Kuota Kebel / DA+

Price Paid:  $2700.00 at Bike center Ksyrium

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Zagreb - Samobor and around

Bike Setup:
Campagnolo Centaur, Fulcrum 5 wheels, 12-25, 53-39, Keo Look, Kuota alu-carbon wheel, cinelli gel bar tape :-)
Now I have Conti GP4000s, and original setup Vredestein Fortezza Classic (lasted for 6.000 km) - price 2.700 Euro in Croatia with discount.

Summary:
This was my first real road bike, with real road geometry. Before I decided to buy Kuota Kebel, I analyzed what Trek, Focus, Cannondale and others have to offer. Before this bike, I had (and have it now) C'dale Warrior, a hybrid bike. Kebel is just something much better. Design is beautiful and together with good price, it was winning combination. I am very happy with this bike. I ride around 5.000 km per year. I had two falls and bike frame is still fine and without scratch. One with 40 km/h (side fall), and one with 20 km/h (a car hit) - only bike damage - bended rear dropout holder both times, luck.

Strengths:
Good design and looking, stiffness, weight, aero look and feel, speed, frame geometry, all I need is here.

Weaknesses:
none so far

Similar Products Used:
C'dale Road Warrior

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Bondi Bike Bar (note

Favorite Ride:
Royal National Park

Bike Setup:
Campagnolo Chorus groupset, Look Keo pedals, Mavic wheels, Selle Italia diva saddle

Summary:
I was the proud purchaser of an Orbea carbon/alloy combo with Campagnolo Chorus groupset at a pretty decent price. But when I went to have the bike set up to fit me, it turned out the frame, specifically the length of the top tube, was too big (I'm 5'3"). I faced the painful choice of how much to spend on a new frame, but in the end decided it was worth spending a bit more to have a frame worthy of the good components I already had.

As someone who has only recently begun to take riding seriously. Prior to this, I thought my Giant CRX4 that I use for commuting was a big step up from the Kmart bikes I grew up riding.

So it probably won't come as a surprise that I love love love this bike. It is my baby. Despite the 'stiffness' described in many of the posts, it is a very smooth ride. And once I got used to the chunkier size of the tubes, I've grown to think she's quite a handsome ride.

Strengths:
Smaller sizes that work for the ladies, good looks, smooth ride, not too expensive

Weaknesses:
Wide tubes seem less aero than they could be

Price Paid:  $1100.00 at cycle centre

Favorite Ride:
majorca

Bike Setup:
105 shimano, san marco, ritchey wcs,xero race

Summary:
bought this frame set off the back of owning a kuota k factor which was a great frame. again this is a good looking bike over sized tubes etc built the frame up with excitment for the first run,what a dissappointment what some people would say is silky smooth comfort i would say like sitting on an elastic band, tope and seat post tube flex is excessive to say the least. stamp on the pedals out of the seat and it goes with no lateral flex from the bottom end great. i personally cant ride a bike for 60 miles standing up though, cornering is sharp and responsive, maybe even a little to sharp which can cause a little twitch on fast snaking corners

Strengths:
good looks, light

Weaknesses:
to soft

Similar Products Used:
k factor, tarmac,giant tcr

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Dura-Ace

Summary:
I’m a former hardcore road racer (6’3” and 190lb) and decided to buy a new carbon frameset. I road tested most of the bikes on my short-list (Cervelo R3, Specialized Tarmac, Trek Madone, Kuota Kebel) but not all (Look 595, Kuota Kredo). Going into the process, I expected to buy the R3. I learned a lot on these rides however and my favorite overall turned out to the Kebel, which I bought. Here’s what I learned:

- Power. In larger frame sizes, the R3 has the most lateral stiffness and snap for climbing and sprints, but by a smaller margin than I expected. The others are close behind. All of them have more than enough power for decisive attacks and break-away speed.

- Handling. The Kebel has the best balance and most intuitive feel. In fast descents its tracking and stability are just superb, and at normal speeds it turns instantly but with complete composure. After the Kebel, the R3 was my next favorite but required more attention at low to normal road speeds. The Tarmac has some front end quirks at speed and overall the Madone feels more like a crit bike, perhaps on account of its wheelbase and fork offset which are both the lowest of the group. On the Kebel, the stable and predictable feel may have to do with its arc reinforced head tube joins, longer fork rake, and rider setback (shortest chainstays and most relaxed seat tube angle).

- Ride. The R3 and Kebel have the most lively ride, but the R3 feels more harsh than the others. The Kebel’s ride is so smooth and silky that I got the wrong first impression. At first I thought that nothing this smooth could never have enough snap, and wondered why the European press rates its power so highly. It’s only when you finish some steep climbs and hard sprints and then go repeat them on the R3 that you realize just how much power the Kebel really has, but in a deceptively sleek and non-jarring way. I’ve found the same thing in some other sports, that a smooth feel can mask the perceived power because everything feels more composed and less “exciting”. The Kebel’s surprising ride quality may have to do with its top and down tube walls which are thinned out more than usual.

- Build. In the mountains I need to totally trust the build to stay on form and relaxed in long fast descents. For me the Kebel initially raised some questions because of its thin walled tubes, its lack of a kevlar wrap, and the fact that it’s not race proven like the other bikes in this group. I finally concluded that there were four things here to keep in mind: that Kuota got its start producing mission critical high end forks (whereas Cervelo still outsources theirs), that their design decisions rely heavily on state of the art computer modeling data for stress analysis, that the frame was top rated by an independent stress test lab in Germany, and that their production process is ISO 9002 certified which requires exceptional product consistency and quality control. As far as “race proven”, the Kebel remains an unknown. That said, there have been enough Tarmac and Cervelo frame failures on the race circuit that their reliability data are not especially reassuring.

Overall the Kebel was the standout for me as it had the best combination of qualities. It excels at its ride and handling, and its power is among the best but with a sleek feel and deceptively less drama.

Strengths:
smooth ride and instinctive handling, race-worthy power for climbing and sprints

Weaknesses:
no kevlar wrap or race proven reliability

Similar Products Used:
Cervelo R3, Specialized Tarmac, Trek Madone

Price Paid:  $1800.00

Model Year:
2007

Bike Setup:
Had purchase the frameset and set with my ultegra 10sp grouppo. Truvativ rouleur carbon compact crankset (50/34) - DT swiss 1450 wheelset. Fi:zik arione saddle.

Summary:
Bike is great! Stiff enough to transfer your energy when pedaling but still comfortable and forgiveness. I rode it at many triathlon and especially at the Alp d;Huez triathlon (french Alps). Great climber whether you sit or stand on it. It will probably perform as well if you're a powerfull rider like a sprinter. Cornering is fast and stable. A pair of Mid profile rims (about 50mm) would be the bet upgrate i think, a higher profile would be too stiff and will inhibit the comfort of the ride.

Strengths:
Stiff but comfortable over long ride. Good cornering. Aero seatpost and rear end of the bike is stable. For all type of riders. Good ratio quality/price

Weaknesses:
not a fan of the seat post clamp. A piece of steel that does well its job but the shape is specific to Kuota and therefore impossible to use a common one. I lost one and it was quite a pain to get a new one.

Similar Products Used:
had a Felt F25 triathlon bike before and a steel bike.