 minute experience. Let's try to keep the caliber of reviews high, maintaining the value of this website.
Strengths: see my previous review. After 2 years training and racing this bike, it is still great - comfortable, and STABLE.
Similar Products Used: Trek 5200, Specialized Sirus, Stella, Scandium SCattante.
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Favorite Ride: a long ride through the wildest place that still has a paved road
Summary: I recently went shopping for a road bike. Out of the many bikes I test rode, I found a few I liked, some which were unimpressively mediocre, and many which just didn't fit my body or my preferences (but which may be great bikes for someone else). The Kestrel Talon, however, is the only one which I think is simply a bad bike. The handling is incredibly unstable. Even if you're looking for a quick-handling race machine, I still advise against buying this bike.
(Yeah, I know I only rode the bike for 10 minutes, but that was quite long enough. And a few more negative reviews would make this site a lot more useful, IMO.)
Weaknesses: Dreadfully unstable handling.
Similar Products Used: Rode a Bianchi Eros for the previous 6 years. I ultimately bought a 2007 Trek Madone 5.0.
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Bike Setup: Dura-Ace, Kestrel OMS Pro bar, Neuvation M28 Aeros for road, Hed 60/disc for tri, Fizik Arione
Summary: Let me say that I am very impressed with my Kestrel Talon. For several years I have owned both a road bike and a tri bike, but as I am cutting back on triathlon in favor of group road riding, I wanted a dual purpose bike that could still do both. The most logical bikes on the market for this are the Kestrel Talon and the Cervelo Soloist. The carbon version of the Soloist is out of my budget and I'm very familiar with the aluminium version, having rode a friends on different ocassions, but am just not willing to put up with the harshness of the aluminium Cervelo frame. My Cervelo P2K used to beat me up on long rides, and I wasn't going to do the same with a road bike. So IMO a choice between a carbon Kestrel or an aluminium Soloist was absolutely a no brainer.
The Talon has not disappointed. It is a very smooth riding bike on the rough stuff, and I say this even coming off a Lemond steel/carbon spine frame previously. The Talon is the best descending bike I've owned. On high speed descents it's manners are impecable. I'm very happy with the quality of construction. I wonder how Kestrel can make such a good bike at this price. I am very pleased.
Strengths: -aero tubing, internal cabling, aero dual position seat post for TT/tri
- excellent handling bike in road position
- very stable on high speed descents
- quality made in the USA carbon construction
- only rider on a group ride with a Talon. Gets very positive comments from the roadies
Weaknesses: -internal cabling was a bit of a job since the vendor neglected to send the inernal guides
- aluminium aero seatpost slipped, but easily fixed with hair spray.
- downtube may not be quite as aero as on Soloist but Kestrel compensates with aero seat stays and shorter head tube for tri/TT position.
- the only compromise is that handling will be effected if you try to get too steep in the tri/TT position. I'd say 76/77 degrees of effective seat post is maximum. If you want to go steeper then get a dedicated tri bike. Remember that the Talon & Soloist are mostly road bikes that will do occassional tri/TT duty.
Bike Setup: Full Ultegra minus the compact Shimano cranks.
Summary: I got a great deal onn this bike from www.cyclesmithy.com, I paid $1600 and the retail is $2700. The bike is built up with a full ultegra group and Shimano wh550 wheels. The finish quality of the bike is top notch and is comparable to that of much higher priced bikes that sponsor teams for the tour.
The bike has an excellent ride because it is very stiff and it feels like every bit of power input is going to the wheel. Although the bike is very stiff, it is very forgiving over rough pavement.
Strengths: Light, stiff. and not a rough ride.
Weaknesses: Haven't found any yet.
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