Felt’s 2011 New Model Preview
It began in a small Northern California workshop surrounded with motorcycle parts. Jim Felt was a full-time factory mechanic for Johnny O’Mara, one of America’s most celebrated dirt bike racers, but over the years the two of them had discovered bicycles; Johnny as a racer, Jim as a frame builder. Johnny would go on to be a multi-time national champ on mountain bikes while Jim would build frames fast enough to win the Kona Ironman eight times.
Over the years Felt’s frame business would endure various fits and starts with different owners and partners. It was until 1999 when he partnered with Bill Deuhring, himself a bike industry legend (established from his years working alongside the late/great Richard Long of GT Bicycles), that Felt bikes took the grand leap forward once and for all. With the business making gains, Felt went big and jumped into the ProTour world with Jonathan Vaughters and his Garmin backed team.
From a single handmade tri frame that Jim built in the late’80’s to an international renowned bike brand offering 240 different models in 2011, Felt Bicycles is a prime example of what happens when talent, experience and dedication to a hard work ethic combine.
Earlier this week we gathered in the parking lot of Felt’s Orange County HQ to have a first look at their 2011 road offerings. Despite their worldwide recognition, Felt gets by with a staff of around fifty people. One of those people is road bike product manager Dave Kassel (above) who walked & talked us through some smart looking new bikes. Here’s some of what we saw?.
The brand new F1 is the latest/greatest road bike in the Felt line-up. While somewhat plain looking from the outside, the big story for the F1 is the fabrication process which is totally new for Felt. Gone is the simple monocoque frame construction of old having been replaced with a new ‘inside-out’ ‘dynamic monocoque’ construction process that relies on dual bladder system designed to maximize the internal compaction of the carbon. As with the previous hi-end Felts, the F1 is made with a hybrid of carbon fiber materials, but with the new build process they’ve been able to shave 150-200 grams off the frame while making it even stiffer. Two notable carbon additions are the new monocoque rear dropouts (the front fork uses carbon drops too), and a BB30 shell that weighs about 30 grams less than the standard aluminum shell.
Outfitted with a host of super high-end parts, including Mavic wheels and Shimano’s D12 electronic drivetrain (with a built-in battery mount on the underside of the left chainstay), a complete F1 will sell in the $12,500 range. Framesets will be sold for $3500.
Felt will also make lower line F Series bikes, including the $5000 F3 with Sram Red that doesn’t use the new frame, but still comes in at 900 grams and is built up to weigh 14.6 lbs. The team issue F5 (above) at $2299 is an especially cool looking bike for the price.
Unquestionably the other looker of the day was the new DA TT/Tri bike – wow! As Dave said about the evolution of the bike, ‘It is one step further’ than their current TT/Tri offering. From the narrower Bayonet 3 fork which has a ‘huge’ reduction in frontal area to the new ‘wind break strip’ that runs down the seat tube and seat post to help break the wind for the rear wheel and Di2 battery respectively. The rear brake is a Felt ‘v-brake’ which is mounted underneath the chainstays and behind the bottom bracket. Dave reminded us too that since ‘the fastest brake in the world isn’t all that fast if it takes seven wrenches to work on and makes a wheel change take ten minutes!’, the rear brake is a straight forward affair with no specific fairing to call its own. Up front, some aero die-hards might snivel that the front brake remains exposed on the front side of the fork versus tucked in on the trailing edge which seems to be a growing in popularity design.
Like the F1, the D2 will be spec’d with Shimano’s Di2 drivetrain and will also be able to have standard cable housing run through the frame for mechanical drivetrains. Spec’d with a Zipp 1080/909 wheel combo, the D2 will also cost $12,500 with the frame selling for a $5000.
BACK IN THE DAY SIDEBAR…
Just to get an idea about how far TT/Tri bike technology/design has come in a few short years, here’s what a 2004 S25 looks like…compare that to the new DA.
Speaking of aero bikes, the AR (aero road) series is still alive and is available in five different models starting with the $2500 AR2. The AR frames use the previous monocoque frame.
If you’re in the market for something with a slightly longer wheelbase and (3 cm) higher hand position, the Z Series of bikes might be for you. One of the more incredible deals in the Felt Z line is the Z2 that is spec’d with a Shimano Di2 drivetrain, but retails for a great price of just $6500 (the Di2 components normally add $5000 to the price of a bike). On the entry level side of things, there’s the Z6 (above) that retails for $1599.
ELSEWHERE IN THE FELT CATALOG…
Felt 75X cyclocross bike: $1699.
Felt TK2 track bike: $1499.
Felt ZW75 women’s bike: $1150.
For more info, head to Felt Bicycles.
OH YEAH, ABOUT THAT TEAM JERSEY GIVE-AWAY…
Just to reinforce the age-old adage that you don’t get nuthin’ in life for free, if you want a chance to receive a free Felt t-shirt and Garmin jersey autographed by the team, you need to send us a note telling us why you ride; fitness, adventure, fun, family? There has to be a reason – tell us what it is! From all the entries we get we will pick a random winner and I’ll even throw in some bonus schwag cuz that’s the kind of guy I am. So send your entries to: Why We Ride and see if you win.
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