The bike is beautiful. It is a show stopper. The frame is very rigid and transfers all my energy to the rear wheel nicely. It seems to suck up a lot of the road vibration. I took a pretty serious spill in the rain and the bike held together nicely. The frame is incredibly tight even though the rear triangle is attached to the mainframe. The company is top notch. I had some questions when I built the bike up and the tech. advisor at Kestrel was the best! Thanks Thadeous.

The seatpost. How Kestrel can put a 340gm "aero" seat post on a beautiful carbon-fiber frame is beyond me. It may cut the wind..but a post in that weight class is probably on most of the bikes at Walmart. (see below).

I am a 48-year-old recreational rider. I put 2000 miles on the bike so far this season and am extremely happy with the performance of this frame. It sucks up the bumps and goes down the road like a silent stealth bomber. I find it to handle very nimbly both up and down hill. I have had it up to about 45mph downhill and it was solid and steady. What a great machine to burn calories.

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None. The price brought me to this product. I am a mountain biker that wanted to get into road biking to build up my endurance.

Cables are routed inside of the frame allowing protection from transport of the bike and protection from weather. For you triathletes, the Kestrel has a unique aero seatpost which provides a foward setting allowing for the posturing of a steeper seat angle. This frame is pretty light for the price, weighing all of 3.2 pounds (this includes the fork).

A previous review stated that the quick release nut must be removed in order to take off the rear wheel. I don''t find this necessary. I find both the front and rear wheels easily removable when changing flats or switching between wheelsets. Honestly, I cannot think of any weaknesses other than lack of color selection. When I purchased mine the only available colors were white, black, and Limited Edition Kona blue. Now they''ve added red and yellow.

The Kestrel Talon rides like a dream. It doesn''t have that dull, wood feel to it like some carbon fiber frames, while at the same time providing a comfortable ride due to the fact that it IS made of carbon fiber. By comfortable I''m referring to it''s inherent ability to dampen road chatter, a quality which aluminum frames lack. Evenmore, the Talon costs about as much as an upper-end aluminum frame, but your getting the luxury of carbon fiber.

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My previous bike wasn''t all that similar: it was a Trek 2000 set up for triathlon. Prior to purchasing the Talon I tested countless carbon fiber and titanium frames over the course of a month.

Pro EMS fork gives controlled but comfy ride, aero design seatpost lends continuity to the sleek aero design of the frame. Probably in part to the throughness of the LBS, all the screws were tight, the labels on straight, and no creaks or squeaks right from the beginning. Cables are routed through the inside of the frame for a sleek look creating short housings and protecting the cables from the elements.

To remove the rear wheel, the almost vertical slots in the rear dropouts require you to remove the drive side QR nut to get past the derailler. There isn''t a shifter cable adjustment thumbwheel where the cable enters the frame. Adjustments must be made at the deraillers. I gave this bike an overall of 4 because of these two items.

This product review is for the 2001 Talon equipped with the full Shimano 105 grouppo. Kudos to Kestrel for putting together a great riding full carbon fiber frame and solid spec together in the $2,000 range. This is my second road bike purchase and I was determined to find one with a great ride with all the quality and comfort I could afford. In the last few months, I investigated or test rode just about everything under the sun I thought would satisfy my goals. Don''t hesitate test riding this bike before climbing on more costly ones as the differences could be very subtle. Know your tube lenghts or rely on a good LBS to get the right size as sizing appears a little different because of the design. Who should buy it? Accomplished recreational riders who want a blend of performance and comfort and a big smile on your face at the end of the ride, not just the beginning. Who should not buy it? Riders who are looking for component spec only without regard to ride quality, as you can probably find higher if you don''t mind bouncing down the road on it.

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