Kestrel Bicycles
10th anniversary catalog

Client: Kestrel Bicycles • Studio: Mike Welles Design • Concept/Direction/Art: Mike Welles • Words: RV

I’d worked with the Kestrel guys off and on for years, and helped develop their unique voice—wry and quirky, but not too cocky; smart but not too smartass. This product spread shows how we mixed technology and fun to showcase the brand’s personality.

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Rubicon Comp

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RUBICON, SON OF NITRO. We built the original Nitro—the first modern full-suspension bike, according to Richard Cunningham at Mountain Bike Action—nine years ago with our friends Keith Bontrager and Paul Turner. Well, guess what. We did it again. Huddled up with the guys at C1 Design (developers of the Cannondale Headshock, among other things) and came out with the Rubicon Comp. Including the linkage and Fox Alps 5R shock, it’s 6 dot zero pounds of patented, fully active, progressive-leverage, air/oil, compound-linkage sweet plushosity.

Sealed aircraft bearings throughout. Not to mention a clearcoated graphite finish that lets you see the kind of composite craftsmanship we’ve perfected over the last decade. Choice of hardware, choice of RockShox.

History buffs, take note: we call it Rubicon for a reason.

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OUR VARIABLE-RATE SUSPENSION system continuously adjusts leverage ratio and therefore, its effective spring rate. From a plush 4:1 (when you’re fully seated) to a stiffer, but still fully active 3:1 (when you’re out of the saddle). Sealed bearings and pivots; quality grease fittings throughout. Convertible in about ten minutes to the dual-shock Downhill version with a whopping 7.6″ of travel just by removing the compression link and adding a second shock.

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THIS IS THE BIKE the Accounting Department (that’s LeAndra) wanted us to build all along: same as the Rubicon Comp, only different. Coil-over shock, no clearcoat, your choice of Red or, um, Red. Other’n that, it’s the same bike. Same light weight, same patented suspension design (one of these days we’ll have to figure out a fancy trademarked acronym for it, just like all the other bike companies); same patented graphite/Kevlar/toughened epoxy layup. Perfect for cross-country or downhill. Totally Kestrel; serious competitive engineering at a seriously competitive price. Lifetime warranty (unlike certain other manufacturers we could mention). Bolt on an LX/Quadra kit and you can own a Rubicon for less than the GNP of most emergent nations. To say nothing of serious heinie-kicking and/or name-taking come Saturday morning.