When we first laid eyes on Felt’s disc-brake equipped F65X cyclocross bike, they were poised to be one of the first major manufacturers to hit the market with a non-canti, race-ready bike.
Unfortunately, it missed the 2011/2012 season thanks to hold ups in the supply chain for some of the spec’d parts and, less sucky, a redesign of the fork. So, while you may have had to wait a bit, you’re getting a full carbon fork instead of one with an alloy steerer. The upside is that this beauty of a matte black bike comes in complete for just $1,500 with a SRAM Apex BB30 group and Avid BB5 brakes. Felt’s house brand parts make up most of the cockpit and rest of the spec, but they’re not known for making heavy stuff with their stickers on it. The ridiculously light Edict full suspension bike is loaded with their parts and it tips the scales at just 21lbs 6oz.
Roll through to see this one’s weights, some close ups and some other sweet TT/Tri, cruiser and road bikes from Felt…
The new fork has a massive crown, far bigger than the original alloy steerer version (which is still showing on Felt’s website as of this post). It has plenty of clearance, but it’s meant for racing as there are no fender or rack mounts. It comes spec’d with Ashima’s original lightweight rotors, thankfully not the minimalist Ai2 version. I’ve run these rotors on my XC bike with zero problems, but the Ai2’s have gotten me into trouble.
Note the sweet one-piece brake mount and dropout. Plus, it includes a rack/fender mount, although you might be hard pressed to access it around the BB5’s actuation arm. Come time hydraulics are the norm, it might be more useful. Rear spacing is 135mm.
Weight is 20lbs 10oz. I forgot to check the size, but given the price, that’s pretty darn good for a triple butted tubeset with full carbon fork. And there’s plenty of room for gram shaving.
The Felt DA2 is their next-to-the-top of the line TT/Triathlon race bike. It has a fully integrated steerer/external headtube built onto the fork with a bolt on stem that’s equally aero. All of that mates up to 3T aero bars and base bars. What really caught my eye was the attached water bottle and battery cover systems:
On the Di2 equipped bikes, which are internal wiring ready, the battery’s covered by an aero fairing under the bottom bracket. The massive thing up top is a water bottle with squishy bite valve on the top. The gray part comes out of the black “cage”.
The shape of the rear brake’s arms are complete in line with the frame’s shape, which looks fantastic. They’re basically mini V-brakes.
At the opposite end of the performance spectrum is the Deep Six. If you’re thinking it looks heavy, it is. I have a similar felt cruiser and it’s pushing 45lbs. That hasn’t stopped us from hitting 35+ mph on it, though. And this one has dropped bars…
Somewhere between those two bikes is the F4130 made of, yep, 4130 chromoly steel. It has a carbon fork and Campagnolo Athena group with classically shaped saddle.
