# Question re F series fork recall



## Harryquinn (Jan 20, 2011)

Hi

I've really enjoyed riding my 2011 F95 and now I'm thinking of moving up to a 2011 F4 as I fancy getting back into racing with fellow old roadies in my Masters' age group.

The thing is that here in Australia there does not seem to have been any recall or even mention of the issue with the forks. Certainly my LBS, a Felt dealer, knows nothing of it.

Can SuperDave enlighten me as to the Australian F4s? Is there an issue with the forks on these bikes or are they different to the US ones?

Thanks 

David K


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

Harryquinn said:


> Hi
> 
> I've really enjoyed riding my 2011 F95 and now I'm thinking of moving up to a 2011 F4 as I fancy getting back into racing with fellow old roadies in my Masters' age group.
> 
> ...


Only a few forks were recalled. The first production test samples revealed an anomaly in destructive testing of mass production forks. The first 2011 production bicycles were not scheduled for the Australian market, thus they only experiened a delivery delay, not a recall. The number of forks recalled was very small and only affected one production "lay up" or version of the forks. There were no failures of the fork ever reported from the feild. In fact, the forks were only broken with a machine test that isolated the fork, not a complete bike test. Some test protocols did not reveal any issue whatsoever. Felt was overwhelmingly cautious in this case. Even with exceedingly low risk it is never appropriate to proceed with something like a fork that does not live up to our testing standards. Passing the CPSC or EN test standards is not enough.

-SD

-
SD


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## Harryquinn (Jan 20, 2011)

SuperdaveFelt said:


> Only a few forks were recalled. The first production test samples revealed an anomaly in destructive testing of mass production forks. The first 2011 production bicycles were not scheduled for the Australian market, thus they only experiened a delivery delay, not a recall. The number of forks recalled was very small and only affected one production "lay up" or version of the forks. There were no failures of the fork ever reported from the feild. In fact, the forks were only broken with a machine test that isolated the fork, not a complete bike test. Some test protocols did not reveal any issue whatsoever. Felt was overwhelmingly cautious in this case. Even with exceedingly low risk it is never appropriate to proceed with something like a fork that does not live up to our testing standards. Passing the CPSC or EN test standards is not enough.
> 
> -SD
> 
> ...


Thanks SuperDave - that's set my mind at rest. Now I just need to find the cash for that F4!

David K


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## bareitherd (Feb 11, 2009)

So what is going to happen for 2012? Is Felt going to continue with the Easton fork or are they going to get back to a straight bladed fork like the original design that was said to be superior and that matches the bike?


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## st123 (Nov 8, 2010)

bareitherd said:


> So what is going to happen for 2012? Is Felt going to continue with the Easton fork or are they going to get back to a straight bladed fork like the original design that was said to be superior and that matches the bike?


Thanks bareitherd, I also would like to know that.

I was about to order an FC frame and then they changed to Easton forks.

If they return to the original designed straight fork, I'll buy an FC for sure!


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## bareitherd (Feb 11, 2009)

View attachment 233987


st123 said:


> Thanks bareitherd, I also would like to know that.
> 
> I was about to order an FC frame and then they changed to Easton forks.
> 
> If they return to the original designed straight fork, I'll buy an FC for sure!


I was in the same situation as you. I had the F1 on order since they started taking orders then the fork issue came up. When Felt called the shop saying F1's were ready for delivery to see if we still wanted it, we told them to cancel and send it to someone else. I didn't want an Easton branded fork that doesn't match the bike, especially not a curved fork on this bike. Just not a fan of Easton products. I have every part I needed for a superlight built: Dura Ace Di2, Zipp 202, Zipp SL Bars, Still have the new zipp speed sl stem on order, and i have a zipp vuma quad crank ready to go on. Would have been cool. Oh well, I have now put the Vuma Quad on a Raleigh International that I am building instead and am going to build it up with the Dura Ace Yuemya group and other goodies. The Di2 will wait till next year I guess. If Felt does not fix this issue I guess I may change to something like a Colnago C59. I am a huge felt fan have a Felt AR, Felt B2 pro and wanted to have a superlight F1. These issues with the fork, what seemed like avoiding answering peoples questions they had about the changes to the DA, and the lack of a pro tour team, have made me lose a little faith in the brand. Hopefully things turn around.


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

bareitherd said:


> I was in the same situation as you. I had the F1 on order since they started taking orders then the fork issue came up. When Felt called the shop saying F1's were ready for delivery to see if we still wanted it, we told them to cancel and send it to someone else. I didn't want an Easton branded fork that doesn't match the bike, especially not a curved fork on this bike. Just not a fan of Easton products. I have every part I needed for a superlight built: Dura Ace Di2, Zipp 202, Zipp SL Bars, Still have the new zipp speed sl stem on order, and i have a zipp vuma quad crank ready to go on. Would have been cool. Oh well, I have now put the Vuma Quad on a Raleigh International that I am building instead and am going to build it up with the Dura Ace Yuemea group and other goodies. The Di2 will wait till next year I guess. If Felt does not fix this issue I guess I may change to something like a Colnago C59. I am a huge felt fan have a Felt AR, Felt B2 pro and wanted to have a superlight F1. These issues with the fork, what seemed like avoiding answering peoples questions they had about the changes to the DA, and the lack of a pro tour team, have made me lose a little faith in the brand. Hopefully things turn around.


We have a new fork that is in the final stages of development and will undergo mass production volume and subsequent testing soon. We're not waiting however and will continue with 2012 shipments with Easton forks to begin the model year.

What questions do you have about the changes to the DA? I've probably answered hundreds of questions on a dozen forums and countless consumer emails to me directly. If you have any questions, please ask, I'll try to answer them.

It should be worth noting we never had a failure with any forks in the market. Thousands of forks were produced in 2011. Revising and developing a new fork takes time. Rather than sit out a model year we opted to buy an aftermarket fork and ship bicycles.

-SD


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

st123 said:


> Thanks bareitherd, I also would like to know that.
> 
> I was about to order an FC frame and then they changed to Easton forks.
> 
> If they return to the original designed straight fork, I'll buy an FC for sure!


What size FC are you shopping for? Some size/models are shipping with the straight bladed fork now.

-SD


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## bareitherd (Feb 11, 2009)

SuperdaveFelt said:


> We have a new fork that is in the final stages of development and will undergo mass production volume and subsequent testing soon. We're not waiting however and will continue with 2012 shipments with Easton forks to begin the model year.
> 
> What questions do you have about the changes to the DA? I've probably answered hundreds of questions on a dozen forums and countless consumer emails to me directly. If you have any questions, please ask, I'll try to answer them.
> 
> ...


I am glad to here that there is going to be, if I am understading you correctly, a return to the original design of the F1. The original bike in person was quite impressive. I do understand the production limitations that bicycle companies seem to be up against in production since the manufacturing process is being out sourced. Seems that once your factory time is up there is no going back until the next year. It also appears that there is an increasing market in high end bikes in Asia so supplies have been getting shorter for everyone. I don't know what it is looking like for 2012 production but i know it is a big dissapointment for customers when they see all of these great products introduced at eurobike and interbike and they are waiting on Felt (as well as other manufacturers but not all) to deliver well into the next year. Many end up moving on to another brand that is quicker to the market rather than wait. I can only hope this will improve next model year.

I guess for most people all of the questions of the DA were eventually answered. The biggest one being the down tube change. It just seemed like people kept asking a bunch of questions about the bike and all of them would get answered but then there would be no response to the S-curve down tube. I remember reading posts and people asking is it UCI legal or not? Why the Change? In the DA Press introduction it seemed to be made pretty clear the new shape was found to be faster than the cutout but then weeks later when we finally got an answer it was that this was a an early model that continued to evolve and the shapes changed. I am still a little skeptical on the issue. Felt released a white paper on the new DA and in it were all pictures of the S down tube in the wind tunnel. If the testing continued and the cutout was then found to be faster why were those bike pictures not in the white paper. Then there was the changes to the complete bike that was for sale. By that time I had given up. It seemed like a situation where we were being shown one thing and another was being delivered. It doest seem like good practice to brag about your new bike then what you deliver doesn't look like the picture. Seems like the latest and greatest should be shown in something as big as the white paper. It was clearly said that the bike was faster with the battery mounted on to the back of the seatpost than being off. Now the complete bike has a different post and a battery on the down tube with a funny fairing. With they way the UCI rules are being interpreted these days I don't belive the bike in this configuration with the fairing would be legal. Ido realise you can order the frameset and get the original post last time I looked. 


I am really excited to see the changes with the new AR series as I really enjoy this bike. Here is what I am hoping to see:

Tapered Head tube
BB30
Seatpost with battery mount
The air trips like on the DA on the seatpost and around the back wheel
Neutral colors. red, black, white. No AR0 in the US was a dissapointment. Odd colors like green and orange just are not as appealing although this is just my opinion. 
and of course.....Lighter and stiffer.



I do realise there have been no fork failures.


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## st123 (Nov 8, 2010)

SuperdaveFelt said:


> What size FC are you shopping for? Some size/models are shipping with the straight bladed fork now.
> 
> -SD


size 54

different size=different fork?


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## Dano35824 (Jun 25, 2011)

st123 said:


> Thanks bareitherd, I also would like to know that.
> 
> I was about to order an FC frame and then they changed to Easton forks.
> 
> If they return to the original designed straight fork, I'll buy an FC for sure!


Is the Easton that much worse? My FC frame just came in and the Easton fork doesn't look out of place at all.. I assume it will perform without any noticeable difference.


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## st123 (Nov 8, 2010)

Dano35824 said:


> Is the Easton that much worse? My FC frame just came in and the Easton fork doesn't look out of place at all.. I assume it will perform without any noticeable difference.


It's not that I doubt the performance of the Easton forks, but for me a race bike with a straight bladed fork looks so much sharper...That's why I have a steel Colnago master for many years now, but it's time to change to an (affordable) carbon frame.

Although the FC frame is displayed with a straight (Easton?) fork on the Felt website, when I google for FC-frame pictures I get this result:

https://oi55.tinypic.com/1zzrurd.jpg
https://oi53.tinypic.com/2u6pp1t.jpg
https://oi55.tinypic.com/20j2ywx.jpg
https://oi52.tinypic.com/9ayfm9.jpg
??
I was hoping that Felt would resolve the recalled fork issue quickly and would return to selling the 2011 F-series in its original design.
https://oi56.tinypic.com/2v360y1.jpg
https://oi52.tinypic.com/21kxsev.jpg


As mentioned by "bareitherd" on this thread, with production outsourced to Asia, it's probably not that straight forward. 

Can I ask you what kind of fork your new FC has? thanks.


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## Dano35824 (Jun 25, 2011)

I know it was an EC90, and going by the Easton website it must be an EC90 SL Tapered.
The proportions of red, black and white color make it right at home on the FC, IMHO. Granted, it isn't bladed.


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## st123 (Nov 8, 2010)

Dano35824 said:


> I know it was an EC90, and going by the Easton website it must be an EC90 SL Tapered.
> The proportions of red, black and white color make it right at home on the FC, IMHO. Granted, it isn't bladed.


So that confirms that...what you see (FC on website) is NOT what you get!
Thanks.


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## bareitherd (Feb 11, 2009)

st123 said:


> So that confirms that...what you see (FC on website) is NOT what you get!
> Thanks.


If I remember correctly some of the F series bikes are getting the Easton forks and some of them are getting Edge (ENVE) forks. Seems as though Felt couldn't source enough forks from one company to spec all the bikes with the same fork so you never know what you'll end up with until it arrives. The ENVE fork is a straight bladed fork but not the hyped fork with the special carbon layup where the fork blades meet with the steer tube. You will also note the after market forks are painted matte black where the original Felt fork matched the carbon weave of the frame. I am about the small details when it comes to building a bike and that is what turns me off of this frame and fork.


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

st123 said:


> So that confirms that...what you see (FC on website) is NOT what you get!
> Thanks.


Actually if you buy an FC in a 48cm or a 51cm you do get a straight bladed FELT fork. ENVE forks were only substittuted for bicycles and frames already in the market. Bicycles in production or our warehouse received EASTON forks. As for outsourcing the forks in Asia, Easton, ENVE, and Felt forks all come from the same country. The origin of the fork has nothing to do with delivery.

-SD


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## Harryquinn (Jan 20, 2011)

*Couldn't buy an F4*

As I started this thread off by asking how the fork recall affected F series bikes on the Australian market I thought I'd update it with my current position.

I tried to order an F4 but was told the Felt distributor here in Oz has no more for sale. Upshot was I was offered a Scott CR1 Pro at $1,000 off the normal selling price - full Ultegra gruppo and Ksyrium Elite wheelset. I thought that was too good to pass up so I bought it and picked it up from my lbs yesterday.

I shall keep my Felt F95 but must say the Scott is an awesome ride and much more comfortable on the bumpy stuff that passes for roads out here in South Australia. 

DavidK


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## hatone (May 8, 2011)

Can I ask, is there a different in performance between the two forks? In terms of stiffness or ride quality?

I wonder if they'll be an option later on to purchase the ENVE fork once the production issues have been resolved?


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## hatone (May 8, 2011)

Can I ask, is there a difference in performance between the two forks? In terms of stiffness or ride quality?

I wonder if they'll be an option later on to purchase the ENVE fork once the production issues have been resolved?


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## hatone (May 8, 2011)

Just to add to my post above, look at manufacturers like Cannondale, for example their new Supersix Evo which uses a curved fork, as with the Specialized Tarmac SL3 too, so I'm little at lost why some bemoan the use of the curved Easton fork on the F1, considering it is v. light, uses taperwall tech, RAD & ITT? It is more aesthetics than merely performance?

I'm just curious to know in this regard if there are any performance advantages of a straight fork over a curved?


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

hatone said:


> Just to add to my post above, look at manufacturers like Cannondale, for example their new Supersix Evo which uses a curved fork, as with the Specialized Tarmac SL3 too, so I'm little at lost why some bemoan the use of the curved Easton fork on the F1, considering it is v. light, uses taperwall tech, RAD & ITT? It is more aesthetics than merely performance?
> 
> I'm just curious to know in this regard if there are any performance advantages of a straight fork over a curved?


Basically, it comes down to this, at least for me: Having seen the bike with a straight fork, as originally designed, it just looks better! I have the Enve replacement and am happy with both the performance, and with the overall visual presentation, as it maintains a very similar profile as the original design.


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## bareitherd (Feb 11, 2009)

hatone said:


> Just to add to my post above, look at manufacturers like Cannondale, for example their new Supersix Evo which uses a curved fork, as with the Specialized Tarmac SL3 too, so I'm little at lost why some bemoan the use of the curved Easton fork on the F1, considering it is v. light, uses taperwall tech, RAD & ITT? It is more aesthetics than merely performance?
> 
> I'm just curious to know in this regard if there are any performance advantages of a straight fork over a curved?


For most it is a visual thing. The original fork had a carbon weave and paint that matched the bike frame. It is not as much of an issue on the bikes that are all black with just white stripes, but the bikes that had color now do not have that paint crossing over onto the fork. The easton and enve forks are all just painted black with white striping no unpainted carbon like the frame. As far as Specialized goes look at the new SL4. It has a straight bladed fork and of course so do the colnago's which many believe are the best handling bikes in the world. http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/pdf/Tarmac_L_Res.pdf . With the release of the F1 and DA Felt said they are using a new way of laying up carbon called inside out technology that makes the bike as nice on the inside as it is on the outside. This is supposed to make it lighter and stiffer than what everyone else is doing. With the price Felt is asking for their top end bikes dont you think we should get the technology they are advertising. I think they should be lowering thier prices on the bikes with the alternate forks, after all they said thiers was the best so that means now they are giving you an lower grade fork. So unless they want to step up and say there is no difference between what they make and what everyone else manufactures they are cheating customers, unless of course they give those that have already purchased a bike the option to replace what they have now with one of the new forks when they start arriving in 2012.

One last note the pictures I've seen of the supersix. Evo show a straight bladed fork also. Yes it has rake to it like all straight forks do but it does look to have straight fork legs.


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## pumaking (Nov 29, 2009)

Inside out technology is only on the frame, not on the fork. I went from OEM fork to the ENVE replacement. No perforamnce benefit was gained or lost. Only 40gr were knock off. Some of you guys are blowing things out of proportions.


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