Fallen in love with the looks of this machine, been drooling over it at the bike shop(ar5). Are any of you guys riding em? Not interested in the FRD but the other bikes 2-5 are the same frame set. I may wait till later in the year to see if the prices go down, but i am interested to know what you guys think of em.

I have a 2014 AR4. I got it in mid November, and I love it. I am a newbie to road. I started mid year 2013. This is only my 2nd road bike, so no expert opinion. I chose it as the geometry is more aggressive than the Z series but less than the F series. The fact that it's an aero bike is just icing on the cake to me. I will take any help I can get. I don't race just recreation and benefit rides. I rode it on the 207 (Phoenix to Rocky Point Mex.) on Feb. 8th and 9th and felt fine. I have no complaints at all.

I picked up my Felt AR5 about a month ago and have about 500mi on it so far, I highly recommend it. I was reading somewhere that Felt has sold every new AR they built with exception of a few AR3 frames, meaning they are either in shops or on the road. Finding the right frame size might become a challenge in a few months, and they will likely by sold out by the time prices usually drop in Autumn.

As far as the bike itself, like I siad above I highly recommend it, I have been racing for a few years and riding much longer then that. This thing is far smoother then any aero frame I've ridden. It's fast in a straight line and responsive through corners. Due to snow in the mountains around here I haven't had a chance to ascend or descend any big climbs yet.

Hey guys-

Digging up an old thread here. Looking to pick up an AR5. it will be my first road bike and have heard stories about past Felt carbon bikes being poorly built.

Any owners who have an AR5, please feel free to chime in with the good or bad.

Thanks!

I ride a '15 AR3 which is basically the same only with Ultegra. I just happen to ride which was probably the most "meaningful" ride on that bike today with the brutal winds today (15-25mph gusts).

This thing rocks. Tube shapes make a lot of difference - I believe I'd feel the same way if I got a Venge, TMR01, Aeroad or whichever aero bike's out there.

I don't know how powerful you are as a rider but this is plenty stiff.
[MENTION=205580]250[/MENTION]0 for the AR5 it's unbeatable.

I'm seriously considering either AR1 or Giant Propel frameset as the next major upgrade. AR is supposed to be extremely aerodynamic; third-party measurements are lacking, but Felt's own internal test papers claim that it (or, at least, the AR FRD version) is superior to pretty much everyone, including Propel and Cervelo S5. Of course, "superior" in this context means tens of seconds off 1-hour flat time trial, so it's the question of how much you're willing to pay for this advantage. In turn, neither Giant nor Cervelo bother to release any of their own measurements disputing that.

Be advised that AR1..AR5 are _not_ all the same, AR1 frameset alone retails for as much as a complete AR5 bike. There are small differences, in particular the AR5 frame is something like 200 g heavier than the AR1 frame.

There is a 70-page thread about the AR on weightweenies and you might want to check it out.

Not that I need to buy another bike but I want to test ride a Felt AR the next time their demo truck is in the area. I saw a matte black one last Sunday and thought it looked sexy.

Thanks guys. I'm torn between vintage steel vs new school carbon.

I have a few steel bikes in the stable, but thinking i'd like to try the AR5...LBS has one for about $1600...damn good deal for a sweet whip. lol

I haven't ridden an AR, but I think it's important to bring up the 'ride':

Carbon frames were originally about weight, then weight:stiffness ratios. Now they've taken that to a max, which is a good thing because there's things far better than saving 100g on weight or adding stiffness to something olympic athletes can flex only 1mm. Companies are either going for aerodynamics or the "ride". (Rarely both). Trek's Emonda is a new good example on feel focus, but my experience on the Giant Propel tells me Giant doesn't care if they compromise other things for aerodynamics and aesthetics.

I know it's not one of the current model ARs, but as a data point, my 2011 F5 has been wonderful. Absolutely nothing about it that I would describe as poorly built, and it hasn't ever let me down.

That is a great deal if it's the new 2014+ AR5. Throw 6800 or 6870 on it and you'd have one sweet bike.