MTBSully

I am in need of a new road bike, I was on a 51 Cervelo S3 which met an untimely end with a pick up truck. I want to stick with an aero frame and currently the Ultegra S3 is sold out so I have some choices to make, looking for input on the following: Felt AR3, BMC TMR02, Scott Foil 20 or 10. Ideally I can replace my broken bike and wheels and maybe have enough left over for a wahoo kicker so I can regain some fitness after having my knee rebuilt.

Also, does anyone have some advice on rebuilding after being nonweight bearing/non active for 12 weeks? Hopefully I get cleared to start doing some weight bearing this week and can get on the trainer with no resistance too.

Thanks everyone

spectastic

scott foil might be too stiff for a light weight, but tire options are a bigger factor. other than that, same ****, different logo

hack

felt ar from the options presented

MTBSully

I figured it would come down to what I liked the colors the most on. I am leaning towards the Felt AR for the aero bars. Considering the omniums require you ride a road bike aero is a factor for me.

I've heard previous generations of the AR felt noodly, is that still the case or did they get them stiffer? The down tube seems so thin.

Any tips on a wrench that can quickly remove bottle cages?

Ygduf

I would pick the scott foil because I love my current scott foil.

I use allen wrenches.

hack

The guys I know that ride the newer AR haven't described it as noodly. It seems to work well enough for Nat'l crit champ Holloway.

MTBSully

Thanks on the allen wrenches advice, any shorter ones that are easier to work with? or is a dremel in my future?

spectastic

I think the AR have different frames where the AR1 has a greater blend of higher modulus carbon in key parts for higher stiffness/weight than say AR5. frame size also plays a role. but yea, for a guy riding a size 51, the concern would probably be too "bricky"

spectastic

I like to use a drill with ez outs. catches the bolt, and removes it very quickly

hack

True ... but I suspect it cant be much more than feeling a difference between an S-works and non-Sworks tarmac or venge. I'm sure there are guys out there that can feel the difference, but I never did.

spectastic

I went to a bike shop that had an AR3 and a foil, and tested the lateral stiffness by squeezing the brakes and stepping on the pedal. The difference was pretty significant actually.

hack

Same wheels and same crankset?


I believe the AR3 has tested less still than the foil, but I wonder if an AR3 would feel different doing the pedal test than an AR1.

Ygduf

I cut down ikea wrenches for my tt bike, or you could get a finger drive ratchet ala https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-64...ompact+ratchet

spectastic

BB/crank has way less lateral flex than frame. I suppose wheels can vary, but they were all stock, so probably not a lot of variance. I encourage you to go to a bike shop and see for yourself. the foil really doesn't move at all.

they actually had to 'un-stiffen' the foil for the newer model

hack

Will take your word for it.

I agree that the Scott is likely more stiff than the AR. Ultimately, I was suggesting that the difference between the premium end model (AR FRD or Foil Team Issue) and next model down (AR 3 or Foil 10) isn't that noticeable to me.

tetonrider

reminds me of:

dz_nuzz

So I had an AR2 last year and an AR FRD this year. Neither one feels noodly to me at all, and are actually relatively comfortable in the back end. The front end is quite rigid and feels really nice when carving a tight corner. The downside to that is you feel every single thing through the handlebars.

Another teammate has the AR5 and I think he liked it. IMO the AR5/AR2/AR FRD are all grat bikes that are more or less equal. I would guess that the AR3 and lower are a little less stiff since they don't use Textreme carbon like the AR2/1/FRD but it is not a noodly bike in my experience. Take that with a grain of salt though because I am not a sprinter.

globecanvas

I think this new model looks sharp:





from https://www.instagram.com/thingsihavedrawn/

TexMac

I have an S3 and honestly i haven't found a bike like it with combination if light, speed, comfort..i've gone thru venge, dogma, propel, feltf5, colnago clx, ridly noah. I've heard the foil is an exceptional bike but might be interested in Trek madone 9

MTBSully

Perfect, that is what I am looking for. Just mentally to get the cages off for short TTs is nice, but a pain in the ace using a Y wrench.

MTBSully

Just talked to the owner of my LBS, he won't let me ride anything other than an S3, so he is tracking one down for me and will help with the cost if they can only find the Di2 version. He says everything else will be "disappointing"