Blade-Runner

Long story short; my town used to have 3 LBS(s), now we have 2. My favorite LBS (Specialized dealer) sold out to the local Trek shop; I don't like this LBS.

Now I'm looking at a Felt F2 or F3. Felt is new to our town and I don't know much about them. I'd like to here some of your input on these bikes.

- Is the F2 worth the extra 1,300 bucks?
- Are they just as good as the Tarmac?

https://www.feltracing.com/08/product...,1515&pid=8657

Thanks

jimbud

Never one to pass up a chance to post a photo of one of my bikes. Kidding. I find Felt bikes a middle of the road bike manufacturer. I can't find a reason for you to pass on one if it fits you and it's a good deal. There are better and worse bikes out there.

kukusz

I have an F55 that I find to be more than enough bike for me and was a great deal. One of my teammates rides an F2 and loves it. In terms of a difference between F2 and F3, less than 1.5 lbs and you are really paying for better components and wheels, but not by too much. If you can get a deal on an F2, go for it.

ExPhys

I have 2 Felt bikes, a 2006 F3C and F65. Both are great bikes. Both have met all of my expectations.

texascyclist

I have the F4C. It is the same frame. It is plenty stiff, compliant, yada yada. Let's face it, most carbon framesets that come out of a major US company R&D now days are at least 90% perfect (cue for some flaming).

I would go with the partial DA F3 if I were you. For the money that you save, you can get a better set of wheels than the DA wheelset that comes with the F2. Also you can keep the Mavic Equips as a beater set. You might even find a carbon crank in your budget too after you sell the Ultegra Crank. I don't think tha the DA crank and the DA wheelset are worth the extra money. I would spring for the Reynolds attack full carbon clinchers if you don't want to fool with tubular. If you can handle tubular, check out pricepoint's planet-X 50s.

So, if we add this up, I think you can get th F3, + extra carbon clinchers or tubulars, and a carbon crank all for what you will purchase the F2 for. I think the carbon crank is an excellent addition for aesthetic reasons. A year or two from now those silvery pie plates are going to be seriously old school.

NYJayhawk

Buddy of mine has the F4 and loves it. For other bikes in the same price range, it was a great deal. Frame as good or better than anything else in the same range, but much more Ultegra stuff on it whereas everything else in the same range was mostly 105. Good bang for the buck. Nice looking. If it fits you, you won't be disappointed.

Cyclologist

When you buy a Felt, you get more components for your money than you do the frame, just like a BD bike, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when Felt frames are actually smoking hot.

My only gripe is that they use tape to cover up the joints of the rear carbon wishbone of their aluminum frames. To me this is the only thing that gives away that they are cheap as time or engineering wasn't put into the joints to make them aesthetically pleasing otherwise. Everything else including internal cable routing is nice.

Although I think Felt also went the simplest route in engineering by not shaving the tubing down in some areas to save weight on their aluminum frames, I actually like the reassurance that the frame will not ding as easily (as a well engineered Cannondale would, for example) in the likely event of a crash or rough handling since the tubes are so beefy (similar to an aluminum Bianchi).

jeffremer

Felt is one of our bike sponsors, and while we don't get a smoking deal, it's pretty good and I think they are a good value to begin with from what I've seen. Many team members ride the F1X for cross, a few have the Aluminum Felts (F55 etc) and we have members, each with the F1, F2, and F3. From what I understand (I could be totally wrong), the top three are essentially the same frame with a different paint job (maybe a different weave for the F1?).

So I think you are basically paying the component price difference. Depending on what deal you can find you are probably fine with getting an F3 and then swapping the wheels for less than the F2. If you just have to have the DA crankset and brakes then just get the F2 stock.

I was a second away from springing for an F3 when our team got an excellent sponsor proposal from someone else. We might get my girlfriend the FW25 though. She's small and it's great to see a bike stock in her size with a compact Shimano crankset and the short-reach adjustable shifters.

Blade-Runner

The F4 doesn't look too bad as well and I can use the extra $700 for better wheels. I can live with the Ultegra drivetrain. But the F3 looks soooo sexy....... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm........

Bikelyst

A year or two and the carbon cranks will have exploded.

But honestly...ultegra cranks are better than most carbon cranks. Unless of course you want your bike to look cute.

Blade-Runner

I like the looks of the Ultegra crank.

jeffremer

+1, that was option #3 for me too.

bward1028

felt f90 was my first bike. you get a good value on them, because the company manages it's money well, ie limited advertising, esp. on the east coast.

texascyclist

Agreed. You will have a hard time justifying a carbon crank over an Ultegra technically speaking unless you want to shed a bit of weight.

I use an ultegra crank and think it is ugly. I would prefer an old style truss crank or a standard carbon one. I think the new DA carbon skin one is ugly too. The shimano cranks look to biological.

Good:
Carbon:

Aluminum:

I have to admit that the crank above makes me tingly

Bad:

These shimano cranks have been rumored to be inspired by the 1986 movie hit "Flight of the Navigator"

Blade-Runner

The Fulcrum crank is sexy.

I'm going nuts trying to figure out what to do. I can spend 3 to 5.5K on a new bike; I keep going round and round on which bike to get. I keep saying should I get the F3 or F2 or F1 or Tarmac Expert or Tarmac Pro or S Works SL...................... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................ This would be easier if my LBS(s) had them in stock, I may have to travel 2.5 hours (one way) to San Antonio or Austin to test ride these bikes.

ChunkyB

I've never heard a Felt owner who didn't absolutely love his/her bike. That says a lot. Not only that, but they try to get you to buy one too because they're that good.

I almost bought one on craigslist. I went to look at it (with cash in hand) and the dude stood me up, and then he never answered my calls after that. I was pissed.

bclevenger

My mountain is a Felt Elite 29'er.....absolutely love it....first bike I didn't change anything on off the bat.....I did get a Cannondale for my venture into road cycling.....probably should have stayed with a Felt....stooopid, stooopid, stooopid........Brian

elemental

For that kind of money, you could build your own and have almost anything you want. Force/DA group for under $1,000, Ritchey WCS cockpit pieces for $300, leaving you $700 for wheels and $1,000 for a frame. You could have a full DA bike with some very nice wheels and a fairly blingy frameset for the bottom end of your price point. For 5.5K, the sky's the limit (Zipps? Cervelo R3?).

Probably not something you'll end up doing, but if you like the value of the Felts, the kinds of things you can put together with eBay/PBK are pretty awesome. Just something to think about.

Blade-Runner

I think I will be picking up the F1 if the Felt LBS can price match it with the S-Works SL $5.4K.

Sooooo sexy I have to post a pic of both.

Surferbruce

so specialized is ditching those lame plastic hubs?

Blade-Runner

Yep the Sl now comes with the Roval Fusée Sl Wheelset; higher end then the stars.


https://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqP...jsp?spid=35036

bward1028

damn. what's the retail on those things?

texascyclist

For less than $5.4K you can buy a Look 595. I and many others consider this the ultimate bike. If you can't handle the seat mast, the 585 has similar ride characteristics.



The F1 is a great bike but it is not worth $5.4K as spec'd. Neither is the specialized that you mention. The F1 saves weight by deleting paint and adding more expensive carbon fiber. My F4C has a ton of paint on it.

RiDE

That bike needs more logos.

IShowerNude

I know the F85 is far below these fine specimens, but would like some thoughts.