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

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?

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.

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 :(

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?