Kestrel 300 EMS?

[texbike]

Has anyone here owned (or still own) one of these machines? What are your thoughts and experiences with the bikes?

I picked one up last week and have so far been impressed with it. I'd love to hear others' experiences.

Cheers,

Texbike

[OtayBW]

I rode a Kestrel 200 SCi for years back in the early 90's. Nice ride - no complaints.

[SlackMan]

I rode a Kestrel 200 SCi for years back in the early 90's. Nice ride - no complaints.

Ditto, except mine was the 200 SC. I liked it very much. The only reason I don't still have it because the seatpost became permanently stuck inside of it. I wound up trying to twist the post free with its head clamped in a vise just to be able to get it out, but the post twisted off and broke down inside the frame. :mad: So, nice bike, and be sure to remove and grease seat post periodically.

[buddybikes]

Rode a 200 EMS still it stopped at a small truck bumper. If you pick one up cheap, reminder it has a sloping top tube, that goes down. Replaced it with a Roubaix s-works which rode much better (for me) however.

[malcolm]

Had a talon tri-bike. It was fine, nothing special but fine.

[fogrider]

I had a 200 ems with a ems fork with ti steerer, it was an awesome bike!

[slowgoing]

I have a 200 EMS with Ouzo Pro fork that i rode a lot in the early 2000s and a NOS 300 EMS that I'll build up if something happens to the 200 EMS. Great riding bike. Light, fast, comfortable on long rides. Not quite as comfortable though as a Calfee tetra pro and not nearly as stable as a C40. ·Mine also goes into a high speed shimmy when descending over about 25 mph, not fun (clamping the tt with the knees does work, btw).·

Its best quality is its climbing ability. ·The steeper the better. ·The power transfer to the back wheel is incredible. At one point I was considering doing Mt. Washington and during training I tried out many frames over a 1 mile 12 percent grade hill we have locally. ·Nothing, by a large margin, climbed as well as the 200 EMS.·

[texbike]

Thanks for the feedback.

I have about 120 miles on the bike now and am happy with it. It does require a few more watts to push along than the C40 or C50. However, it's comfortable, stable, and has really nice build quality. It'll be perfect for its intended use - a bike to leave at the inlaws to use several times a year.

Cheers,

Texbike

[bpiecuch]

I rode my 200SCi for about 17 years. Eventually sold it to upgrade to a newer Carbon Fiber bike (Giant TCR). While I loved the Kestrel and the care-free years it gave me. However, I can't say it rode all that well.

It seemed to flex at the bottom bracket, so power transfer was a little lacking. And in complete contrast, the rear triangle and seat tube were super stiff and provided a very rigid ride. But, it was dead stable at high speeds, I loved bombing downhill on that bike! The Giant has been a huge upgrade in all aspects. It's tough to compare carbon frame technology from 20 years ago...

Early in it's live, I drove it into the garage while on my roof rack. :( The aluminum fork took all the damage, and I was able to upgrade to the EMS fork. The frame, and everything else, didn't miss a beat. Pretty impressive. I too, had a seatpost clamp fail. But, it was repaired by Kestrel (for free!)

Good find, I hope you enjoy riding it!