1991 Kestrel 4000
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

I have always admired the Kestrel 4000 as the most influential bike of the past 25 years. I had previously purchased a Kestrel 4000 back in 2007 and really enjoyed owning the bike. Unfortunatley that bike was previously not well cared for and had lots of chips and scratches, so after two years, I decided to sell it. But I did hope that one day I would find a really pristine 4000, so I would have one in my collection.

That day came recently, when I saw an ad on craiglist. The bike was being sold by a former employee of Kestrel in Watsonville. The bike was given to him by the CEO and employees in 1990 when he left the company. Since he was not a rider himself, the bike was always proudly displayed on the wall of his gameroom. He told me the bike may only have 100-200 miles on it and is still configured like the day it was given to him, except for the handlebars, pedals, and tires. When I saw the bike, it was indeed a very low mileage bike, but it was not quite as pristine as I had hoped for. There were a few small paint chips here and there and there was the usual cracks at the seatpost clamp area. I guess these bikes and their paint just don't age particularly well. But generally speaking, the paint was very good and the parts were like new. Even though this bike was not flawless, I figured that this was going to be the best example I would expect to find; it's not easy to find a rare bike that is practically unridden and has been stored indoors for over 20 years! So on August 13, 2011, on the 25th anniversary year of its introduction, I became the proud owner of my second Kestrel 4000.

8/20/2011 - Stripped the bike down, used rubbing compound to clean the frame and then finished with a coat of carnauba wax. It's amazing how effective rubbing compound is to remove all kinds of grime that wax would not. Trued the wheels, cleaned the cassette, put on new tires. Cleaned the derailers, put on a K-Edge, installed new shifter housing with sanded down ferrule, adjusted the derailers. Cleaned the chainrings and adjusted the BB. Centered the calipers and checked the brake pad alignment. Set the saddle height. Re-tightened the quill and handlebar to spec. Put on new bar tape. Now it is all set to ride!

12/31/2011 - I took off the huge white Selle San Marcos saddle and installed the Cinelli Unicanitor from the Gios Megalite. It somehow seemed appropriate that the first carbon fiber bicycle would have the first plastic saddle. I can't believe that dropped 1lb 4oz from the bike.

7/1/2012 - I eventually put on a Selle San Marco Concor Supercorsa saddle on it, looks nice.

Frame: 1991 Kestrel 4000 Spectra, 55cm CTC, 126 rear spacing. Serial Number: 17700.
Fork: Kestrel 1" threaded, aluminum.
Wheels: Campagnolo Omega, strada hardox, clinchers.
Front Hub: Shimano 600, HB-6400.
Rear Hub: Shimano 600, FH-6400, Uniglide.
Tires: Continental Ultra Race, 700 x 23c, folding bead.
Cassette: Shimano 600 CS-6400-7, Uniglide "L" 12-21T.
Crankset: Shimano 600 FC-6400, 172.5mm, 53 x 42 Biopace. Date Code: NB (Feb 1989)
Bottom Bracket: Shimano 600 BB-6400, 113mm square taper. Date Code: NC (Mar 1989)
Front Derailer: Shimano Dura-Ace FD-7400, braze-on. I wondered why these bikes always had DA FD, until I tried to put on a 600 FD. The 600 FD has a diagonal pull geometry, which hits the aerofoil shaped seat tube. The DA FD has a perpendicular geometry, which does not hit the seat tube - mystery solved.
Chain Catcher: K-Edge, silver.
Rear Derailer: Shimano 600 RD-6400. Date Code: NC (Mar 1989)
Shifters: Shimano 600 SL-6400.
Headset: Shimano 600 HP-6400.
Chain: Sachs PC 51.
Stem: 3TTT 1" quill, 110mm, black.
Handlebar: 3TTT Prima 220, 410mm width, black chrome.
Brakes: Shimano 600 BR-6400. Date Code: MK and ML (Nov 1988 and Dec 1988))
Levers: Shimano 600 BL-6401.
Pedal: Shimano PD-A520, silver.
Seatpost: Shimano 600 SP-6400, 27.2mm.
Saddle: Selle San Marco Concor Supercorsa, black perforated leather.

The bike weighs 20lbs 12oz as shown.

The following are OE parts that I am currently not using:

Extensions: Cinelli Spinaci.
Tires: Michelin Tracer, 700 x 25c, wire bead.
Seatpost: American Classic Equipment, 27.2mm.
Saddle: Selle San Marcos, white.