This road bike that is an excellent climbing bike and would make a decent racing bike, but I mostly used it for long climbs and long rides like the Death Ride in CA, USA. The bike is super lightweight and one of the lightest production framesets when it came out; I think it was only bested by the Tarmac at the time. Wheels are lightweight Zipp Firecrest 202s. Handling is fast and confident on descents, mechanical is in excellent shape, and no maintenance is needed. This bike is stock except for the following updates:
- Saddle is now a knockoff of Specialized Power Mirror saddle
- Stem as pictured is 120cm (see notes below, 100cm available)
- Original Red crankset swapped out for Quark Red power meter crankset (172.5)
- Vittoria Corsa Graphine 2.0 tires (fast, grippy, average protection and wear)
- Out front carbon Garmin comp mount + GoPro mount below
- Zipp cork brake pads in front (still have originals)
- swapped out cassette to 11-32
Outside magazine review: https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/buyers-guide-2017-kestrel-legend-ltd/
Kestral archive page: https://archive.kestrelbicycles.com/2017/Kestrel/legend-ltd-sram-red-wireless
I've tried to capture the paint imperfections in the listing photos; those include a nick on the seat tube and black "kestrel" lettering on both chain stays that are scratched through lettering/decals, but not the paint. I have received many compliments on the red-orange paint color with a matt finish, but grease is harder to clean off than gloss finishes. The chain is currently hot-dipped waxed. Black bar tape with minimal red or none at all looks better, IMO, but this was my last purchase. An extra set of red/black bar tape is included in the listing.
The listing includes bottle cages but not pedals, as pictured. If you don't like the saddle, I will credit the buyer $50 for leaving it off. I'm running a 120cm Zipp stem as pictured, but I have a 100cm stem that I will swap if you want shorter; you can purchase both for another $40 if you want matching options in the future. You can find geometry online, similar to the Specialized Tarmac. You will only comfortably get 25-26mm tires; the rims are 21mm internal and wider than other typical rim brake bikes.