# 2012 Felt F85 for $700 cash? Is this a good first road bike?



## Spokane Guy

This will be my first road bike. I've been riding a Trek 7.2 and loved it, until my riding buddy went and bought a Specialized Allez. Now I've got to get a new bike.  

I had never heard of Felt bikes but another friend of my just picked up a Felt F85 for $700. I did some reading about Felt and then went to the store to see if I could get a similar deal. The bike is a 2012 and Kevin, the owner, was very helpful. I originally wanted to see a Z85 but he doesn't have one in my size. He did however, change neck (?) to make the riding position of the F85 taller for me. The bike is comfortable and seems fine. Should I be concerned about the Microshift shifters? I thought the whole bike was 105, turns out only some of it is. 

Is this a good deal, or should I keep on looking?

Thanks


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## jerdawg

sounds like a good deal to me.....considering they retail for almost twice as much.


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## Rashadabd

Yup (depending on the condition), it was my first road bike and I loved it. Microshift shifters aren't the best, but they will be more than fine for a season or two and you can pick stuff like that up on ebay or the classifieds here slowly over time at a discount. I only sold my F85 because the lbs put me on a 54 when a 51 was my actual correct size and by the time I sold it, I was ready to move to carbon and got a Cervelo R3. If you aren't comfortable with the condition, you could get a new one (2013) with a warranty for a couple of hundred dollars more or probably find a 2012 in some shop for around $700. You could also likely find a brand new Specialized Allez or Giant Defy in the same price range ($700) that would come with a warranty as well. Any of those bikes would be a great one to start on and should last you for a while. Either way, welcome to road cycling man, enjoy the ride!


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## Rashadabd

Felt is a great value, by the way. You get a lot of bike for the price. You can always upgrade components over time when you have a few "extra" bucks here or there.


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## Rashadabd

Here's something to compare it to:

Felt F85 Road Bike 2012


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## Rashadabd

Here's the Giant, but I think the component package is less impressive:

Giant Defy 5 2012


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## Rashadabd

This should help as well:

Entry-Level Road Bikes: 2012 Buyer


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## Rashadabd

And finally, there is this: 2012 Cannondale Synapse 7 (another one that you couldn't go wrong with):

Cannondale Synapse 7 Bike - 2012 at REI.com


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