Kestrel has been working on what it dubs, a Superbike. Here is the first side on pic, courtesy of Xtri.com

TT Bike Fit Blog posted their observations (based on the photo only – Kestrel isn’t talking):

* Center pull cantilever front brake. Eliminates the need for aerodynamically dirty cable housing. Similar to Specialized Transition.

* Broad fork blades incorporating mounting posts for cantilever brakes. There appears to be some slotting or interesting sculpting of the fork blades, and the fork crown fares into the downtube.

* No cables. It may be that this prototype simply doesn’t have the cables routed yet. Or, they could be concealed in the steerer/headtube and exit above the front tire, entering the down tube inside the crown faring. Also, there is no front derailleur (now that would be a trick! – I’m sure it’s just not mounted yet) and an electronic rear Dura-Ace derailleur.

* Concealed rear brake

* Very clean and low seat cluster area. The seat stays join the seat tube very low, similar to the Airfoil. This, along with the relocated rear brake, presents a very clean and thin trailing edge allowing air flow to pass between the rider’s legs easily, and likely helps it to rejoin flow passing over and around the rider, reducing low pressure (and hence drag) behind the rider.

* Seat stays form wings around the rear tire near the seat cluster area.

* Tiny, almost rudimentary seat tube. It fares the rear wheel, yes, but I wonder if it is mainly there to satisfy the UCI “double diamond” requirement. The Airfoil seems to do just fine with no seat tube or rear wheel faring.

* There also appears to be some unusual sculpting or slotting on the seat stays.

* The frame look to incorporate a variation on the integrated seat mast – an extended “seat tube mast” with internal post. My guess is the “seat tube mast” may still need to be trimmed to size, but the internal post should allow more adjustment than the caps used with seat masts. It is unclear how the seat post is fastened, and the post itself looks like it may be just a mock-up (quick prototype). In any case this may provide all of the advantages of an integrated seat mast (lighter weight, stiffer, cleaner interface) with greater adjustability. Or, they may add an extended cap onn the outside similar to the D6.

* The seat mast looks to be built at 75 degrees, although there is some parallax distortion in the photo. This will suit UCI regulations well, but will mean that the final seatpost will need a movable clamp (perhaps like the Fuji D6) to get a steep seat angle.

Nice one. I like it. Very much. Let the aero wars continue…

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I am NOT a big fan of the bumble bee puke color that Columbia have chosen this year, after looking so classy last year in the blue at le Tour.

but here is the proof that Scott can turn something around super quick, and make it legit, within UCI rules. Its far more P4 than its the Giant we have spoken about, and that front beaker is missing (because of UCI rules).

The front brake fits on the front of the fork, which, as Phil White from Cervelo says, doesnt make a difference. The rear brake is very much from the Felt DA.

All in all, its like they took a mix of the greatest areas of various bikes and slapped them together into one bike. Very naaaice. If you look in the background, you will see a whole load of the old bikes, which look like this..

Those are the older bikes, which the UCI now deems “Illegal” and were manufactured by Giant, for Highroad. Very different, actually.

Conclusion : Lets hope Probike get me to test one in the next week or so, so that I can get you a real answer… (hint)

Its Friday, so I will get some useful vids, a great post, and some other relevant info out later in the day.

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not so subtlely leaked by Specialized. Is it a Specialized Transition 2?

We know Fabian can hammer…

looks alot like the first generation Giant, and now the 2nd generation Scott, with some Cervelo features.

But all the guys must remember, that none of these frames meet UCI standards.

PS: I do like how it covers the front brake a bit…

want a full sized image?

Click HERE!!!

for reference, here is the Giant, click HERE!!!

thanks Marc

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So, I have taken some stills from the video we showed the other day , and my heart raced as I saw the images that have been shown. This will definitely go down to the wire as this is a visual copy of the front end of the Giant bike that I showed before last years Tour de France.

Interestingly enough, Scott seems to think its rear end is still faster. They are also employing the frame bottle that we now find on the Cervelo P4 , which I rode in Kona last year.

This is easily one of the best bikes on paper. Its quite interesting that they Highroad Columbia team are not riding standard Plasma 2 bikes – they obviously deem them far inferior to what they got from Giant. Hence the urgency to get this project off the ground.

Lets get to those pics now.

You can see the integrated front end - no traditional fork or aerobars. Very Giant-esque

Although we see the rear is still very Plasma 2. Except that bit where the water bottle goes a la P4.

From the back of the front end, we can see how deep the head tube now is, and how smooth it looks minus all the cables.

keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground… this is going to get FUN!

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