Road Bike Racing - I have a bike again!

I've been without a road bike (eh...) for almost 3 weeks since I sold my CR1, so I've been doing most of my training on the MTB (yuck), Fixie (also yuck), and TT bike (not bad, but it has 20cm of drop = ouch on long rides).

Sooo, I was very happy that the build kit finally showed up today to put together Mr. Felt! The components seem kind of random mish-mash-y, but I purposely chose all of them for whatever reason...

Red Shifters, Rival Brakes (w/ Swiss Stop Black pads)/Rear Der, Ultegra Front Der, DA Crankset (or SRM when it's back from Co. Springs), KMC X10-SL Chain, Thomson Stem, Deda Newton bars, and a Spec. Toupe saddle.

I took it for a quick spin around the block tonight (it was dark by the time I had it all together), and it handles a *lot* better than my CR1 (though I was never a huge fan of the CR1's handling). Seems stiff, but we'll find out more as days go by!

Anyways, the pics suck because it's hard to take good pics indoors w/o good lights, but they'll suffice until I get it outside tomorrow!

http://www.chriscollins.org/pictures/checkers/checkers1.JPG
http://www.chriscollins.org/pictures/checkers/checkers2.JPG
http://www.chriscollins.org/pictures/checkers/checkers3.JPG
http://www.chriscollins.org/pictures/checkers/checkers4.JPG
http://www.chriscollins.org/pictures/checkers/checkers5.JPG

stop buying such sh1t all the time, would you!




jk nice bike

Awesome. It looks tiny.

PRO tape I'm guessing? PS-Great budget move on the Rival+Red Shifters haven't seen that before

looks small... purpose behind that?

flip it

Nice!

It is small... It's a 53. The short answer would be that I have longish legs and a really short torso, and am not particularly tall. I can't really flip it... The headtubes on the Felts are really quite short.

nice! looks like a sweet ride.

what specifically about the handling is "alot" better than your CR1?

flip it

He's already got a substantial saddle-handlebar drop!

If he flipped the stem he'd have a drop thats in TT-bike territory.

in your little ring and 25 tooth gear. You make baby OCPer cry.

What frame is that. Is it the same frame as the F1?

What frame is that. Is it the same frame as the F1?

Edit: Actually, I think it is in between the F1 and the F2.

Sweet, congrats! Nice looking der hanger there ;)

Yeah, I'm a fan of the replaceable hanger :)

The FC is the same frame as the F2, AFAIK.

Yeah, it has ~10cm of drop, and the Felts have pretty short head tubes (on the F-series, at least), so it's hard to get even that little! TT bike has 20cm on drop though, which I ride just fine, so it's possible I may pull a few spacers.

...I wasn't going for OCP points. Don't really do that ;)

I'm always curious about what people mean when they say bike X handles better than bike Y.

Isn't it all a function of trail, wheelbase, and maybe fork dynamics such that bikes with the same geometry handle the same?

You should like the frame..... Most (but not all) of my team mates including me are enjoying it.

Very nice, but the Orbea would have been prettier ;).

The FC (same as F2) is a nice bike. I have a similar problem with long legs and ended up stretched out on a 58. The headtubes do get taller, though, so I am only running a long top cap for spacers. The model's geometry is tough to make work with our proportions.

Yeah, I didn't want a super short stem, and the 52 seems fine.

Anyways, I couldn't tell you what changing various measurements do to how the bike handles. I know the Felt has a crazy steep seat tube... What I mean when I say that is that it seems to respond to cornering and take the line I want a lot better than did the CR1. Both my old Tarmac and my new Felt just seem to track better than did the CR1. Kind of strikes me as funny, since they're completely different -- the Tarmac has a really shallow seat tube and the Felt has a really steep one. Go figure.


I'm always curious about what people mean when they say bike X handles better than bike Y.

Isn't it all a function of trail, wheelbase, and maybe fork dynamics such that bikes with the same geometry handle the same?

Chris, very nice looking bike. I am a fan of Felt.

Steve

I'm growing very fond of Felt. Wish we had the hook up. Chris, you doing the State TT?

Probably the TTT. Busy on that Saturday, sadly :(

Probably the TTT. Busy on that Saturday, sadly :(

Nooooooo!

Too bad, that would be your race to win I think.

Are those chains the "sweetness" or simply just good. I need a new chain/ Ultegra/Dura-Ace or the gold non-sense???

Why did you choose KMC?

I chose the KMC because SRAM chains are quite loud, especially when you're near a cross-chain. The KMC's are much quieter, and seem much smoother. I'm not sure it really matters on shifting, though I'd say the KMC (which I now have on both my TT and Road bike) pops shifts a little smoother.

Swiss Stop pads... Also a serious win!

A serious question -- does your team handle the name on the top tube, do you do it yourself, or do you have someone who does it? It looks nice.

I did the name on the TT myself. Bikenames.com for like $5 I think? One side has my name, the other side has the blog address haha.

I have 2 days on the bike now and feel like I know it well enough to make a few comments.

First off, the KMC chain is seriously awesome. Well worth the (very little) extra it cost. Will be sticking with that for sure.

The Swiss Stop pads seem to modulate and grab a bit better than either the SRAM pads or DA pads. Not sure how much of this is because they're new, but either way, I'm impressed.

Using SRAM's cables instead of Nokons has made a huuuuge improvement in the shifting snappiness. I'm pretty much done with the Nokons except on the TT bike where I need the bendiness they provide for routing.

The Deda Newton Bar/Thomson stem is stiff. Really stiff. Noticeably stiffer than the old Ritchey stuff I had on the CR1. I haven't quite decided if I like the shape of the Newton bars or not. They're definitely different from anything I've ever ridden.

The bike itsself is nice. This is gonna sound weird, but it feels a lot more 'live' when I ride it than the CR1 ever did. You definitely feel a lot more of the road on the Felt than the CR1 (or the Tarmac before it), but I wouldn't say that's necessarily a bad thing. It felt like I was getting more feedback from the bike and could tell better how hard I could push it in turns. It was also definitely a bit snappier going up hill and out of the saddle. I also really liked the way it cornered better than the CR1. Only thing I wasn't thrilled about is that it seems a bit less stable (twitchier) than either the CR1 or the Tarmac. Still, very controllable, even at high-ish speeds. Just can't ride with my hands off the bars as easily on this one.

Overall, after the PITA it's been getting everything together, I'm happy I have a bike again, and happy with the bike!

Didn't you say you were keeping the cr1 for a while? :D :D

You missed the whole it broke thing ;)

The Felt looks awesome, I may look for one at the end of the year...

any problems with compatibility? we had a bike in the shop i work at which had dura ace cranks, fsa chain rings, chorus ergo shifters, utlegra rear derailleur... the strangest set up and it was a ***** to adjust. we never were able to truly get it dialed in, although it was pretty close

Interesting comment on the Nokons. I actually ditched the SRAM cables, went back to Nokons, and have noticed increased shifting performance.

...so why, again, didn't you keep the Willier?

You missed the whole it broke thing ;)

judging by wr's post I am going to guess something with the rd hanger? From the msu crit?

sweet looking bike.

UT_Dude: Congrats on the new rig. Consider black hoods. Do a Pepsi challenge and see what it looks like, if you haven't already.

CCFISH81: Yep, KMC's X10SL is the "sweetness." Light and quiet.