My Allez has 50-34 with 12-25t or 11-28t (depending on terrain). The F1X has 50-34 with a 11-36t. So far I haven't had to use the 32 or 36 cogs at all, but they're there for when the trail pitches above 20%.

For reference, the Allez:

I run a 50/34 11-34 on my Bradley. The roads to my west have short but steep climbs as they go up the bluffs.

I like the look with the shallower depth rims. Nice splashes of red. Nice and simple yet gets a hot from me for a nice build on an inexpensive frame.

Don't feel bad I run a 42/34 up front and 11-36 out back on my cyclocross bike. I almost never even use the 42 up front, but then again my CX bike mostly sees MTB trails.

As a Felt fan, I really would love to own a bike like this! As an avid HrN reader, the bike simply isn't that aesthetically interesting - hence the lack of comments. I'm sure it rides like a great bike, but it's definitely nothing special to look at. It's very bland, sorry.

This, absolutely.

I really wanted to buy a Felt, but just couldn't make it happen. I have no doubt that bike is a pleasure to ride, but it's just bland to look at. I'd happily own one just like to be sure.

hot

Hot

Needs just a little pink:




All in good fun of course, it's fresh air compared to the umpteenth stealth matte black bike.


Sometimes I feel like this is the look 'we' are chasing around here...and I'm not sure I like it:

Dig the cadence C260!

hawt...

Snazzy!

I'll dissent and say "not."
I like the frame generally and think the main color is fine - sort of elegant. The purple is OK. I don't get what's going on with the stem and bar tape, though, and those wheels make my skin crawl.

I couldn't care less about the other things, but I agree with you about the wheels. Hed wheels are so ugly.

Dude, it's just too subtle. Like the guys were saying, it just presents itself as a run-of-the-mill bike. Maybe others would have known what was going on, recognizing it as a cross bike, but some of us know nothing of that discipline and I had to take a look at the closeups to see what made you think it might be hot. Love the brakes and the wheels. Not hot, but it is pretty cool.

The stem is a special "Cadence cycling" edition Ritchey C260. Not saying anyone has to like it, just giving an explanation for what it is.

There isn't much more "fred" than a stem which reads "keep going" on the top, it's even worse than Niner's "pedal damn it" crap.

HOT! Please just do something with the stem and bartape!

clean looking bike
Hot

Fair enough. It's not a completely bling bike dripping with the latest parts & tech but I put it together on a $600 budget and think it turned out pretty rad. I do put a lot of time and thought into aesthetics, neat cabling, color matching, etc. I think part of the perception is the distance and angle to the bike in that photo...it looks a lot better in this completely unstaged photo:

Flat pedals and no bar tape in this one...

I thought the other photo was fine, and I thought your bike was interesting enough for having cross V-brakes which are kinda rare nowadays, and otherwise well put together.

It has M540 MTB pedals on, same as the other photo. No bar tape because that was literally taken 5mins after completing the build. The nicest parts about the bike are the drivetrain and brakes. The mixmatch drivetrain works perfectly, super smooth and quiet shifts across the entire range. The TRP V-brakes are crazy powerful-even more stopping power than the Ultegra calipers on my road bike, on par with a good set of hydraulic discs (albeit with less modulation). At first I was locking them up frequently over loose surfaces, but once I stopped grabbing fist fulls of lever and got used to the sensitivity it's been fantastic.

Thanks for the props!

Hot, I especially like the stem, handlebar tape, and tires. Not a big fan of the alloy/carbon wheels though. I bet this bike would look really good with some silver low profile alloys.