Footon and Kestrel - discuss

[laziali]

From CN http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/new-kestrel-4000-time-trial-frame-tested-by-footon-servetto

Gold and black jersey and bib designs. Fail. Using a Kestrel in the ProTour. Epic fail. In my opinion.

No doubt our US friends will express a different view in their usual balanced and subtle manner.

 

[RedheadDane]

Maybe Footon has just decided to be the team with bad taste...
To be quite honest the only reason I know anything about Footon is because Martin Pedersen rides on that team (and I definitely didn't know it was the old Sauvnier team...)
Buuut... what's wrong with having a big foot on your jersey?

 

[Franklin]

The shirt/bibs are extremely ugly... but I truly don't see what's wrong with Kestrel

Enlighten me?

 

[Barrus]

Buuut... what's wrong with having a big foot on your jersey?

In passing it often looks on the television as though they hardly have any clothing on?

 

[RedheadDane]

Maaaybe that's their intention...

Anyway... are you supposed to prononce in foo-ton or foot-on?

 

[galaxy1]

by the way, those who have seen the footon kit in the flesh will know that it actually looks pretty good. gold handlebar tape is probably the highlight, but the whole thing is interesting. i'd much rather see that than yet another generic blue/white kit.

i suspect most of the criticism is coming from people who have not seen them in real life - gold is a colour that looks good in real life and a bit dodgy (beige) in photos.

i do agree, though, that black shorts might have been a better/more practical idea.

 

[TRDean]

From CN http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/new-kestrel-4000-time-trial-frame-tested-by-footon-servetto

Gold and black jersey and bib designs. Fail. Using a Kestrel in the ProTour. Epic fail. In my opinion.

No doubt our US friends will express a different view in their usual balanced and subtle manner.

Whats wrong with Kestrel??

 

[RedheadDane]

i do agree, though, that black shorts might have been a better/more practical idea.

Well... the other choice (gold, I'm guessing) is just a sign of optimism! Making sure our shorts don't get dirty if we crash? Naah... we'll just... not crash!

 

[Angliru]

From CN http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/new-kestrel-4000-time-trial-frame-tested-by-footon-servetto

Gold and black jersey and bib designs. Fail. Using a Kestrel in the ProTour. Epic fail. In my opinion.

No doubt our US friends will express a different view in their usual balanced and subtle manner.

I don't see what the issue is here. Kestrel's specialty is TT machines or triathlon. Their history is of being one of the pioneers in the implimentation of carbon frames. It wouldn't be the first team and won't the last to ride one manufacturer for the road and use a different but badged the same, for their TT machines. What is the big deal?

 

[schadenfreude]

by the way, those who have seen the footon kit in the flesh will know that it actually looks pretty good. gold handlebar tape is probably the highlight, but the whole thing is interesting. i'd much rather see that than yet another generic blue/white kit.

i suspect most of the criticism is coming from people who have not seen them in real life - gold is a colour that looks good in real life and a bit dodgy (beige) in photos.

i do agree, though, that black shorts might have been a better/more practical idea.

incorrect.

 

[djconnel]

Agreed: I love the way they put a fairing on the front wheel, obviously against the intent of the rules, but not just allowed but actually mandated by the letter of those rules (the silly triangle-frame rules).

And about Kestrel being an "epic fail" in the ProTour: I think you're a slave to marketing. The same was said of Giant back in the ONCE days and they seem to have gained plenty of acceptance. Or Trek in the early USPS days. Let the bikes stand on their own. Kestrel has been making carbon for longer than any other company in the ProTour today, as far as I know.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

I like the Footon jerseys

 

[Franklin]

by the way, those who have seen the footon kit in the flesh will know that it actually looks pretty good. gold handlebar tape is probably the highlight, but the whole thing is interesting. i'd much rather see that than yet another generic blue/white kit.

i suspect most of the criticism is coming from people who have not seen them in real life - gold is a colour that looks good in real life and a bit dodgy (beige) in photos.

i do agree, though, that black shorts might have been a better/more practical idea.

I saw them live during the prologue and boy it's ugly. And that was the consensus of the onlookers, loads of people commenting on it.

 

[RedheadDane]

Hmm... gotta admit I don't really know much about the bike manufacturer...
But... about the jerseys... who cares what they look like? Bike racing isn't a fashion show, if a team does well then there kit could be... brown with bright pink polkadots for all I care...

 

[The_Z_man]

OK, I agree with the OP on their jerseys. So they're not generic blue and white. Just because they're original doesn't make them look any better.

However, what is wrong with Kestrel? I'm not trying to flame the OP, but I want to know what is wrong with them. The frames have a great look to them. Obviously I have no idea how they ride, but they do look fast standing still.

Kestrel has been making carbon for longer than any other company in the ProTour today, as far as I know.

I don't know if they've been at just plain carbon longer than Look, but I am pretty sure they were the first to make carbon monocoque bikes.

 

[schadenfreude]

I saw them live during the prologue and boy it's ugly. And that was the consensus of the onlookers, loads of people commenting on it.

 

[L'arriviste]

That does it! With all these crashes (Ed King, Marzio Bruseghin) I totally thought that was a bare bottom for a moment then. It's that obligatory double-take thing that I don't like. Maybe looking twice is good for the sponsors, though...

 

[forty four]

pro tour teams use heavy overly flexible lugged outdated overpriced italian frames that live off there name and history. no one cares about that but kestrel is so bad i dont get it.

 

[max_powers]

pro tour teams use heavy overly flexible lugged outdated overpriced italian frames that live off there name and history. no one cares about that but kestrel is so bad i dont get it.

Why the Kestrel bashing? They are more experience in Carbon Fiber than most any bike maker. Any constructive detail in these posts

Who made the first carbon forks for the masses? Kestrel

I like racing my Kestrel Evoke better than my Specialized Tarmac, so there

 

[jaylew]

I actually liked the kits but now that I see that pic I can see the problem. It would look good against my skin, though!

Not sure what the problem with Kestrel is either. If it's the company's roots in triathlon, it certainly didn't hurt Cervelo.

 

[Rocksteady]

I'm just waiting for a new kit at TdF time. Just swap the black and gold and you have a pretty decent looking kit. The bare **** pic... awesome.

 

[laziali]

Why the Kestrel bashing? They are more experience in Carbon Fiber than most any bike maker. Any constructive detail in these posts

Who made the first carbon forks for the masses? Kestrel

I like racing my Kestrel Evoke better than my Specialized Tarmac, so there

And who made the first car for the masses? Ford.

Kestrel are not of a suitable standard for the Pro-Tour.

As for the outfits, just have a look at the "barebottom" photo. And the tops are no better. Even worse than the Polti outfit from the early '90s.

 

[karlboss]

And who made the first car for the masses? Ford.

Kestrel are not of a suitable standard for the Pro-Tour.

As for the outfits, just have a look at the "barebottom" photo. And the tops are no better. Even worse than the Polti outfit from the early '90s.

Based on what exactly? I don't mind your opinion, I just see nothing to back it up. Help us out, American, no good after sales service, flexy as all hell, tri background, naming a bike after a bird, the double triangle rule/tubes inside a template seems flaunted with this particular frame? I hope its a europe vs the US thing personally, and lack of tradition.

 

[Angliru]

And who made the first car for the masses? Ford.

Kestrel are not of a suitable standard for the Pro-Tour.

As for the outfits, just have a look at the "barebottom" photo. And the tops are no better. Even worse than the Polti outfit from the early '90s.

I'm personally waiting to hear the reasoning behind your opinion that Kestrel is "not of a suitable standard for the Pro-Tour". This should be good folks.

 

[BroDeal]

And who made the first car for the masses? Ford.

Kestrel are not of a suitable standard for the Pro-Tour.

What a load of crap. There is little difference between most carbon frames. Most are manufactured by the same handful of asian manufacturers. The companies are not really bike manufacturers anymore. They are marketing operations. Their purpose is to convince consumers to buy their product rather than a competitors' product that was made in the same factory.

At least Kestrel can say that back in the day they were one of the innovators in the industry. What can a "company" like Felt say--other than it has never manufactured anything?

These days it does not even take much money to become a bike maker. Go to China, have an existing mold modified a little for cosmetics, slap a nifty paint job and name on the frame, and--boom--you are a bike maker. We on the forum could probably all chip in "make" our own CN forum frames. Someone come up with a good name.