I can get a good deal on an 04 Felt TK2, but I am wary of aluminum frames. I am thinking of buying the bike, stripping the components, and ebaying the frame to fund the purchase of a nice steel frame, most likely a Bareknuckle. So my question is how much is an 04 TK2 frame worth if it has never left the shop? Pros? Cons? Discuss.

Just buy it and enjoy it. Screw breaking it up and selling the parts. Aluminum frames are tons of fun.

If you're going to buy it and scrap the frame, you may as well buy a Soma, Lemond, Jamis, Raleigh, or Bianchi instead. The '04 model doesn't have that great of components.

Yeah, I was just thinking of doing this as a way to get the components at a lower price than if I bought a frame and built it up piece by piece. What is wrong with the components on the '04?

they are the same components (or quite similar to) the ones that come on lesser priced bikes from 04 -- as stated above. might as well spend $400 or so on a pista/soma/lemond/jamis/etc and do the stripping and re-selling. unless you are getting a felt for $400. in that case, just keep it because it's a nice frame.

you could always buy a build kit from iro or bikeworks.com. pretty inexpensive, just add the frame you want.

Isn't the Felt TK2 carbon fiber?

The Lemond is hardly a lesser bike than the Felt, and to put in the same range as a Pista or a Soma is just wrong.

Nope, all aluminum construction

not to start pissing in the wind, but the soma frameset is (imo) a good one, and it typically costs almost as much as a complete pista. so I'd throw in that lumping a soma and a pista together is a little off as well.

I wasn't trying to start a pissing match. I just threw out a few steel completes off the top of my head that could be bought for less than a grand. Most of them have a couple good things in their component list. But for the most part, they're all not worth buying just for the parts.

ebay auction for TK2 frame and fork


thread about the TK2

see post #28.

The Felt is a lesser quality bike than many Soma builds I have seen, especialy for street use. I know of 3 broken Felt rear triangles that have been warrenteed at Chicago bikeshops. Sorry to contribute to the pissing match.

yeah, I really like the Felt's look (start flame war), and I'm a lifetime aluminum rider who was considering a felt. After hearing your stories though, Ira, I've been pursuaded to not get one, and instead hold off for a bit for something else. Not sure what at this point though.

The caveat, I should mention, is that two of these frames were broken by the same person. All the same, they were not from crashes. It should not be that easy to break a frame.

unless the guy was physically assaulting the bike, it shoudn't break like that. I don't want to drop over a grand on a bike that has known weld problems.

Ok Ok I decided to buy a bareknuckle.

The advertised measurements for the Bareknuckles are frequently off. Those frames run bigger than they're listed. Measure it yourself before you put money down or you'll likely end up with an oversized frame. I think most people go one size down from what they'd typically want.

yeah I was just at Yojimbos and marcus measured my other bike and we determined that i need a 56. I would usually take a 57 or 58. They have a baby blue in a 56 so I am picking it up tomorrow. Now what components would you build it up with? I am thinking Sugino 75s, Miche supertype seatpost, Nitto B123's. Stem? Bottom Bracket? Wheels?