[skygodmatt]

Check out Felt's 2011 racing frame:
http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2011/Road/F-Series/FC-Frame.aspx

Talk about aggressive. I can't even ride that. Long TT, short HT, and steep angles.
A pure racing breed for the fittest of athletes.

 

[Don4]

Check out Felt's 2011 racing frame:
http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2011/Road/F-Series/FC-Frame.aspx

Talk about aggressive. I can't even ride that. Long TT, short HT, and steep angles.
A pure racing breed for the fittest of athletes.

I'm 48 and I can ride that. Proud owner of a 2011 Felt F3. I'll grant you, the HT is short, but the angles aren't that far off the 1983 Trek 700 I was riding before I got the Felt, and the TT is in the same propotional ballpark relative to frame size. The ol' Trek was a "sport" geometry vs a a "race" geometry, and so the wheelbase is a lot longer than the Felt F-series, primarily in the chainstay.

 

[terbennett]

I'm 38 and I ride Felt bikes. The key to riding that geo is to buy a size one smaller than you usually ride. I used to ride a Treks as well. I was fitted to a 60 cm and it was perfect; With Felt, I ride 58 cm because the top tube length is longer than on comparable Treks.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

Geo looks pretty normal/generic to me.

 

[dcl10]

Aside from the short HT it's pretty similar to standard geo. Scott, Cannondale, cervelo, etc. More aggressive than you'll find from some larger market companies like Trek, but not significantly so.

 

[blantonator]

looks like a pretty standard geometry in my size. It actually has a longer head tube than my cross bike.

 

[Henry Chinaski]

It actually has a longer head tube than my cross bike.

Keep in mind that cross bikes typically have longer forks axle to crown

 

[DiegoMontoya]

A pure racing breed for the fittest of athletes.

The fittest of athletes don't ride Felts.
Can't fit the motor in the seat tube.

 

[cmg]

similar to the Blue frame i have. "The key to riding that geo is to buy a size one smaller than you usually ride." that's great but what if you would normally fit the smallest frame? my Blue frame has less than 4cm of spacers under the stem with the stem flipped to a riser position.

 

[jwp3476]

I'm 68 and my main ride is a Felt F5. I liken the responsiveness of the bike to a Porsche - quick but controllable.

 

[AvantDale]

Dam...the headtube is on the shorter side. Their 54 has a 120mm HT...most is around 140mm.

Their AR series has taller HT's...

 

[skygodmatt]

...keep in mind the steep seat angle will add length to your TT as you need to slide the seat back to line up your leg.

I ride a 58...so if I buy one size smaller I get a 14 cm HT. At 6'2" tall that head tube is crazy short.

Guess I am one of those riders that fall in between the cracks of the compact geometry thing. I wish every vendor made 22 sizes --like Colnago.

 

[stefano bobby]

That frame is sweet, especially the FC with the Enve fork. Like 900 grams for 56 cm.
In response to the geometry being agressive, I find this a pleasnt departure from frames that are nowadays getting ever softer and less pro. Props to Felt for making an undiluted racing frame, much better than the old f series. If I had not just got q new bike, this one would be on the shortlist.

 

[zach.scofield]

The bike is absolutely a great ride. Stiff, responsive, comfortable and really not that racy unless you want it to be. I have the '11 F5 w/ customized ENVE fork. Heres a pic. No, I dont generally wrap my bars that far up. I just didnt want to cut the tape yet.

 

[Wookiebiker]

In response to the geometry being aggressive, I find this a pleasant departure from frames that are nowadays getting ever softer and less pro. Props to Felt for making an undiluted racing frame, much better than the old f series. If I had not just got a new bike, this one would be on the shortlist.

I agree...It's nice to still see a frame that doesn't cater to the "Tall head tube" crowd... i.e. more money than fitness.

The felt is pretty much the only frame I can get a proper fit on with out using a stem with more than -17 degree of drop. I love that they are still making it and if I had the money would buy one...with that said, I don't expect them to keep it much longer before they have to change the geometry to something more relaxed.

 

[MisterC]

The bike is absolutely a great ride. Stiff, responsive, comfortable and really not that racy unless you want it to be. I have the '11 F5 w/ customized ENVE fork. Heres a pic. No, I dont generally wrap my bars that far up. I just didnt want to cut the tape yet.

Nice picture... Really get a feel of the bikes proportions from that angle.

 

[zach.scofield]

Heres a better one for proportions. set up is a bit different in the 1st photo then was in this older photo.

 

[Don4]

I agree...It's nice to still see a frame that doesn't cater to the "Tall head tube" crowd... i.e. more money than fitness.

The felt is pretty much the only frame I can get a proper fit on with out using a stem with more than -17 degree of drop. I love that they are still making it and if I had the money would buy one...with that said, I don't expect them to keep it much longer before they have to change the geometry to something more relaxed.

I would expect this geometry to remain in Felt's stable for a while. The F-series framesets being discussed are a fresh design for the 2011 model year.

 

[stevesbike]

not sure what the big deal is about the different stack heights of these various frames. Comparing a 58 felt f series to a cervelo rs, the difference in stack height is 3 cm. Even someone wanting to set up the felt for a very aggressive position is likely going to add some height to that frame - 569mm stack height for a 58cm frame is VERY low. They'll need to reduce the 599mm stack height of the Cervelo - so we're talking about a cm here or there in terms of adjustments between them. FWIW, Cervelo claims:

"Pros love maximum front-end stiffness, but - for the same handlebar height - a short headtube with a minus-6 stem provides less stiffness than a longer headtube with a minus-17 stem."

 

[Don4]

FWIW, Cervelo claims:

"Pros love maximum front-end stiffness, but - for the same handlebar height - a short headtube with a minus-6 stem provides less stiffness than a longer headtube with a minus-17 stem."

All other things being equal, I could see this claim being true, however, seldom are all other things "equal".