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Felt TA FRD left side drive Olympic track bike now available to anyone with $26,000

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike
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In the lead up to Rio’s Summer Olympics, Felt crafted a very special track bike. It was designed with track-specific aerodynamics and layups, then built with one-off custom parts from HED, FSA, Phil Wood and Stages Cycling. The result is a left-side drive carbon fiber board killer that took home Olympic Silver under U.S. women’s team pursuit squad. And now you can buy it…

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike

Building on the Silver medal winning Felt TK1 from 2012, USA Cycling and Felt wanted to see if they could create something to take the team to the next level. The obvious is improving straight line aerodynamics, hence the extremely narrow frontal profile.

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike

The new HED Disc wheels get proprietary 70mm front and 95mm rear hub widths. The rear’s laid out asymmetrically, which the frame is then designed around, to create a perfectly straight chain line. The rear dropout is tapered, getting thinner toward the rear, which prevents the axle from sliding forward under pedaling forces without requiring external set screws that could interrupt air flow.

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike

What’s less obvious is yaw. The bikes are only turning left, and there are no crosswinds, so they tested against very specific wind angles that would mimic what’s seen on the track at speed. They found that moving the drivetrain to the left reduced overall drag, as did asymmetric tube shaping. The swapped drivetrain also puts the weight in a better place for a track’s banked surface.

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike

Felt TA FRD left side drive olympic track bike

felt-ta-frd-olympic-track-bike10

Want one? The complete kit comes with a variety of parts to help you customize the bike to your fitness level and needs. For the princely sum of $25,999, you get the HED Volo Disc wheels w/ Ceramicspeed bearings and a set of Stinger 6 trading wheels, Vision Race crank and chainrings (50, 51, 53, 54, 55) on your choice of 170mm or 172.5mm crank arms, a second Vision Training crankset with matching chainring tooth counts, Phil Wood cogs (13, 14, 15, 16) and lock ring, Ceramicspeed BB bearings and coated chain, Tri All 3 hard cargo case and the frameset. A Stages power meter is attached to the non-drive cranks arms, too.

FeltBicycles.com/PursuitForGold

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44 Comments
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Peter J. Sirman
7 years ago

$26,000???? (deleted). Nice level playing field if you have the bucks. Track racing should adopt “one design” principles used in sailboat and auto racing. I hate seeing talent getting edged out by a competitor on a $20 000 bike with $15 000 wheels.

I also love seeing Talent on a sub $3000 rig destroy the guy on the $35 000 rig on occasion 🙂

bart
bart
7 years ago

sort of like keirin in japan,

AlanM
AlanM
7 years ago

Can I afford one of these? Nope. Am I worried that I’m going to start losing races because someone shows up on one of these? Nope. Can I appreciate it for what it is? Absolutely.

How many of these do you think they’ll actually sell? It’s not going to impact racers at lower levels.

Rob
Rob
7 years ago
Reply to  AlanM

I’d give you endless props for that comment if I could. Will never understand why people moan about the price of a bike. Will moaning change anything? No. Will it make you feel better? Debatable but probably not. Like you I can’t afford one but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating it any less.

Buy what you can, ride and enjoy it. Simple.

i
i
7 years ago

yeah, look at how accessible that approach has made auto and sail racing… Know anyone that sails? Know anyone that owns a 12m? You could buy every house on my block for less than you’d pay for one, but hey ‘one design’…

tyler
7 years ago
Reply to  i

miata spec racing thanks

the biz
the biz
7 years ago
Reply to  tyler

thanks, what? are you saying miata spec racing is accessible? I can’t imagine it costs less than $10,000 a year. one fifth of the yearly US median income isnt really accessible.

Bill
Bill
7 years ago

I understand the price, it’s after all not a practical production model and it really only belongs under people who aren’t paying for it.

What I don’t understand is why you’d need a “training crank”?

Andrew
Andrew
7 years ago
Reply to  Bill

Interchangable chainrings vs the integrated ring on the other crankset, perhaps?

Peter J. Sirman
7 years ago

The women didn’t place second because of their bikes. They placed second because they were stronger than third. Credit where credit is due.

Cryogenii
Cryogenii
7 years ago

Amen, brother!

atlbikeshop
7 years ago

Perhaps, the most expensive bike on the market?

Scrambler
Scrambler
7 years ago
Reply to  atlbikeshop

Not the most expensive… try a Williamson Goods Ha ha!
http://www.williamsongoods.com/wheelmen

Mick
Mick
7 years ago
Reply to  atlbikeshop

It is not priced to sell… It appeases the UCI rule regarding bikes availability…26K is a steal compared to what the British team bikes (London2012) where selling for.

Alvis
Alvis
7 years ago
Reply to  Mick

Yeah but the BC bikes won so worth more.

BillB
BillB
7 years ago
Reply to  Mick

This^ Deal or not, at that price, what they’re implying is that they aren’t interesting in trying to sell these bikes.

Ryan S.
Ryan S.
7 years ago

These “Top Fuel” bikes are interesting and really push a no limits approach, which is amazing, and eventually impact our “street” and “stock” bikes. Admire them for what they are instead of hating on them. I don’t hate on Lamborghini because I drive a Toyota.

bart
bart
7 years ago

saggy chained track bikes bug me.

atlbikeshop
7 years ago
Reply to  bart

It is considered to be faster.

Blake Kelley
Blake Kelley
7 years ago
Reply to  bart

There is no need for a tight chain when riding the smooth boards of a track, and with a taught chain it is far too easy to snap the chain. “track slack” is very commonly accepted among track cyclists.

Ashok Captain
7 years ago
Reply to  bart

I so totally, totally agree. That’s the first thing that caught my eye. Sloppy set up.

Tom
Tom
7 years ago

while expensive, there is quite a lot of unique hardware included in the package. Given its origins, I wonder if larger sizes are available.

Windy
Windy
7 years ago

If you buy into the theory then you need a Cervelo T5GB for less than 1/2 the cost since IT must have been responsible for the British team wining the gold medal.

Alvis
Alvis
7 years ago
Reply to  Windy

T5GB made by Lentus in UK not standard Cervelos.

Longbeard
7 years ago

Only reason they even are selling them is because of the requirement to have so many sold if they’re raced at an event. No reason for them to price them lower. They didn’t “really” want to sell them anyways.

Bubblegum
Bubblegum
7 years ago

It comes with “Stinger 6 trading wheels”. Are those like trading cards?

pTymnWolfe
pTymnWolfe
7 years ago

This is a sweet looking bike with interesting ideas. However, none of it actually improved real world performance. Second place in 2012 with a “regular” bike and second place again with this thing in 2016. No disrespect to the athletes but even they know, second place is the first loser.

AlanM
AlanM
7 years ago
Reply to  pTymnWolfe

I personally know one of the young women on that team of “first losers” and would love to have you tell her that to her face.

pTymnWolfe
pTymnWolfe
7 years ago
Reply to  AlanM

You don’t go to the Olympics hoping to get second place, especially after getting second last time.

Robin
Robin
7 years ago
Reply to  pTymnWolfe

Actually you can’t that the bikes improved nothing without doing an objective, side by side analysis of the two different bikes (2012 vs. 2016).

Alvis
Alvis
7 years ago

‘The swapped drivetrain also puts the weight in a better place for a track’s banked surface.’ Rider width say 350mm weight say 5500g. Moving drive side crank, say 250g 50mm across center line makes a difference? Science (deleted)!

Milessio
Milessio
7 years ago
Reply to  Alvis

It might be interesting/amusing to run a few races in the clockwise direction to see if/how much slower this bike then goes relative to the competition 🙂

Phil Succuluski
7 years ago

We all win from this technology. It sounds expensive because it is ground breaking.
Just like when carbon bikes first came out, only the rich could afford them. Now you can buy an even better (reasonable priced) carbon framed bike with amazing components. Embrace this costly technology it will get you a cheaper better bike down the road.

postophetero
postophetero
7 years ago

I find the video more than a bit ironic: “what’s it gonna take to beat Great Britain at their own game”–well in the collective mind of Felt it was a better bike (not rider) so doesn’t that mean this bike is a failure–except for a single Silver medal?! Sorry Felt top level riders are still a necessary part of the winning equation, perhaps 50%?

Loki
Loki
7 years ago

Hed Stinger 6, 2k, Volos 6.5k, Hard Case $600, two Trimax cranks $1.7k, 12 chain rings and 4 cogs 1k, 2 Stages Power $800, saddle, chain bearings $400: Total 13k retail

That leaves 13k for a hand laid limited edition carbon frame, fork and bar set with a lot of wind tunnel time built into it. Not cheap, but understandable, especially if you consider that a Cervelo California Project was a 10k frame set.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
7 years ago

They have to offer these to use them…UCI rules. They don’t want people to actually buy them. Just like their last track bike which was $6k for the frame and bars. The TT bike was $3500 for the frame, fork, bars and integrated brakes.

Speshy
Speshy
7 years ago

Pure awesome.

Speshy
Speshy
7 years ago

…but can it barspin?

Sean P
Sean P
7 years ago

What bike won the gold? And how much is that thing gonna cost me? If I was looking for a one off aero track bike to be ridden at the Velodrome 4 hours away from me.

Mike Hawk
Mike Hawk
7 years ago

so you pay that much but only get to choose either a 170mm or 172.5mm crank…?
just sayin.

Bill
Bill
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike Hawk

I know, the closest track to me ( technically speaking – the CVC) only allows 165mm cranks due to the banking.

Lumpa Lumpa
Lumpa Lumpa
7 years ago

Love it, Fast and a little bit aesthetic. Ours was perhaps less fast but more easthetic and less expensive 😉

https://www.facebook.com/respirebikesetbicyclettes/photos/a.194067980790810.1073741829.188133988050876/514994545364817/?type=3&theater

Ashok Captain
7 years ago
Reply to  Lumpa Lumpa

The bike in the link above has a chain that is set up right . . . . just saying . . . .

Lumpa Lumpa
Lumpa Lumpa
7 years ago
Reply to  Ashok Captain

Really…? Waow.

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