I've found myself in an interesting position and I was wondering what the group thinks about what I should do. It requires a little explanation:

I am a casual rider that, by the standards of this group, doesn't get out very much. I try to ride once a week when it's nice out, but that doesn't always happen. I don't do many group rides, although I enjoy them when I do, because generally I'm not in good enough shape to keep with the group past 30 miles or so. Strava tells me that, in the 3 years I've been using it, I've ridden about 1,600 miles and I have logged about 350 miles so far this year.

I've had a 2011 Felt F5 (low end carbon, 5700 105) that I bought as NOS in 2012, which I later upgraded with a set of Pacenti SL23's that I got from Psimet. I decided on the bike and the wheels after many, many hours of research on the internet, and I felt that it was a good, non-embarrassing bike for someone who genuinely enjoyed riding without breaking the bank (plus, carbon fiber!).

In late-August of this year, after a long ride in the heat, I accidentally drove my car into the garage with the bike up on the rack. Frame was toast, but everything else came through unscathed and was checked over by my local shop, which I trust. I asked them what I should do about a new frame, and they said that before anything, I should call a Felt dealer (they are not a Felt dealer, and the nearest one is far away) and see what they could do about a crash replacement. If I was really in a pinch, they had a few-years-old aluminum Giant TCR frameset that they would part with for $500. I really wanted to keep the repair/replacement around $1,000, reasoning that I could buy a new low-end carbon bike with new 11-speed 105 for around the $2k mark anyway.

I elected to call the Felt dealer, and he called Felt and told me they could get me an Fc (what they call their crash replacement frame) for about $1,100, and he could build it up with the old components. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I decided to go for it. He called me back the next day, and said that Felt was out of Fc's in my size, but that they would part with an F1 frameset for a couple hundred bucks more. I was really on the edge about the extra money, but I reasoned that this was a super-amazing, electronic-ready frame, and after a couple of years I could throw Ultegra or Dura Ace on it, and basically have a bike that I would never be too good for. I ordered the bike, and after a couple of weeks for shipping and his shop to take care of things, I was out the door.

First ride was a mess. The front shifting was miserable, the brakes barely worked, and overall the bike was not what I expected. I took a closer look at it, and it looked to be totally built incorrectly. The FD had no clearance, the brake pads were rubbing on the tires, the cables weren't finished off, and it generally looked like it was built by a 4 year old. Also, he left my computer and sensors on the old frame, and after I called about it he said it was already in the garbage and he was "sorry."

I took it to my LBS, who totally tore the bike down and re-built it (for another $200), and I bought a cheap cateye computer, bringing the total expense of the bike to around $2k, which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place. I understand that nobody could have foreseen the Felt dealer being an idiot, but it was an extra delay and expense that I didn't really need.

The main problem now is that the bike is so so so stiff, it's uncomfortable to me. It's not terrible, but it's not as supple as the old F5 frame. I've been fiddling with the fit for a while and been on a few rides, since the original garbage bike shop didn't even put my saddle in the same position, and even though it's the same geometry it just doesn't feel like the same bike. Of course, I also didn't ride at all for 4 weeks while this was getting sorted out, so it could just be the muscles in my back/shoulders getting re-used to riding. Also, as stated above, I don't ride that much and am not that fast (although I have been setting some PR's on the new frame), and now I feel like a total dweeb getting dropped off of the back of a 17mph group ride on my wonderbike. It's also a sin to have 5 year old 105 on a frame this nice.

All of this has me thinking that I should have just cut my losses at the beginning, gotten the $500 aluminum bike, and been done with it. I haven't ridden in 3 weeks now, partially because it's getting cold, partially because I'm sick of stopping every couple of miles and fiddling with things, and partially because I'm thinking of selling the bike/frameset and I want to keep it as new as possible. So, what's the advice here? Keep the bike, ride more, get a fit, and HTFU? Sell the frameset on ebay and build up that TCR with my old 105 stuff using the proceeds from the frameset? Give up the sport because I can't ride enough to be any good?

Keep the F1 - it's a modern tour level frameset. The geometry is identical to the F5, so play with the fit and you'll get it to a comfortable position.

Selling + buying a bottom of the barrel aluminium TCR would be a bonehead move.

Also ... though it might not do you any good, let Felt know how bad a job that dealer did. Explain how you like their products so much you wanted to stay with them even though it stretched your budget, and that you love the frame but the shoddy build and lost parts have you considering selling the bike and buying a different brand, which you don't want to do but ...

If nothing else, the company should know who is representing them badly. Maybe others have complained and something can be done, which might matter if you ever do want a different Felt bike.

Thanks guys. Probably too much sunk cost to start over at this point. I'm sure the new frame will impress me more once I get a little more time in the saddle. I'm not saying this frame is bad, its very good, but it is like driving an M3 compared to a 328. Just a totally different experience.

Yup . If you sell the frame and get the Giant you might break even and have a lower end bike. You paid the LBS good money, have them make it right

I can't really advise on the frame but I would have an M3 over a 328 every time. Just sayin'.

I don't know why you let the LBS get away with, "Sorry"

You should have, and probably still can call them, and ask them what they are going to do to make it right. I'd expect them to replace the parts (e.g. Computer, sensors, etc.) with comparable parts, or with the equivalent in cash. Because of the job they did, I'm not sure that I'd want credit at their store.

GH

Seems a little late for that (if I'm following this correctly). When was the bike picked up from the Felt dealer and when was the 'sorry' phone conversation? Were you (IP) speaking with a manager?

If you have already taken the bike and paid for things, than you may have been a little too passive. I think that Cola is on the right track but I may go at it differently. Before I go into that, I will say that $200 for the build is pretty steep. In fact, it is quite steep. Toss in the fact that they tossed out your property and the build is even steeper. I would go back to the store and request to speak to the owner. I would then be honest and tell that that you were very upset when this occured but decided to not approach it out of anger. After thinking about it, you are upset that your property was thrown out. That is not acceptable service and it does not put their store in good light. I would tell him what model of computer you had and the cost. He should offer to replace it or reimburse you. I would let him replace it as that is fair for both parties. If he does not offer that than you have to go a different route. I would tell him that you are trying to be fair but that he threw out your property and is not making restitution. If he can't be fair than you have to be willing to blow it up. There are two ways to do that. The first is if you paid him with a credit card. If you did, I would tell him that you are unhappy with the service and request a refund. He will not give it but that is when you politely state that you do not want to do this but you are going to have to pull back the credit card charge. You may win but it is doubtful. When you dispute the charge, the CC company will take the funds back from him and put it into escrow until a decision is rendered. You will both state your case to them. This takes time. In short, he will be without that money for a month or two. That is a hard pill to swallow for a small business. I own one, so I know how this works. Again, I doubt that you will win but you may have a case. You may also get your money back. You can also call Felt and put pressure on them as well. They may volunteer to take the frame back to make you happy. I love Felt bikes so I hate to hear this but it is not their fault. If you did not pay with a CC, than I would tell him that you want a refund. Upon refusal you have to simply ask him to be reasonable and make it right. If he will not, than you hit him with your story on google, yelp and etc. Most small businesses do not know how to handle this type of negative feedback. Trust me, they hate it and cringe when they see it. It matters.
Give them a chance to make it right by stating your case. They really should. In the end, it is a darn awesome bike. Go to another shop and get a good fitting. It is worth the $50.

Regarding the sequence of events from the "bad" bike shop:

When I picked up the bike, I was in a hurry because I took part of the day off of work and had to make it home to take a phone call. I picked up the bike, paid him, threw it in my car, and left. I noticed that the cables were unfinished, but I didn't even notice that the computer sensors were missing until a few days later (the computer was still on the bike since it was attached to the handlebars, but the cadence and speed sensors that were attached to the frame were what was thrown out).

A few days later, I went for the first ride and things were definitely not right. When I took it to my LBS and actually saw the shoddy nature of the build, that's when I nearly lost it. However, one of the problems with the build was that they overtightened the stem to the steerer tube. So, instead of calling them up immediately and asking for my money back, I decided to wait since I may have needed to use the crummy dealer in order to get a new replacement fork from Felt. It turns out that my LBS said everything was fine, and so I elected not to go back to the guy to argue over $200.

In my neck of the woods, a full component swap with new bar tape and new cables is not unreasonable. It's a little steep, but the shop is the only Felt dealer anywhere close to me and he got me what is still a very good deal on an F1 frame. I'm not sure if that was Felt's idea or his. Plus, I was so happy to finally have an operable bicycle that I just took out all of my frustration on the pedals.

The Felt shop doing a bad build, and costing me extra time/money to get the bike stripped down again was definitely part of the problem. But I'm past that, and making a big stink over something like that at this point is unnecessary and not in my nature. My bigger problem is that I'm a slow-ass riding a bike that was made for Marcel Kittel, and I feel bad about it.

I'm of the mind that any shop should retain old parts and let the customer decide on what to do with them, especially when it's a new relationship. As far as the bike; you're already in this deep too late to worry about getting wet, get some help from a professional on fit if you're tired of trying to get it there yourself. If think getting used to something new is always like this but normally there is the excitement of getting a new bike you've been wanting and you wasn't wanting a new bike.