Weaknesses: "Stock" Mavic wheelset and Rubino slicks. And saddle - but that wasn't as immediately apparent!
Bottom Line:
14000 miles and counting, with only one major mishap when I took a spill accelerating out of a corner. No damage to frame/forks - but had to replace cranks, front chainrings, and front derailleur (kept with DuraAce, of course!). Haven't found anything that's even been close to the comfort and quality of this ride - even in Ti, Al, full carbon, or any combination. And that's with almost 20 years of hard riding (only the last 5 on this beauty!)
Similar Products Used: Bianchi Veloce, Trek 4.7, Raleigh Grand Prix, Cannondale Six13 (with Shimano - not Campy- drivetrain)
Bike Setup: Stock setup, including 51/32 compact carbon crankset. Crank Brothers eggbeater pedals (I'm a mountain rider as well). Switched out to Fizik saddle early on. Upgraded wheelset and rubber as well.
Strengths: comfortable. I can ride for ever and not get my hands buzzed. there is a great combination of aero and light weight while still being very responsive. Great quality without giving up food to pay for it.
Weaknesses: I'm not a fan of verticcal dropouts. it eliminates the possibility of making it a KA fixie
Bottom Line:
I built this bike from a frame I got on eBay for $400 and put on $900 in parts. it's by far the best bike I've ever ridden (saying nothing) it obviously blows away my old huffy 626 (RIP Claire you are missed but not forgotten) I can fly up hills and laugh at the wind. not many bikes can do what this can.
Strengths: ~*Customer service!*~ Lightweight, comfort, very light & speedy (but still solid) American Classic wheels.
Weaknesses: Stock seat replaced with a Brooks Titanium, (but this is always such a personal thing anyway.)
Bottom Line:
I've always marveled at the stiffness of this light bike, until I broke my right chainstay after 4 years of ownership. I was crushed because I'd always loved the comfortable ride, and I didn't want to shop for another bike. I'm 6'2/190 pounds, muscular, and tend to torque-the-bars a little during climbs. But Felt replaced my frame with no grief!
Strengths: Value for the money, first and foremost, but this isn't some bargain ride that you give up something to save some cash, it's a great bike. Frame stiffness without buzziness, great drivetrain (full Dura-ace), carbon goodies are nice to placate those who think carbon is the only acceptable bike material (handlebar, cranks, seat post, fork, stays).
Weaknesses: I've had more comfortable saddles, but that's dependent on the rider. The plastic plug for the cable routing on the top tube always comes out when I hit cobbles, it doesn't need to be in or anything, but it's a dumb little annoyance that a spot of tape will fix. If you're looking at a more plush/comfortable road bike, a la the Felt Z series or Specialized Roubaix, I would probably stay away from this, since it is pretty "racy" in it's geometry and not the plushest of rides.
Bottom Line:
58 cm, stock setup, have had it for a little over a week now, have about 175 miles on it. I'm a large rider (6'2", 218) and coming off my old bike this is a good 2 mph faster over the same rides. A large part of this is I finally got a fitting and the Felt fits so much better than my old ride, but the stiffness is great. I crashed one of my carbon bikes hard, had it checked out okay, and it wasn't until 2 rides later, about 20 miles from home when the downtube cracked all the way through. This made me a bit wary of carbon frames and I wanted a second bike so I wanted to check out aluminum. Compared to the other bikes I tested the Felt is lively & quick, less buzzy than the AL pinarello, more direct than the carbons. The other bike I liked from demos was the Pinarello FP5 but at nearly double the price it was not a tough decision. The kit on this bike is amazing for the price, with full dura-ace, ksyrium wheels, carbon bits all over. The ride is stiffer than my carbon, and transmits more road irregularities, but it isn't annoying or offsetting, it handles well through corners even if there is a bump/pothole midway through, and the power transmission is great. So far I've gone out for several 30-50 mile rides and have had less soreness & fatigue than on my carbon bike. The value is amazing for the components, frankly you could buy it for parts and be ahead, but the ride is great and to me there isn't much more you need in a bike unless you want to spend thousands more to save some grams.
Strengths: Superlight Aluminum/Carbon frame.
Really snappy, when you start to go, there is no waiting for this bike to catch up
BIG STRENGTH: Felt's customer service and willing to stand by their product.
Weaknesses: seamingly short head-tube but I've been told I couldn't find a properly fit frame unless it was custom sized for me...
Bottom Line:
This is one of the most amazing bikes I've had the pleasure of sitting on. The frame itself is incredibly light. It had a lot more flex than I would have expected, but it didn't seem waste much when it was really time to mash. It comes with just enough carbon in it to shake out the buzz. I think this bike offer an incredibly good value considering the quality of the frame and the price it costs. Mine did unfortunately just break at the weld just in front of the derrailuer hanger. I do feel though, that this was a flaw in the manufacturing process. I'm currently in the process of having it replaced by Felt, who up to this point has been incredibly helpful in rectifying this situation. I highly encourage riders to consider these bikes especially considering Felt's steadfast integrity in standing by their product, admitting a fault, and expeditiously fixing it. What more could you ask for from a company. THANKS FELT!
Similar Products Used: Cannondale Aluminum (forgot which model)
Trek 1100
Bike Setup: Ultegra drivetrain, Nuevation R-28 Aero wheels, Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork, Easton ec-70 ergo wing bars- 18.9 pounds (pretty good for an older drivetrain and 1640 gram wheelset consider the price of the bike)
Is any information out yet on what Felt is doing with their 2009 line up? I'm currently weighing the differences between the F55 and F75 - and now wondering if I should hold out Read More »
I've heard yes and I've heard no but does anyone know if the F55 will be around for '09 with the new lineup. If it is, will it still have Dura ace or is Felt going to SRAM on this Read More »
What is the difference between the F35 & F55 frames from 2005? Are they identical apart from colour? Which is better?
From what I have seen on historic spec sheets;
F35
Fe Read More »
Hello die hard roadies. I am a newbie to the road bike world. I have a 2005 felt F55 road bike. size 54. I think the bike is too tall for me. I tried putting the seat as low as pos Read More »
I just took delivery of a 2011 F4, and I'll be selling my trusty 56cm F55 to help pay for it - but I don't know a good asking price. Any thoughts?
I bought it in 2010 for $1,20 Read More »
