Buying a new CX bike, opinions

[synergy]

Yet another "new cx bike" thread, however, I bring a new one to the table that hasn't been discussed much (Felt). Here are my choices (in order of preference).

Felt F1X (http://www.feltracing.com/products/product.asp?catid=18,22&pid=28) - $1,500
Redline Conquest Pro (http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/conquest-pro.html) - $1,600
Specialized Tricross Comp Triple (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22303) - $1,800
Specialized Tricross Elite Double (http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22303) - $2,200

Any opinions on the the Felt bike? Features and price make it the best buy, but I can't find much on the 'net concerning build and ride quality. My Redline dealer told me their test ride policy for bikes not on the floor is 1/2 down non-refundable (kiss MY *****!!!) so I'm a bit concerned about riding the Conquest and not liking it as much as the Felt. The Specialized seems overpriced but has a good offering of quality components.

Please don't offer other choices besides these, I've checked out every one of them and have settled on these 4 choices for a pre-built cross/road/commuter bike the won't require many aftermarket upgrades. Thanks.

[gobes]

I don't think that you can say that any of those bikes is a bad choice and you'd proabably be happy with any one of them.

A friend of mine has a felt and it's nice. The bottom bracket is a little higher than a road bike.
I don't know much about the redline but you'll see a lot of people racing on them.
I've had two tricross sports and like them. The geometry is the same as the comp. The geometry is propably a little slacker than the others and has a low bottom bracket like a road bike.

You could race on any of them. I think that you could put a rack on any of them for commuting. You could put front and rear racks on the specialized and tour on it too.

I think that the best advice that anyone can give is ff there are differences in fit, get the one that fits best. If you can test ride them get the one that feels best.

[synergy]

what would be considered slack geometry vs. aggressive geometry? Does the height of the BB matter to how fast you might be able to pedal on road?

[gobes]

You can look up the geometry numbers for the bikes on each manufacturer's web site to get an idea. Basically the slacker geometry will be more stable straight ahead and take a little more input to get it to turn but that can vary quite a bit.

The height of the bottom bracket doesn't matter for pedaling on the road. It may make a difference when racing as there may be less chance of getting hung up on obstacles or hitting a pedaling when riding on an off camber section. Many 'cross bikes have higher bottom brackets.

Personally, I don't like the higher bottom bracket. Both 'cross bikes that I have, Trek and Specialized, have bottom bracket heights similar to a road bike.

[sfcrossrider]

A friend of mine uses a Felt as a spare race bike. He races his in mens elite A's, so he rides the $hit out of it. For the money I think they're great bikes.

I'm not a fan of the specialized (I'm sure they're great as well).

[synergy]

I've decided to go with a 2008 Felt F1X. I'm ordering it tomorrow. I'll post pics when it arrives!