Viathon 2019 Mountain/Road Bicycles: R.1 Dura-Ace

Viathon 2019 Carbon Road and Mountain bile close out 40% off $1378
I hate bitter greenish brown mountain bile!

I have the R1 105. Frame is very good. Great handling. Great Breaks.
I ride it a lot and I couldn't be happier.
This price is makes me want to buy a second one:-)

Avoid disc brakes on road bikes unless you live in a wet area.

@OP: At this 'level', definitely get something that fits.

While the Kestrel looks much sexier, the components on the Viathon 105 simply out-value the $178 price difference. The advertised weight is more than 1 Lb lower, which makes it almost a different class. (For a 17 - 18 Lbs bike, 1 Lb is a significant difference)
The biggest difference is the wheel. The Kestrel has very basic wheel sets that cost under $200. It may be perfectly ok for most people, but quality and strength may not be as consistent/good as more pricy wheels. (I didn't research on the weight of either sets, but suspect it is very different to account for the overall bike weight difference)

Also, the Viathon is completely Shimano 105 (except maybe bottom bracket (who cares) and the brakes are un-named.

In terms of brakes, the hydraulics are heavier, but gives you the flexibility of putting on much fatter tires. However, note that this bike is spec at 28mm max tire width. Both disc brake and tire width are pretty important for cyclocross. I have a local trail that is half paved and half rutted mud/gravel. I would not ride my road bike on it with 23mm tires, but 27mm is tolerable.

Disc brakes on road bikes are seem as "newer", resale would also be better if you care about resale...

Quote from marioletto : Great Breaks

Brakes stop you. Thing that break are not good.

Quote from chunky649 : @OP: At this 'level', definitely get something that fits. While the Kestrel looks much sexier, the components on the Viathon 105 simply out-value the $178 price difference. The advertised weight is more than 1 Lb lower, which makes it almost a different class. (For a 17 - 18 Lbs bike, 1 Lb is a significant difference) The biggest difference is the wheel. The Kestrel has very basic wheel sets that cost under $200. It may be perfectly ok for most people, but quality and strength may not be as consistent/good as more pricy wheels. (I didn't research on the weight of either sets, but suspect it is very different to account for the overall bike weight difference) Also, the Viathon is completely Shimano 105 (except maybe bottom bracket (who cares) and the brakes are un-named. In terms of brakes, the hydraulics are heavier, but gives you the flexibility of putting on much fatter tires. However, note that this bike is spec at 28mm max tire width. Both disc brake and tire width are pretty important for cyclocross. I have a local trail that is half paved and half rutted mud/gravel. I would not ride my road bike on it with 23mm tires, but 27mm is tolerable. Disc brakes on road bikes are seem as "newer", resale would also be better if you care about resale...

My earlier comment got deleted but I made some similar points. I'd add that the 105 on the Viathon is the latest but not on the Kestrel.

I put 32 mm GP 5000 TL on my 105 Viathon and while the clearance is a little tight, it's fine. But not much clearance for debris.

Quote from DdrH : Avoid disc brakes on road bikes unless you live in a wet area.

Why? I ride the hoods and Hydros enable me to brake w/ out going to the drops. You don't need discs on a road bike, but they are a nice upgrade.

These bikes are good deals ..IF they fit you.

$2100 and they can't even throw in a dropper post?

Quote from DdrH : Avoid disc brakes on road bikes unless you live in a wet area.

may I ask why? Can you share some more details?

Quote from zackm104 : may I ask why? Can you share some more details?

Extra weight?


I wish I could afford these bikes. They look nice.

Quote from DdrH : Avoid disc brakes on road bikes unless you live in a wet area.

Been running my gravel bike on road.. and had a road bike with disc brakes prior. I think they work great, what's the concern?

FYI, this is a Wal-Mart brand if you care about that kind of thing. I looked at the mountain bike and it's pretty XC focused. Great weight and components though. Hard to beat the 60 day trial also.