# 2011 Felt F3 -- Pursuit of a Dream



## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Prior to picking up my 2011 F3 last year, it had been a LONG TIME since I bought a new bike. Oh sure, I picked up a Gary Fisher Tassahara in the summer of 2002, a bike that is damn nice looking (it's RED!), but severely under utilized. Before that, the last road bike I had purchased was a new 1983 Trek 400...at the time, the ONLY bike in Trek's line up that was NOT handbuilt in America...didn't see myself as a trend setter at the time.  

Flash forward to three years ago. My wife and I decided to dust off our bike and attend the bike camp put on by the local club here in town. Replaced the rotting gumwalls on my ol' Trek, oiled the chain, and showed up to ride! Three miles into the first ride, the left crank came loose and just fell off. Put it back on, tighten it up with a quarter, and tried to ride some more. A few hundred yards up the road, it happened again...gave up and walked it back to the start in shame. But I didn't give up.

Next time out, I brought the Gary Fisher, off road tires and all. Much better, if less efficient. Picked up some Specialized Fatboy's. Much better for the road. And that was what I rode that year. Not the best solution, but I was riding again. I did finally get the Trek 400 back on the road after discovering the Park Tools website.... In total, I probably rode 400 miles that year.

The next year, I started out better. My father-in-law had picked up a deal on a Madone 6.5 the previous fall, and lent me his 1983 Trek 700. Reynolds 531 steel, and equipped with indexed DuraAce with downtube shifters. Much better ride! But work sucked, and I couldn't find much time to ride, and ended the year with maybe 350 miles, mostly in 30-40 mile chunks.

Finally (if you're still reading!) came 2010. My wife, who had been riding much more regularly than me, decided she was going to join her mother in riding RAGBRAI with Team LiveSTRONG. In order to survive the 500 miles in one week that RAGBRAI would require, she set out to have 1500 miles under her wheels before the event at the end of July. Inspired by her efforts, I decided I was going to actually ride my bike. I also decided I wanted a new bike...but only if I rode a minimum of 1000 miles. I realize a lot of you out there ride many times this each year, but for me, it was going to be a major leap forward.

Work, as usual, got in the way, but I kept riding. Buy the time RAGBRAI rolled around at the end of July, I had 504 miles. Which is exactly the number of miles my wife rode THAT WEEK during RAGBRAI. By that time she was well over 2000 miles for the year. But I had a dream of a new bike, and if I didn't get cracking, I wasn't going to "earn" one. 

I'd been spending far too many evenings scouring the internet, researching everything, from Campy, to Shimano, to SRAM (remember, I was still working with downtube shifters!), and bike brands that the local shops carried...and several that they didn't. This was going to be an epic purchase, and hopefully one that would be with me for years, so I didn't want to screw it up! I was leaning towards a Cervelo RS, which based on everything I'd read, especially from people "my age" (47 at the time) was the perfect bike for what I was looking for: quick, responsive, and confortable.

Riding the RS left me kinda cold. Maybe it was just me, but it just didn't have the responsiveness I was used to on the Trek 700. I found a number of bikes that didn't have that "snap" that I liked so much. And then the Felt Demo van came to town.

Loaded with high-end Felts -- AR2's, F2's and other assorted examples of two-wheeled goodness, my wife and I grabbed a couple of AR-2's and went for a ride. Smooth. Supple like nothing we'd ever ridden before! And responsive as you could want. My wife, who had been riding a 40 lb (probably!) Trek Hybrid for the last 1500 miles, was like a rocket! For the first time all year, I really had to work to keep up with her!

More research, this time focused on the Felt. Flirted once with a 2009 Cervelo R3 Dura Ace that was on sale, but ultimately decided I wanted a new Felt F-Series. There was just one problem. Couldn't find one to ride anywhere. Finally the end of August came. RAGBRAI was over and my wife was finally willing to pick out her new bike. After driving my wife nuts researching for months, and then comparing geometry charts of the AR series, the new F-Series, the Cervelo R3 and existing 1983 Trek 700, I made a leap of faith that the F-Series would fit, and set up a fitting at my LBS to determine what size F3 to order. Based on past discussions, the shop called Felt and put a 54cm and a 56 cm on hold. After all the measuring was done, we determined I needed a 54 and the order was placed, along with the order for a couple changes from the stock configuration I wanted to make....


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

*Pics or it didn't happen!*

My 2011 F3 as originally delivered on 09/11/10:

View attachment 224894


Changes from "Stock":

*Crankset:* Swapped the SRAM Red Standard 53/39 for a SRAM Red Compact 50/34
*Brakes:* SRAM Red replaces the SRAM non-series. Just wanted a complete component group for once in my life.
*Cassette:* Shimano Dura Ace 12-27 replaces the SRAM 1050 11-25. Was going for the SRAM 12-28 that the website sez exists, but the company sez doesn't. Not a huge difference, but I wanted the few additional gear inches on the low end, and preferred the slightly "tighter" gear spacing this combo gave. They guys at the shop liked my gearing spreadsheet so much they asked for a copy. 
*Bottle Cages:* Profile Design Stryke bottle cages. Light, durable, ugly. But at $6.99 each, what the heck. Wanted the Serfas matte carbon cages with red trim, but only had one in stock and didn't want to wait! (and 5 months later, they *still* only have one in stock!).
*Pedals:* Shimano M520 SPD pedals. Not the lightest, but they went with the Bontrager RXL Mountain shoes with carbon soles that I picked up on sale to replace the Lake mountain shoes I'd picked up on eBay.
*Saddle:* Specialized Alias 143 (white). Pulled this one off my Trek. Got white because I was planning a Felt purchase at the time and they were all white!
*Seatpost:* Thompson Elite Setback. I think this is the 330 mm length. Original plan was to use this with a beam rack on longer rides. So far, I've avoiding doing this!
*Mirror:* Bike-Eye mirror out of the UK (www.bike-eye.com). Actually bought it from the US importer, Harris Cyclery. Works great!
*Computer:* Garmin Edge 500 with Cadence/Speed Sensor & Heart Monitor. You can get a helluva deal on these when you buy 'em with a bike and all this crap!

At this configuration, I have no weight for the bike, but for later configurations, inspired by Zach, I do.

So there is the initial configuration. Notice those wheels. I love the Sapim CX-Ray spokes. But I weigh 250 lbs. Those wheels look great on the bike, but I was really worried about them holding up, so....


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

*New Wheels for my New Wheels -- and last pictures of the Original Felt Fork*

As mentioned above, I was really concerned about stress testing the SRAM S30 AL Race wheels that Superdave had been so thoughtful to spec on the F3. They really are nice wheels, but with 18 radially laced spokes in front and only 20 in the back (radial DS?! and 1x NDS), I really didn't want to see how long I could ride them before my 250 lb frame destroyed them. So I had a custom set built for me by Joe Young Custom Wheels http://www.youngwheels.com. I seriously looked at a set of ROL's, and contacted them to discuss, but their stronger build wheels were only rated to 240 lbs, which probably would have worked, but they didn't want to say that.

I didn't quite coordinate the delivery of my new wheels and new bike at the same time, so for the first two weeks, I rode the SRAM's, being very careful to pick the smooth route down the road!

View attachment 224895


My Joe Young wheels are wonderful to ride. They improve an already supple ride, and very confortable, but still quick to respond. DT Swiss RR 465 rims front and rear, with DT Swiss 240s hubs. 32 DT Swiss SuperComp Triple butted spokes with DT Swiss red alloy nipples -- he was actually out of the red nipples and had to order more! Normally he uses them for accent on either side of the valve stem -- my accent nipples are black. Highly recommend Joe if you are looking a great set of wheels! Lovingly built by hand and delivered for under $800.

Also shown here, my favorite tires: Serfas Seca RS 700x23c. Good grip, reasonably durable over crap, and look good doing it.

Stayed with the SRAM titanium skewers that came with the SRAM wheels.

These shots were taken as I was getting ready to take it down to the shop to get my new warranty ENVE / Felt co-branded fork installed, so I took a couple of extra pictures to remember it by (sniff!)  It was nice while it lasted. Great design.

View attachment 224896


View attachment 224897


I'll post more later in the week -- including weights on both the new and the old fork, and where the total bike currently stands... I fund my bike habit by being an accountant, and I'm about to disappear for a couple of days into what we accountants fondly call "Month End". See you on the other side!


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## Dray3573 (Jun 22, 2010)

Don't know if you have had much luck with those Profile bottle cages, but I stopped buying them because of how often they broke. I think the plastic is a little to brittle, and while cycling it's hard to be real careful with taking the bottles in and out of the cage, and I didn't want to be concerned with that. I'm not at all rough on my equipment so I don't think I was being too forceful with them.


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Dray3573 said:


> Don't know if you have had much luck with those Profile bottle cages, but I stopped buying them because of how often they broke. I think the plastic is a little to brittle, and while cycling it's hard to be real careful with taking the bottles in and out of the cage, and I didn't want to be concerned with that. I'm not at all rough on my equipment so I don't think I was being too forceful with them.


So far, they are holding up okay. That said, I've only had them on the bike when I was actually riding, for 6-7 weeks before I parked it for the recall. Prior to this I was running aluminum cages -- perfect for a 1983 vintage Trek, but didn't seem right on the Felt so I went with these from the start.. We'll see how they do, but I can see the Profile cages could fatigue and break.


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Someday(!) I hope to connect the dots between where I started and today, but for now, I want to post this pic of my F3 as she stands today. 16.50 pounds as pictured, but without the water bottle. Took is out for the first time for this year yesterday, and this was the first time out on the new fork and since I got refitted to the bike. New bars (Devox takeoff's from my wife's 2010 Z2), new 3T ARX Team Stem (now 90mm), Serfas stitched bar wrap in black. The fit feels much better and I love the look! Of course, I need to put some _real_ mileage on it to determine if the fit really gonna make me happy, but right out of the box, it feels better.

View attachment 228366


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## since17 (Aug 8, 2008)

Congrats! -- I'm waiting for an F4 to come in. Hopefully won't have to change the fork....


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## zach.scofield (Apr 11, 2010)

Looking good Don! 

Got my 5 out for some hills yesterday. Bike climbs wonderfully and I gotta add that Im not sure if its the bikes speed or my lack of skills this early in the season but, it was down right scary fast on a -8% grade descent. Probably was a combination of the 2.


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## Hawkeye16 (Apr 29, 2011)

Beautiful bike! Thanks for sharing!


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## Erion929 (Jun 10, 2010)

What necessitated the fork change?  

I hope it's not a garage queen and you are putting miles on that beauty! Excuses are over and it's time to catch up to the wifey! :thumbsup: 


**


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## Hawkeye16 (Apr 29, 2011)

Yes, why did you have to change the fork. Love the look of the bike BTW. That matte black/white/red color scheme Felt has is pure money.


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

The 2011 F-Series was a completely new design of both frame and fork. Felt determined in its testing in the lab that there was an issue with the fork which created what my company would call a Potential Product Safety Concern, and decided to recall the carbon fork on all 2011 F-Series bikes. There were no failures in the field, and Felt indicated that while the fork met the standards set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it didn't meet Felt's own (presumably higher) standards, and so they decided that a recall was the best course of action.
And so, that is why I have a new fork. There are several threads here with further detail, commentary, and background on the fork recall.

In my opinion as an owner, Felt did the right thing, and at considerable expense. I'm a happy customer.


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## zach.scofield (Apr 11, 2010)

Don4 said:


> In my opinion as an owner, Felt did the right thing, and at considerable expense. I'm a happy customer.


Ditto!


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## mattkweb (Jul 13, 2011)

beautiful bike


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

mattkweb said:


> beautiful bike


Thank you very much!


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## JAC526 (Jun 10, 2011)

*Wow.*



Don4 said:


> The 2011 F-Series was a completely new design of both frame and fork. Felt determined in its testing in the lab that there was an issue with the fork which created what my company would call a Potential Product Safety Concern, and decided to recall the carbon fork on all 2011 F-Series bikes. There were no failures in the field, and Felt indicated that while the fork met the standards set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it didn't meet Felt's own (presumably higher) standards, and so they decided that a recall was the best course of action.
> And so, that is why I have a new fork. There are several threads here with further detail, commentary, and background on the fork recall.
> 
> In my opinion as an owner, Felt did the right thing, and at considerable expense. I'm a happy customer.


That is a rare thing indeed. Most companies wouldn't bite the bullet like that unless they absolutely had to. I have a feeling most would use the "wait and see" approach and save some money. It's things like this that will make me a lifetime Felt rider.


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

My 2011 Felt F3. One year old today, and gets better every day. Latest addition are the 700x25 Continental 4000S tires, a new Wipperman ConneX 10G8 chain, and Blackburn matte 3k weave carbon cages.


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## JaminJake (Aug 19, 2011)

Don,

I also picked up one of these F3s and should be taking delivery of the bike next week. I was curious how you feel the finish of the Sram Red brakes hold up. This is an upgrade that I also did.


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## Dray3573 (Jun 22, 2010)

Nice looking cages I've always liked the Blackburns. SPD's?? (just bustin' ur Balz). How bout a 3T Palladio setback seatpost to match the stem.


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Dray3573 said:


> Nice looking cages I've always liked the Blackburns. SPD's?? (just bustin' ur Balz). How bout a 3T Palladio setback seatpost to match the stem.


Yup, they are nice. Matches the 3K weave on the bike perfectly! You were right about the Profile Design's breaking prematurely, so I picked these up. My wife has the gloss red ones on her Z2, which look sharp. Only thing I have to remember is I can't fit a 24oz bottle on the seatpost anymore...too tall for my 54cm frame!

Yeah, SPD's. They came in handy this weekend when walking up a mile long 13% grade.  Earlier in the ride, I suddenly realized I was climbing a 6% grade at 16 mph, and was able to carry on a conversation...no small feat when you weight 257 like I do, and a big improvement from what I used to do on 6% grades! (Ride them, yes, but not at 16 mph, and not while talking!) Then I hit *6th Street Hill*. lolz! :idea: Guess I still have some work to do!

That 3T Palladio is an interesting piece. Originally got the Thomson with the idea of putting a seatpost mounted rack for longer rides. So far, I've found ways to avoid actually doing that.  I appreciate the design of the Thomson Setback, but I can't say I really like the way it looks!


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## YZ 343 (Oct 4, 2011)

Good looking bike. 
Thanks to posts like this, I ponied up for an F-4. I was close to pulling the trigger on a Specialized Tarmac or Scott CR1. 
Once I saw the F4, that was it. The last time I had that feeling was when Phoebe Cates climbed out of the swimming pool in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

YZ 343 said:


> Good looking bike.
> Thanks to posts like this, I ponied up for an F-4. I was close to pulling the trigger on a Specialized Tarmac or Scott CR1.
> Once I saw the F4, that was it. The last time I had that feeling was when Phoebe Cates climbed out of the swimming pool in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.


Now THERE's a visual!  Welcome to the Felt forum. Home of seductive bikes! :thumbsup:


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## wotnoshoeseh (Apr 9, 2011)

F4 as purchased June 2011


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