Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Looked at another bike...

HI
Looked at a FELT bike today it was very nice and had two major uppgrades its was the FELTF85, the wheels were mavrics and the derailer was a upgrade, my LBS says this is a good hevy duty bike and its on SALE or hs a rebate. How will it do with a CD?
My deal EBAAA went down the tube so I am still looking.
OH yea they will fit the bike to me they already measured me and say I would do best with a 58 frame and they can modify the handle bars and the stem if needed.
Its a pretty bike. and the sales person said it was his first bike for quite a while.
DOug
http://www.feltracing.com/08/images/catalog/large/8667.jpg
http://www.feltracing.com/08/product.asp?catid=1504,1515&pid=8667

ps its on sale too its a 2008

I happen to know that 10 wheels loves his Felt....

I actually ride a 58cm F85. Originally, I had an '05 F80 frame (bought in '06)which I cracked at the rear dropout on the driveside early last year. Felt replaced it with the '07 F85 frameset. I love it and it's held up well. Recently, I finally upgraded it to full 105 10 speed components from the old Tiagra/105 rear 9 speed that came with my original F80 purchase. I also kept it a triple with 105 5603 crankset. Actually, to keep it on par with an actual F85, I've upgraded pretty much everything except the handlebars and carbon fork. My other rig is an '05 Felt F55 which has also been great but doesn't get the riding time that my F85 gets. I love it.

That's a pretty nice bike!

Nice ride! Fat Frogs or East Coast Bikes in Norfolk?

Do you want the aggressive riding position that an F-series Felt requires? I like Felt, but if I bought one it would be one of the Z-series models with a more relaxed geometry...

HI,
its fat frogs and it has the 105 shimano upgrade thats one of the upgrades I didn't mention.
They only want around 990.00 with regular pedals. ps if I don't get it you can its their last 2008 felts has cut the price on all 2008 models.
from felts.
I looked at a SCOTT the frame was so thin in places he said they do that to lesson the weight in area's that don't require the strenght but it felt like it would break if droped.
They are putting me on a smaller frame if I buy it and may modify the handle bar tube for comfort if I feel the need.
They say it helps you legs work better when you more on your toes less on the ars..
I thought I would need at least a 61 frame, he said that old way of riding bikes.
I don't know to much they did take three measurments, 1 was from my crouch to my bare feet by mepulling hard on a wooden seat device with both hands into the groin.this was less than I thought and then they look at seat/handle bar angles, After the bike is set up they put you on a roller and make you ride for a while 50 mins while they check some angles. and see where you are it feeling most. They say they can modify the head set if they see a problem .. Now I see why buying froma good LBS is so important...Your getting hundeds of dollars of fine tuning that can make a big difference in your ability to go and grow stronger.And they will swap any parts you want..
Seems like they are pretty smart about that mechanical/angle of attack on the pegs. This one of their cheeper bikes some are way over 3,000.00 but hey I am stil in the learning curve my first raleigh record white was only 110.00in 1971 hehe some morons stole it while I was a way in Field Med School with the Marines he stole off my parents pourch he must have spotted it from the road. It was a nice old steel frame clean and the white looked good.
doug

Lucky for you the F85 doesn't offer a 105 upgrade. It's standard fare. All F85s are running 105. My bike started life as an F80 from 2005. Sadly enough, the 2006 F80 had the 105 group through out instead of my Tiagra 105 mix. Had I paid attention to the differences, I would've bought an '06 at that time. 2007 was the year the F85 replaced the F80 and was upgraded from 105 9 speed triple to 105 10 speed double. The F85 was also made back in 2003 I believe. That vintage was running Sora gear though.

Test ride it & make sure you are comfortable. It is a different ride compared to a mountain bike.

My experience (although limited) w/ Fat Frogs has been very good. They are a family run shop and really seem to care about their customers. FWIW, Fat Frogs Racing is one of the larger teams in the area.

BTW --- Yesterday, for the 1st time in months, I did the morning group ride w/ them & it was a struggle........

That's a pretty aggressive stance, have you actually been out to ride it? I wasn't aware that they "old way" of riding went out of style, all your weight on your toes WTF. Be cautious and make sure the bike actually fits you. I'm having a hard time understanding your posts (if English is your second language you really are doing a great job :thumb:) but are you saying that they are deliberately putting you on a smaller frame because it's the last one in stock? Sounds to me like all this extra tweaking of the stem and moving the seat around to make you comfortable is a band-aid. If the bike is too small do not buy it. If the shop is pressuring you to buy it knowing it is the wrong size I would walk out and find a shop that actually wants to sell you what you need vs what they have in stock.

Better yet why not go to another dealer to see what size frame they would recommend. Get a second opinion before committing to this bike especially if there are fit concerns. Other than that if the bike fits and your comfortable buy it! It's a very nice looking ride which should give you many miles of dependable service.

Bau

Aggressive? Compact frames are okay but not everyone can be properly fitted to a one size fits all geometry. I know I'm being biased but I love my F85 and if that one fits you will too. I went to low spoke count wheels because I bought into the hype and the poser in me thought they were a good idea. The practical side one after many spoke and hubs breaking on various wheelset. Now I bought a pair of Velocity Deep Vs to handle my weight. Great wheels but the original wheels easily hold a Clydesdale.