# Building up a second hand F1 frame - need some advice



## benshares (Nov 14, 2016)

Hi RBR! First post here, probably not my last. 

I recently got a great deal on a 2015 F1 frame that has about 1k miles on it, and whose fork was crushed and destroyed. This is my first time building up a "real" road bike, and I'm planning to learn a lot and make a lot of mistakes. I'm trying to keep this project at a fairly low budget, but I'm not interested in buying no-name ebay components. 

As I've started to scope out some parts, there are few questions that have come up that aren't so easy to google. All my most obscure searches keep leading me here though, so I though I'd sign up and ask.

1. I'm thinking of a Columbus Fel fork - it's got a 45mm rake vs the 43 of the stock Felt fork, and 3mm shorter. Is that within the range of "should be fine"? 

2. I know the head tube is tapered from 1 1/8" to 1 1/2" but research has shown me that there is an insane amount of non-standardization of headset sizes. (pages 8-9 caused me to break out in sweats) - what are the official upper and lower bearing sizes in the F1? 

3. I'm installing a standard set of BB30 bearings. I know Shimano doesn't do a BB30 spindle, and I've heard of folks mixing a SRAM chainring and cranks with shimano derailleurs/cassette/chain - is that a good way to go? Should I just be looking to a full SRAM groupset? The folks I ride with are all on Shimano or Campy. 

Thanks!


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## cobra_kai (Jul 22, 2014)

Here is the old site for the F1 frameset: FRAMESET: F1 - Felt Bicycles

I don't know the answer to your first question. The site specs a FSA #38/42 headset so maybe that will help. If you have the old bearings you can measure with some calipers to make sure the dimensions are the same.

You can get adapters from various companies to fit a shimano crank to BB30 bearings. Here are some options: BB30 Adapter for 24mm Spindle Cranks (Shimano, FSA, etc.), FSA PF30/BB30 24 Reducer/AL Road - FSA. You can also get a bottom bracket replacement that will allow the use of 24 mm spindle directly like the praxis model: https://www.praxiscycles.com/conversion-bb/.

Lastly you may want to repost this in the components and wrenching subforum so that you get some more views.

Good luck with the build, it should be a great bike!


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## benshares (Nov 14, 2016)

Unfortunately the 38/42 headset is an FSA headset made specifically for felt that you can't buy elsewhere. I don't have any bearings or old headset, so I am down to measuring the cups - but looking at that standards doc, I would need to be able to measure to fractions of an mm to be sure. I'll post over to the components forum, thanks!


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## st123 (Nov 8, 2010)

http://fsa-4207.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/087_NO_42-CF-ACB.pdf


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## benshares (Nov 14, 2016)

pretty sure that's not it... that is specifically a campagnolo style head tube headset.

Edit: I may be mistaken... not sure. Are all angled bearing integrated headsets campagnolo style head tubes?


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## benshares (Nov 14, 2016)

Strange thing I just noticed - I was talking to a shop about getting an OEM Felt fork, and they asked for the serial number. When I took a closer look, I saw that there's a sticker on there that says "DI2" - but as you can see the frame and the bottom bracket have cable routing guides... so what is the deal with that? Is that just saying that it's possible to set the F1 up for Di2?


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## YZ 343 (Oct 4, 2011)

When you buy an F1 frameset, the cable guides are not attached to the frame. They are in a bag separately. The previous owner must have been running non Di2. The brake cables are external. There also should be rubber wire guides for the Di2 cables where they exit the frame and enter the frame. Where the cable guide is on the bottom there should be a hole in the frame for the Di2 wiring harness. You need the rubber grommet to cover that hole if you install Di2.


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## Superdave3T (May 11, 2009)

benshares said:


> Unfortunately the 38/42 headset is an FSA headset made specifically for felt that you can't buy elsewhere. I don't have any bearings or old headset, so I am down to measuring the cups
> 
> Have you considered just buying the F1 headset directly from Felt?
> FSA No.42 Carbon - Felt Bicycles
> ...


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## TrueType (Oct 5, 2015)

For mixing SRAM with Shimano... I have used SRAM Red 22 crankset (11 Speed) with all Shimano Tiagra (10 speed) for a short time without an issues. The front shifting works as good as a full Shimano set-up. But I upgraded all other components to Force 22 afterwards, just to complete the upgrade.

I recommend using a BB30 crankset on a BB30 frame and eliminate the weight penalty of using the adapters. Power transfer will also be less effected that way. But if you have to use Shimano crankset, I strongly recommend Praxis one, instead of FSA's or similar adapters.

As for using SRAM, I am also new to it. But I think I'm liking it more than Shimano way of shifting. It's also a less noisy system.


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## terbennett (Apr 1, 2006)

TrueType said:


> For mixing SRAM with Shimano... I have used SRAM Red 22 crankset (11 Speed) with all Shimano Tiagra (10 speed) for a short time without an issues. The front shifting works as good as a full Shimano set-up. But I upgraded all other components to Force 22 afterwards, just to complete the upgrade.
> 
> I recommend using a BB30 crankset on a BB30 frame and eliminate the weight penalty of using the adapters. Power transfer will also be less effected that way. But if you have to use Shimano crankset, I strongly recommend Praxis one, instead of FSA's or similar adapters.
> 
> As for using SRAM, I am also new to it. But I think I'm liking it more than Shimano way of shifting. It's also a less noisy system.


You can't compare a Shimano Drivetrain that's lower than mid range, to higher end SRAM system. Force compares to Ultegra. 
Once you do a fair comparison, report back to us that SRAM is quieter. It's quieter than it used to be but not quieter than Ultegra. It's lighter but SRAM stuff feels flimsy to me compared to Shimano.


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## TrueType (Oct 5, 2015)

terbennett said:


> You can't compare a Shimano Drivetrain that's lower than mid range, to higher end SRAM system. Force compares to Ultegra.
> Once you do a fair comparison, report back to us that SRAM is quieter. It's quieter than it used to be but not quieter than Ultegra. It's lighter but SRAM stuff feels flimsy to me compared to Shimano.


I am not comparing anything. I don't do never-ending, non-sense comparisons between things those simply do the same job. I am just giving an insight about SRAM to the OP, who was unsure about the system. And I was only referring to SRAM's doubletap versus traditional Shimano STI way of shifting. I had doubts about the double-tap. But now I find the single button operation on SRAM's Double-tap more practical and less prone to mis-shifting. But it is personal preference.

And I think you misunderstood what I meant by quiet. Shifting operation is loud and direct on SRAM and Campagolo (which I like). But I meant the drivetrain noise from the chain and the sprockets (which I hate). My Red chainrings, Red Chain and Force cassette combo run quiet as it can get.


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## riccardo123 (May 29, 2014)

I don't think I have ever ridden a BB30 SRAM crank, so I can't say anything about that - but the Praxis BB/Ultegra 6800 combo I have on my (lower spec than OP) Felt frame is vastly better than any native BB30 crank I have tried. Basically this means all the FSA ones. Shifting is better, especially under heavy load, and it feels much more solid underfoot.

**EDIT** It is also virtually silent when pedalling. Noisy clicks on shifting, and noisy when coasting.


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