Bike Setup: Ultegra 9-sp drivetrain, 105 brakes, mavic cosmos wheels,
Summary: Well, I feel a little silly writing a review right out of the chute on a bike that I haven't had all that long, but I'll call this V1.0 and revise later if necessary. First off, I got this bike as a replacement for a KHS that I pro-dealed in 2002 which was trashed in a car-bike collision 2 months ago. The F45 ended up being affordable and available with the insurance compensation, so there wasn't any hard, long thought out process that went into acquiring this model. OK, on with the review. I was fully expecting to be satisfied with the Felt since I had ridden several in the past (mostly as rentals for various reasons) and had found them to be serviceable but unremarkable. I have to say, though, that I was surprised at the ride quality and handling of this one. It's very comfortable and I'd even use the word soft to describe the ride. Sometimes I almost feel like there is some flexiness to the feel, but that hasn't been reflected in any measurable way in terms of climbing performance (which I'll get to) or top end speed, so it seems to be more of a feel than an actual phenomenon. On the other hand, it could be the Mavic Cosmos wheels which are giving it that feel. I've been using Velomax Circuits, which are quite stiff and have a particular tightness to them. I digress. The thing I noticed immediately when riding the F45 was that it climbs pretty well. Climbs that I used to have to mash out of the saddle I can spin up relatively comfortably on the F45. Since I have ridden much in 2 months, I can only credit the bike for that because the rider isn't any fitter. Handling on descents is also nice. The bike tracks quite well and feels tight at speeds. My immediate thought was that my next big descent down one of the local hills might scare the crap out of me since I would have no problem laying off the brakes more than in the past. So, in short, if you're looking for an upgrade from a recreational bicycle to something a little more race worthy or serious, the higher end Felts seem to be worth a look. As I previously mentioned, I wouldn't really recommend the lower end models from Felt at anything other than very entry level.
Strengths: Comfort (carbon fork, seat stays and seatpost make a difference), climbing, handling.
Weaknesses: Stock wheels (Mavic Cosmos) aren't great. I'm going to switch back to the Velomax Circuits for a while to compare.
Similar Products Used: Felt F80, KHS Flight 700, Cannondales, various Trek
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Bike Setup: 52cm durace/ultegra drive. Mavic Kysrium wheels
Summary: Major step up from my Cannondale. The carbon stay and fork help greatly to smooth out the harsh roads where I ride. Couldn't beat the components for the price. Nice and stiff for making the short, often steap, climbs on the rolling terrain of the Kettle Morraine
Strengths: The selection of the components and the addition to the carbon fork and seat stay really make this bike the bargin it is.
Weaknesses: Headset bearings didn't last a year but, were easy to replace. The bars were to narrow and needed to be swapped out
Similar Products Used: Cannondale 2.8 aluminum with shimano 105 and Mavic open 4cd rims
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Summary: The best. Kicks my old OCR1's butt. Nothing smoother, more efficient, etc, etc. The boys at Felt have done something right with this bike. Congrats!
Strengths: Smooth shifting
Durability
Clean look
Weaknesses: Bad stock seat
Weak paint job(scratches easily)
Similar Products Used: Giant OCR1
Mongoose Little 500 bike
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Bike Setup: Slight upgrade from stock, DA shifters and FD, Cane creek SEALED headset, DA Chain, Felt Carbon Seat Post. Maxxis Hor's Catagorie Tires.
Summary: Closest thing to a steel Colonago you will find in an Alloy/Carbon set. Excellent ride and puts up with whatever I dish out. Smooth, quick and sturdy.
Strengths: Good climber, smooth ride, stable at any speed. best of it's kind
Weaknesses: cheap head set (sorry Jim)
Similar Products Used: Giant tcr, Paramount, Alan, Olmo, Colonago, Masi too many otheres to remember ( I have been at this a while, so please don't send me messages about it being "just another Aluminum Bike")
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Bike Setup: Alum frame / Carbon fork and stays
Dura Ace/Ultegra Drivetrain
Ultegra Shifters/Brakes
RPM Double Carbon Cranks
Velomax Circuit Wheels
Cont.3000 GT (swapped for stock Rubino Slicks)
Serfas Racing Saddle (swapped for Selle Italia)
Look A5.1 pedals
Summary: After considerable research, I found what I had been looking for, and more, in the Felt 45 Road Bike. Aluminum frame, carbon fork and stays, ultegra drivetrain (this bike came with Dura Ace rear derailer!) and decent wheels (Velomax Circuit). I have been extremely pleased with the performance, the smooth ride and the response of this bike! I was especially pleased with the closeout price I got on it at ProBike in Laredo, Tx.! Mike, the owner, and his staff are friendly, knowlegable and eager to help. They swapped out the wide stock bars with narrower ones and accommodated a shorter stem for the stock longer one, and I now have a perfect and comfortable fit on my ride! My thanks to the guys at ProBike in Laredo, and I highly recommend them, even if you have to do a little driving to get there!!!
Weaknesses: I can feel the crosswinds more because of the extended "lip" of the Velomax rim, but nothing I can't live with.
Seat and related hardware weighty but that
was changed out to lighter Serfas Racing Saddle.
Similar Products Used: Trek 5200
Schwinn Prologue
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