Kestrel 4000 PRO SL

It's finally complete!! The first bike in the recent "revamping" of the bikes is finally complete. This bike was not without some difficulties to the extent that I was calling it a "demon bike" and actually took it to Austin Bikes twice. The first time was because I was using a 3T Ventus stem/bar but it has an airfoil behind the stem that covered over the frame where the cables entered. I agonized over cutting the piece off but the idea of modifying a bar on which I trust that much of my body weight wasn't a good plan. I finally sold the Ventus which was my favorite TT bar and went with its little brother, the 3T Brezza II with a 3T Arc Team stem. This combination fixed the first problem. Then I finished the build and cabled it but couldn't get it to shift smoothly. It turns out the shifters need the housing to run into the frame to have consistent cable pull. The Nokon housing won't fit in the internal sheath, only the inner lining but the inner lining isn't stiff enough to prevent flex and irregular cable pulls. This meant that I used traditional Jagwire housings for the shifters and Nokons for the brakes to keep the brake cables as tight as possible. The last experiment on this bike was the ISM saddle. A traditional TT saddle produces some serious chafing/soreness in the nether regions due to the way you sit on the nose and makes it hard to do repeat days on the TT bike for events like Tour de Gruene. The ISM saddle essentially cuts off the front of the saddle and so far is the most comfortable TT saddle I have tried. I also set it up with the SRAM R2C shifters which are my favorite bike "bling" item. Shifting is very easy and consistent similar to road shifters and while this is not a must have on a TT project, they are a huge nice to have. I did the first non-trainer ride on it this morning and once I got used to the TT position the bike felt smooth and fast. Unfortunately it was cold and cloudy this morning so the ride was short. There is a local TT series so I'll post more later after I spend some more time on it.

Build List	Kestrel 4000SL
Frame/Fork	Kestrel 4000SL 57cm/Kestrel Fork
Headset	FSA CX Headset
Stem	3T Arx Team 80 mm
Handlebar	3T Brezza LTD 40 cm w/ Blackwell Wrist Relief Extensions
Seatpost	Kestrel
Bottom Bracket	SRAM BB30 w/ Wheelsmith Adapters
Crank	SRAM SRM 172.5
Chainrings	SRAM 54/42
Pedals	Look Keo Classic
Front Derailleur	SRAM Force
Rear Derailleur	SRAM Force
Cassette	SRAM 11/26
Chain	Shimano Ultegra
Shifters	SRAM R2C Shifters and 900 TT Brakes
Brakes	TRP T-920
Brake Pads	SwissStop Yellow
Seat	ISM Adamo Racing 2
Cables	Gore/Nokon
Wheels	DT Swiss with 88mm Carbon Tubular and Corima Disc
Tires	Vittoria EVO CX 21 tubular