# 2012 Felt F3



## Imaking20 (Mar 2, 2012)

Well I've gathered enough posts now so I figured I should start my own thread and share my F3!

A little about myself: I picked up my first road bike in July of 2011 to supplement my fitness for my motorcycling addiction - I'd hoped it would at least be bareable. Well I was hooked immediately and I've barely ridden my motorcycle since. My first bike (still have for the trainer) is a 2009 Trek 2.1. In November I bought a closeout 2010 Specialized Tarmac Elite that was a great improvement, I really enjoyed riding the bike and the improved stiffness of a carbon frame. I decided that I'd like to try my hand at racing this year and with that came an opportunity to pick up a new Felt - so I opted to be rid of the Specialized and be on a brand carried by my local shop (to support the team who's supporting me this season) and along came the F3!

Enough small talk. 

Here's the bike after a quick assembly at the shop








The bike came REDdy to go 









I was pretty hell bent on running a carbon railed saddle and also had a set of ROL wheels I wanted to stick with (that needed new tires) so given the time of year and the horrible weather I made the painful decision to leave the bike at the shop until some Continental GP4000s tires arrived along with a Thomson Masterpiece post and Ritchey C260 stem.

Felt stem (right on the money as far as claimed weight)








Ritchey WCS 260








Fork before steerer chop








After chop
































The bars aren't really weenie weight but they're plenty stiff!









And I found so many discrepancies with published weights (not from Felt) on the SRAM crank that I figured I'd just pull it off and weigh it myself








Not too bad at all, especially considering the versatility! If I want to run standard rings, no problem! Power meter? No problem!
And finally the Fizik Antares Braided saddle










How she sits today!









































Thanks for looking!


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

Sweet!


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## Farmer Tan (Jan 25, 2009)

That's one badass machine!


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## YZ 343 (Oct 4, 2011)

As a Raiders fan, possibly the best looking bike I've ever seen.


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## Imaking20 (Mar 2, 2012)

Thanks for that... time to dig out my paint brush


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## YZ 343 (Oct 4, 2011)

Dude, don't you dare paint that bike!


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

Very nice. How does she ride? I am always interested to hear what F Series riders have to say about comfort and stiffness. How does it accelerate? How about comfort on those long rides?


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## Imaking20 (Mar 2, 2012)

The bike rides fantastic. I came off an older Tarmac (2010 Elite) that was a lot stiffer than the Trek 2.1 it replaced. The Felt definitely feels quite a bit quicker when I stomp on it - what surprises me most though is how much character the bike has even while being so stiff. There are some pretty bumpy roads around and I'd definitely say it's a nicer ride than the Tarmac was on the same surfaces - the fact that it also feels quicker is a great bonus.
Longest ride to date on it was 70 miles. The bike was great - it was my first ride on a new seat that was just a touch too far back though, that wasn't so great. It's as smooth as I need it to be, I didn't buy this bike with the intention of pure comfort - I wanted a race bike that I would enjoy training on as well and I think it fits that bill perfectly. I really think this bike is overlooked among the rankings and it shouldn't be!


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

Thanks, that confirms what I thought.


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