Felt F75

Price Paid:  $1500.00 at Velo Pasadena

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
the hills above/around Rose Bowl

Bike Setup:
Fizik saddle, Shimano crankset, Continental GatorSkin Ultra tires, extension Aero Bars, Garmin 305/Cateye,

Summary:
Plain and simply a GREAT bike. Super comfortable on smooth and bumps, tracks well, turns on a dime but not in a scary way, great quality and a good looking bike. I needed a bike and did lots of research and found that this LBS had the Felt line. Test rode a few and found the F75 to be mine.

Strengths:
Carbon, 105/Ultegra combo, bang for the buck.

Weaknesses:
Crankset, etc. had to replace.
The Vittoria tires suck...kept getting flats. Changed to Continental Ultra Gatorskin with great success.
Saddle was SO uncomfortable, changed to Fizik which is was an awesome choice.

Similar Products Used:
Test rode several other bikes from Trek to Specialized to Giant...Nothing in the price range, under $2k, could beat the Felt.

Price Paid:  $1500.00 at lbs

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
working on that one

Bike Setup:
stock setup, felt 7000 superlite, carbon fork and stays, full compact 105, mavic 22's. put a gun to my head, i switch out the saddle and maybe add shimano 6's, but the 22's sorta kick ass anyways.

Summary:
in red. it aint black no more. i was looking for something light, functional and not super expensive. found a home with jim felt. up up and away...

Strengths:
all around great bike. light, lightning quick, and comfortable frame. dynamite compact derailleur--speedy and efficient. felt technology and mechanics, massive bang for the buck.

Weaknesses:
hadda shell extra for the egg beaters, new shimano's cost me a buck to add to the total cost of the bike, but at this point, that cost is immaterial. once you mount up, the payback is immediate.

Similar Products Used:
specialized allez elite, 06 with the zertz inserts. the e-5 compares favorably, but the stays make the diff.

Price Paid:  $1400.00 at Towpath

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
Finger Lakes / Bristol NY

Bike Setup:
see above

Add saddle bag
Add planet bikes tail light

Summary:
I have been very happy with this bike.

I like the way it rides -- I think carbon fork and seatstays are effective at mitigating a fair degree of road buzz.

Handles very well and can confidently be aggressive on corners and downhills.

Ive always liked clean simple lines and black matte look.

105 / Ultegra combo seems to work well. No problems except had to change out rear derailer cable after 2 yrs cause started to stick/fray.

Compact crank is must for me, esp. around here with rolling hills.

I like the internal cable routing as it makes it easy to hang in my garage.

Overall great bang for the buck -- I am still riding this happily after 3 yrs, although I'm considering upgrading to an all-carbon frame.

What I switched out:
After 2 seasons I got a pair of nice wheels (ksyrium sls). This was noticable upgrade from stock.

I changed the saddle to a specialized toupe gel which I like better.

Bar & misc tubes switched out over time to tweak the riding position.

I been using michelin pro race tires, and find them much easier to get on/off rim vs the vittorias when changing tubes.

Switched to a 12-27 cassette after a while to help me get up steeper hills (stock was 11-23?)

What I haven't liked:

Sometimes on hard climbs the cranks squeeks a fair bit -- I never figured this out.

Strengths:
see above

Weaknesses:
see above

Similar Products Used:
test rode specialized, giant & trek bikes in same price range, all carbon felt z-series

Price Paid:  $1000.00 at Denver VeloSwap

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Anything with minimal traffic!

Bike Setup:
Stock with Time pedals.

Summary:
Great Bike! I upgraded from a 20 year old Trek, so just about anything modern would feel better. But, I really think I chose wisely and am really pleased with the component mix and overall performance / comfort.
I wanted a full Ultegra group, but found I couldn't get that new for $1K, so the 105 & Ultegra mix fit the bill.
All of my riding is in hilly areas and I like the way it climbs and descends. It is stable at speed, yet changes direction very quickly, which took some getting used to.
I was suprised that the seat fit me so well and that I haven't wanted to replace it.
This is my first experience with this type of shifting mechanism, but it seems to work well with the exception of the front derailleur which usually takes a couple of tries to fully shift from small to large chainring.
I'm glad to have the carbon fork/steerer and seatstays as it feels pretty stiff even with these items, as compared to the old steel frame. The overall ride though, is pretty nice.
In my opinion, this bike is a great value for the fast recreational rider.

Strengths:
Quick, relatively light, responsive, good-looking, Rubino slick tires are wearing well.

Weaknesses:
Front derailleur shifting on compact crank.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $1399.00 at Cycles BiKyle

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Felt F75

Bike Setup:
http://feltracing.com/08/product.asp?catid=1504,1515&pid=8665

Summary:
Actually have a 2008. It's my first road bike. I'm 34 and in good shape, so I wanted something fast but didn't want to spend 2k or more. I ride in NJ where its relatively flat. This bike is great. Fast, smooth, great looking, and light.

Strengths:
Looks, components, smooth

Weaknesses:
Wheels and tires?