Want it Wednesdays: Kestrel RT1000

Three of my last four posts were Want it Wednesdays, where I post about something I want, or have, that is much nicer than it needs to be. Some people, obviously narcissistic and void of any real character, start to think their wants are needs and that right there is the problem with American consumerism. Silly, that’s all.

I need a Kestrel RT1000 with full Ultegra. Ultegra components rock. Sure, all the hip kids these days seem to be going over to SRAM Red. Whatever. The RT1000 modular monocoque frame set uses Kestrel's component integration design where each size is custom tuned. Kestrel frames are ultra stiff in the head tube and bottom bracket area but still offer a comfortable ride. More importantly, the RT1000 is Kawasaki Green and I have wanted a Kawasaki Green bike for a long time. I bought a carbon fiber Kestrel back in 1995 when carbon fiber was heavy, and Kawasaki Green bicycles weren’t invented yet.

I started thinking about a road bike with gears towards the end of a hard ride last summer. I spent most of that ride above 172 BPM. My legs started feeling like cement and, just as I was about to sit up, the person I was riding with looked at their watch and said, very relaxed-like, it was getting late so we better push it a little. This fall she got a coach. I will be screwed in spring. I told her I was looking at a new road bike. She said she would just ride slower.

I have been eyeing a Kestrel RT1000 all winter but a $4,149 bicycle is a bit much. Colorado Cyclist just dropped the price down to $2,099. I saw this as a sign from god I should buy it. God’s will is ambiguous at best. The only way I could pull off buying this high-end road bike was if I sold my Kona and Inglis. The thing is, I really like those bikes too. I was torn, like a spoiled child crying in the cereal isle of Kroger’s because he can’t choose between sugar frosted coco puffs or chocolate covered sugar puffs. I was agonizing over my dilemma last week when the transmission failed in my truck, 839 miles out of warranty.

It just so happens that a remanufactured transmission costs about the same as a Kestrel RT1000 with Ultegra components, another example of how life sometimes hands us fate wrapped in less than ridiculous packaging. I’m not bitter; dollar per pound, a transmission is a better value, I suppose.