# Felt F1: Custom



## GT8

Felt F1 2013

Have had a blast on my 2011 F5 so hoping this F1 turns out the same but a bit better...


































































Bigger pics: Munro F1 - a set on Flickr

Size: 58cm

Wheels: *Wheelsmith Race38 T23* Race38 T23 | Wheelsmith.co.uk

Groupset: *Shimano Dura Ace 9000

*Bars:* 3T Ergosum Pro 44cm*

Stem: *3T ARX Stealth 100mm 6 degree*

Seatpost: *3T Ionic 25 Stealth*

Saddle:* Fizik Antares Versus*

Bar Tape: *Specialized Roubaix*

Tyres:* Schwalbe One tubular 24mm*


----------



## chudak

That thing is a beauty.


----------



## Rashadabd

That's a very nice build, congratulations. I just wish the F series had internal cable routing and a slightly higher headtube (1-2 cm)…. It's still a very beatuful bike though. Let us know what you think of the ride quality.


----------



## Superdave3T

Rashadabd said:


> That's a very nice build, congratulations. I just wish the F series had internal cable routing and a slightly higher headtube (1-2 cm)…. It's still a very beatuful bike though. Let us know what you think of the ride quality.


Would you be willing to add ~100g to get your wish?

-SD


----------



## Rashadabd

SuperdaveFelt said:


> Would you be willing to add ~100g to get your wish?
> 
> -SD


I think it's an overstatement to suggest I would have to SD. The new BMC SLR01 (790 or so grams), the new Cervelo R Series bikes, Trek Madone 6 and 7 Series, the new Argon 18 Gallium Pro (sub 800 grams), etc. are all as light or lighter than the F Series and have internal cable routing for both mechanical and electronic. There are a lot of bikes in the sub 1000 gram category that provide that these days, you and I both know that. Felts are still great bikes and one of the best values on the market in many respects in my opinion. I just wish that internal cable routing came with the package, that's all.


----------



## Superdave3T

Rashadabd said:


> I think it's an overstatement to suggest I have to SD. The new BMC SLR01 (790 or so grams), the new Cervelo R Series bikes, the new Argon 18 Gallium Pro, etc. are all as light or lighter than the F Series and have internal cable routing for both mechanical and electronic. There are a lot of bikes in the sub 1000 gram category that provide that these days, you and I both know that.


The F FRD is 688g with paint and decals for a 56cm frame. (see Peloton mag twitter video) It would be ~765g with mechanical cable guides for internal cable routing and ~10g for a 2cm x 56mm diameter chunk of carbon head tube.

We could make it lighter, but then it would only be as stiff as the bikes you mentioned and it wouldn't ride like a Felt.

-SD


----------



## Rashadabd

SuperdaveFelt said:


> The F FRD is 688g with paint and decals for a 56cm frame. (see Peloton mag twitter video) It would be ~765g with mechanical cable guides for internal cable routing and ~10g for a 2cm x 56mm diameter chunk of carbon head tube.
> 
> We could make it lighter, but then it would only be as stiff as the bikes you mentioned and it wouldn't ride like a Felt.
> 
> -SD


I already know you're word is as good as they come, no need to double check it. It's very true that everything you add to a bike comes at a price and stiffness is one of the things some fans of Felt love about your bikes. It's just hard to deny that today you can make a bike that still rides at a very high level, that is still amongst the lightest bikes out, and has internal cable routing. But it is a tricky decision to decide what makes a Felt a Felt and how much you embrace designs that are becoming popular with other manufacturers vs. how much you stay true to your original design. I'm sure some will just go with Di2 and not worry about it, but I'm still a mechanical guy and would love to see a F Series that would allow me to run mechanical internally. That's all.


----------



## Superdave3T

Rashadabd said:


> I already know you're word is as good as they come, no need to double check it. It's very true that everything you add to a bike comes at a price and stiffness is one of the things some fans of Felt love about your bikes. It's just hard to deny that today you can make a bike that still rides at a very high level, that is still amongst the lightest bikes out, and has internal cable routing. But it is a tricky decision to decide what makes a Felt a Felt and how much you embrace designs that are becoming popular with other manufacturers vs. how much you stay true to your original design. I'm sure some will just go with Di2 and not worry about it, but I'm still a mechanical guy and would love to see a F Series that would allow me to run mechanical internally. That's all.


You sound like a Z1 customer if there ever was one!
The F1 is not a bike for everyone, in fact, it is for the very few who can tolerate such a thing. If we make the F1 less of a World Tour bike we have one fewer card to play when attracting world tour teams. 

The Z1 is for consumers, cyclists, and people looking for all of the things you've described above.

I don't fault anyone who buys a Cervelo R5 or Domane; we don't make _that_ bike.

-SD


----------



## Rashadabd

SuperdaveFelt said:


> You sound like a Z1 customer if there ever was one!
> The F1 is not a bike for everyone, in fact, it is for the very few who can tolerate such a thing. If we make the F1 less of a World Tour bike we have one fewer card to play when attracting world tour teams.
> 
> The Z1 is for consumers, cyclists, and people looking for all of the things you've described above.
> 
> I don't fault anyone who buys a Cervelo R5 or Domane; we don't make _that_ bike.
> 
> -SD


It's funny you say that. I was actually looking at the Z1 framest today. I didn't see it on the site before and thought your weren't offering it as a frameset this year until I saw it earlier.


----------



## Rashadabd

And I understand and respect and the World Tour teams issue.


----------



## CliffG

GT8 said:


> Wheels: *Wheelsmith Race38 T23* Race38 T23 | Wheelsmith.co.uk


Hi, just looking at these wheels to go onto a 2013 Venge Expert - could you let me know what you have thought of them?

Cheers


----------



## GT8

CliffG, sorry i haven't ridden the bike yet, wont be until March when hopefully all the salt is gone from the roads  

But I'll post up impressions of the bike and those wheels when i get her ridden in anger


----------



## mgfjd12

SuperdaveFelt said:


> You sound like a Z1 customer if there ever was one!
> The F1 is not a bike for everyone, in fact, it is for the very few who can tolerate such a thing. If we make the F1 less of a World Tour bike we have one fewer card to play when attracting world tour teams.
> 
> The Z1 is for consumers, cyclists, and people looking for all of the things you've described above.
> 
> I don't fault anyone who buys a Cervelo R5 or Domane; we don't make _that_ bike.
> 
> -SD


Sorry, I am a little confused. That's the Felt F FRD takes mechanical shifting?


----------



## Superdave3T

mgfjd12 said:


> Sorry, I am a little confused. That's the Felt F FRD takes mechanical shifting?


No, the F FRD and AR FRD cannot use mechanical cable routing as we've eliminated the weight the provisions add. The F1 Team uses mechanical bolt on cable guides.

Previous model year F1 bikes used bolt-on guides for a mechanical shifting option.

-Dave


----------



## mgfjd12

Thanks. I have a 2011 Cervelo r3 and I was looking for a stiffer bike. The cervelo is great for little people. 
I weight about 200 lbs. Is the f1 team stiff as the frd? Where can I bike the frameset? I haven't seen any stores offering the frame.


----------



## Superdave3T

mgfjd12 said:


> Thanks. I have a 2011 Cervelo r3 and I was looking for a stiffer bike. The cervelo is great for little people.
> I weight about 200 lbs. Is the f1 team stiff as the frd? Where can I bike the frameset? I haven't seen any stores offering the frame.


The F1 Team has the same stiffness as the other F series models. We speak about unprecendented stiffness to weight of the F FRD but it isn't stiffer. In fact, the F FRD fork is a little less stiff in an effort to reduce the harshness of the ride as much as possible. You can measure the reduction of stiffness but can probably only detect it on very rough surfaces and hard braking because of the manner in which the lay up was revised to reduce the weight below 275g and the direction of increased compliance (fore aft)

Are you in the USA? I don't think any dealers in North America will offer the F1 Team.

-Dave


----------



## mgfjd12

They don't


----------



## Superdave3T

mgfjd12 said:


> They don't


The FC is just as stiff, 900g and an incredible frame as well if mechanical shifting is your preference.

AR1 also offers a mechanical shifting option.

-SD


----------



## mgfjd12

is the fc 900g for 56cm frame or small one?
Thanks


----------



## Superdave3T

mgfjd12 said:


> is the fc 900g for 56cm frame or small one?
> Thanks


56cm frame, raw 3kp finish with matte clear coat.

-Dave


----------



## Jonnyn15

Looks good mate! Looks better now it's not a frame sat in a box in the shop!


----------



## elmir

Hi, nice looking bike, I've got a 2012 version, does anyone know the actual weight of 58 cm frame and fork? also Superdave, do you know if Argos team bikes used modified frames with extra layers of carbon for added strength, on both F1 and Frd bikes? I spoke about this to Koen de Kort on a bunch ride few weeks ago and he doesn't seem to think so, although I read somewhere that frames that were used were different to stock retail ones, cheers


----------



## Superdave3T

elmir said:


> Hi, nice looking bike, I've got a 2012 version, does anyone know the actual weight of 58 cm frame and fork? also Superdave, do you know if Argos team bikes used modified frames with extra layers of carbon for added strength, on both F1 and Frd bikes? I spoke about this to Koen de Kort on a bunch ride few weeks ago and he doesn't seem to think so, although I read somewhere that frames that were used were different to stock retail ones, cheers


I have the same frame, it is 884g for the frame and 331g for the cut fork. Finished frame weights vary especially with the Matte/Gloss paint combo.

Argos doesn't have special bikes with extra layers of carbon. The stock FC frames are plenty strong, stiff and light enough for any World Tour competitor. The F1 provides STW that simply isn't needed in UCI racing. We made some early F FRD models without the optional mechanical cable routing for Argos. These development non-production frames were made without the final F FRD lay ups used in production now. In 2013 there was no F FRD, just an F1. The Argos guys also used some special F1 bikes for the cobbled spring races. In 2013 you couldn't buy an F FRD, but Argos used an early version of that platform.

So yes, their bikes were special, but no, they weren't "extra layers of carbon for strength" They were the first road frames where the TeXtreme fabric of our NINE FRD MTB were incorporated. The magic of the material from Oxeon is that we can use LESS of it, not MORE.

-SD


----------



## commfire

Dave,
I noticed that you have offered a custom color option for the F series. Is there more details on that.? Is that an option for the F FRD?


----------



## Superdave3T

commfire said:


> Dave,
> I noticed that you have offered a custom color option for the F series. Is there more details on that.? Is that an option for the F FRD?


No, the custom paint option was suspended in 2014. I wouldn't expect too many people would want to slather on ~150g of paint to their 1000g frameset.

-SD


----------



## GT8

Sorry for not updating sooner...

Spent the spring moving into a new house so my fitness isn't quite as sharp as it could be 

I have trouble with the tubular tyres which has hampered the riding so far (more on that later) but my initial impressions of the wheels, in comparison to Fulcrum 3/Zondas, are:

- fantastic acceleration - when sprinting or with quick changes of pace/bursts it feels like they dont need to be "wound up" or gain momentum, the bike just shoots forward. 
- the braking (using the supplied pads) is excellent: all the power I need (83kgs), a kind of "luxury" modulation feel and, although reduced, plenty stopping ability in the wet races I've done.

- They look awesome on the bike 

However...

- I'm not totally convinced I prefer them for the majority of riding or racing I do (around Scotland). I feel that on the flat due to their low weight they don't seem to hold as much momentum; I prefer to push a bigger gear and spin the pedals at a lower cadence (than most of my fellow riders). Whereas with my heavier alloy wheels I get the feeling that they hold their speed better.

Of course its hard to compare them like for like as the engine on the bike is not quite in the same condition it was last year!


----------

