# F5 + 220 pound rider



## draganM (Nov 27, 2001)

With the help of the good folks here I built a new roadbike almost 2 years with DA7900/Ultegra. Did my fair share of trainning and also some racing this year and it's been a very good bike. However being AL with over 10K+ miles under my 220 pound size I know it will pop sooner rather than later, maybe this Spring. 
So I'm looking to have a back-up frame ready and want to try Carbon for the first time (after riding both steel and a few AL). The Felt F5 2011 has all the features I need and there seems to be lots of closeouts this Fall. Only issue would be switch to BB30 but I want 177.5 cranks anyway so that's OK (probably go SRAM Rival). 
My concern is Stiffness, durability, geometry issues, etc. I'm 220 pounds 6 foot tall and would be building up a 58cm. Racing Criteriums almost exclusivley although quite a bit of climbing on Saturday morning club rides.

Oh and a local guy recomended the "F1-sprint" frame but I think it's going to be very expensive?

thanks


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## sherlock (Aug 6, 2011)

Do you want a complete bike or just the frameset? The FC (the frame the F5 uses) is $1649, and the F1 frame is $3500. So yes, a big jump.

220lbs, whilst heavy for a 6th guy, isn't going to pop a good aluminium frame. Most good carbon frames can take around 130kgs, so you should be fine.


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

draganM said:


> With the help of the good folks here I built a new roadbike almost 2 years with DA7900/Ultegra. Did my fair share of trainning and also some racing this year and it's been a very good bike. However being AL with over 10K+ miles under my 220 pound size I know it will pop sooner rather than later, maybe this Spring.
> So I'm looking to have a back-up frame ready and want to try Carbon for the first time (after riding both steel and a few AL). The Felt F5 2011 has all the features I need and there seems to be lots of closeouts this Fall. Only issue would be switch to BB30 but I want 177.5 cranks anyway so that's OK (probably go SRAM Rival).
> My concern is Stiffness, durability, geometry issues, etc. I'm 220 pounds 6 foot tall and would be building up a 58cm. Racing Criteriums almost exclusivley although quite a bit of climbing on Saturday morning club rides.
> 
> ...


Tough to beat the F5 frame. Look at the new 2012 F3 if you want to change over to SRAM. Your dealer might be able to swap the new crankset. The FC is a great frame at ~$1650 but you can buy a complete F5 with the same frame for ~$2k - that would be the better bet if you have an outlet for selling the parts.

Impulse and total energy are a much bigger concern for carbon that rider weight. Carbon doesn't fatigue in the same way metal (especially aluminum) does. A 100kg mass puting out <300 watts is not going to significantly reduce the life of a 70kg mass running the same 300 watts. The larger 58cm frame is also going to be made to a higher stiffness standard than the smaller 51cm frames. All the F-series models are built around the same stiffness per size. The 2011 F5 is stiffer than the 2010 F1 Sprint and a completly different kettle of fish when you consider stiffness to weight.

The 2012 58cm F3/F4 has the same stiffness as the 2011 58cm F1. You're only getting a lighter/livelier bike when you fork over the extra CA$H.

My favorite quote regarding the performance of the F5 frame, "I could win the Tour on this thing" - from a former Felt rider and Tour contender.

-SD

-SD


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## draganM (Nov 27, 2001)

thanks so much for replying guys, awesome information below that I could never had gotten from a bikeshop.


SuperdaveFelt said:


> Impulse and total energy are a much bigger concern for carbon that rider weight. Carbon doesn't fatigue in the same way metal (especially aluminum) does. A 100kg mass puting out <300 watts is not going to significantly reduce the life of a 70kg mass running the same 300 watts. The larger 58cm frame is also going to be made to a higher stiffness standard than the smaller 51cm frames. .


 makes sense, 300 watts is probably my average and maybe not too far from my max. In Colorado every Crit is at 5K feet and the elevation only goes up from there. IT's very difficult to make power at that altitude if you already have a poor VO2 max.



SuperdaveFelt said:


> All the F-series models are built around the same stiffness per size. The 2011 F5 is stiffer than the 2010 F1 Sprint and a completly different kettle of fish when you consider stiffness to weight.


 that's a big surprise and *really *good to know



SuperdaveFelt said:


> The 2012 58cm F3/F4 has the same stiffness as the 2011 58cm F1. You're only getting a lighter/livelier bike when you fork over the extra CA$H.My favorite quote regarding the performance of the F5 frame, "_I could win the Tour on this thing" - from a former Felt rider and Tour contender_.


 that's a hell of an endorsement. Everything I've read so far makes this a good choice for me. I'll post back with pics of the frame once I get it


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## Lou3000 (Aug 25, 2010)

1. Carbon issues. I'm really a big fan of carbon. I've had three carbon bikes and none have ever cracked. I also see some dudes on club rides pushing a lot more than 220lbs on 10 year old carbon. As far as stiffness and ride quality, the F5 (F4, F3 and FC are the same) is a stellar bike, and I love the geometry for a crit.

2. I would go with the FC if you plan on building it up. Unless, as SD said you have a plan on how to sell the 105 group and parts from the F5.

3. I see no reason to go F1 unless money is no object.


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## terbennett (Apr 1, 2006)

lou3000 said:


> 1. Carbon issues. I'm really a big fan of carbon. I've had three carbon bikes and none have ever cracked. I also see some dudes on club rides pushing a lot more than 220lbs on 10 year old carbon. As far as stiffness and ride quality, the f5 (f4, f3 and fc are the same) is a stellar bike, and i love the geometry for a crit.
> 
> 2. I would go with the fc if you plan on building it up. Unless, as sd said you have a plan on how to sell the 105 group and parts from the f5.
> 
> 3. I see no reason to go f1 unless money is no object.


+1....


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