Price Paid:  $700.00 at Moment Cycle Sports,

Favorite Ride:
http://www.nps.gov/cabr/

Bike Setup:
Stock with the exception of Forte Contour saddle and Campus pedals, Monkey Lite XC bars.

Summary:
This was my first road bike in decades – many of them. I’d been riding a mountain bike casually around town , wanted to start riding more seriously, but didn’t really want the riding position of a bike with drops. I didn’t want to spend a huge amount either. I found the new-for-2008 Speed 33 on Felt’s web site and ordered it from my local Felt dealer. It arrived mid-January, and I love it! It is exactly what I wanted, and has equaled or exceeded all my expectations.

I changed the saddle to a Forte Contour (see the reviews – comfortable and inexpensive), Forte Campus pedals (SPD on one side, platform on the other), and put Easton Monkey Lite XC carbon riser bars on it. I also added a Cat Eye speedo with cadence. I now commute 15 miles round trip on it 2 – 4 times a week, ride it to the market and anywhere else I don’t want to drive to, and when I just want to go for a quick ride in my tennies. I have since bought a beautiful used Merlin for serious rides, but the Felt has a permanent home with me.

I like the fact that it has triple chainrings, something the upgraded Speed 22 doesn't have. It also has mounting lugs for fenders and racks if I decide I want to put them on. The V-brakes are awesome. Even though it is near the bottom of the food chain in Felt’s line-up, it still has nice touches like internal cable routing and nifty little rubber guards over the cables where they might rub the frame. The gunmetal grey paint and black components give it stealth look I like.

The components are about what you might expect on a $700 bike, but they all work very well and look good to boot. I have considered swapping the aluminum fork for a carbon one, but after putting 400 miles on the bike, don’t really feel the need to, and the alu forks will live for ever.

Considering its price-point and intentions, the Speed 33 is tough to beat. It got me into riding in a much bigger way than I expected, and it’s a whole bunch of fun. Sometimes in the evening, I just go get on it and do figure-8’s and goof around like I did when I was 12. Priceless.

Strengths:
Fun & easy to ride. Well built. Looks good. Reasonably priced. It's a Felt.

Weaknesses:
None, unless your ego demands more expensive components and CF.

Similar Products Used:
None, really. Mongoose MTB is closest.