Felt racing road bike

So I decided I needed something dedicated to racing rather than using my custom steel bike in case I smash it up and so I put carbon wheels on it without having to change the brake pads every week.

After copious internet research I decided to get a complete bike on finance and swap the parts as need rather than getting a frame and building it up. This way I can also buy it on 0% finance rather than stumping up any money immediately.

So I bought a Felt F5 from Wiggle. It comes with a 105 groupset and general decent parts, carbon seatpost etc. They only make 2 levels of frame, 1 that the pro teams use and one that is like 200g heavier, so most of the cost of the bike goes in to the frame which is ideal for me.

I've got some Ritchey WCS Apex ii 60mm carbon clinchers so they're going on it, and I'm going to change the crankset for a non-compact and the handlebars and saddle to ones I prefer the shape of. Eventually I want to put Sram on it but the 105 will do for now.

So this is what it looks like at the moment. I'm waiting on the new Vittoria Corsa Speed tyres to come in stock at Hub Velo and will put them on as tubeless. A new 105 crankset is in the post and handlebars should be sorted soon too.

I did a couple of commutes on it and first impressions are really good, the frame is very stiff and the geometry is really nippy, it feels lighter and quicker than my steel bike even though they weigh about the same.

Very sensible choice, I am a big fan of Felt F series, Dov's F1 is one my fav 'on here' bikes. Love the fact that cables are external too. 52/36?

This should eventually get etap ;)

I didn't know he had an F1, any pics anywhere? External cables are nice and the down tube bosses are held on with an allen bolt so can be removed in case of etap.

Currently it's 50/34, but yeah, 52, 36 in the post.

niiiiiiiice choice

Very nice. I like the subtle paint!

aka carefully chosen to match etap ;)

Also, as you can see the guys at Wiggle seem to have no idea how handlebars are meant to be used.

Always going uphill...
Looks otherwise really classy!

Some small parts but that much closer to finishing it. Tyres should come in stock next week too.

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Elegant choice

Strong cage choice

Cheers. Got them both for less than the RRP of one from someone on Amazon. First time I've strayed away from Elite's so not sure how well they will hold the bottle, I think I may add some rubber stickers or grip tape inside for extra security.

I've got some grey market ones on ebay for £10 each, had them on my cannondale from the start. Never had a bottle even shift let alone come out.

The actual, used by the pro's frames are heavier than the available-to-consumer frames.

I can vouch for them too, only got rid of them because the sides were a bit too tall for my small sized frames, bit tricky wrestling out the bottle and try and clear the toptube at the same time.

Some progress.
I replaced the bars with Deda RHM02's as I have them on my other bike and like them.
Lowered the bars very slightly, but this frame has a teeny tiny head tube so I can't go much lower, as much as I want to slam it.
Replaced the saddle.
Added bottle cages.
Added garmin mount.
Replaced bar tape.
Replaced stem with 1cm longer one.
I've chopped about a foot off each cable and there's still a bit more that could go.
Replaced the compact crankset with a standard size one and reset the derailleurs, also realised that my chain is slightly too short now.
These wheels are nicked from my commuter so I could set the derailleurs.
I just need the new tyres for the carbon wheels and it will be all good to go.

fiiiiiit

Got tyres, waiting on tubeless valve extenders so chucked some inner tubes in. 5 min test ride was brilliant, can't believe how different this rides to my fancy custom bike. Going to commute on it tomorrow just because.
Pics soon.

Here we go. All working.

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looks fast

White tape is absolutely the right choice.

"office" is a bit tryhard...

You can't even see the dartboard and foosball table...

Bars have been tilted up very slightly since the photo but I'm not retaking them because of that.

So nearly a year to the day and I just killed this frame. ..
It's insured, so I'm going to call them up tomorrow. Hopefully they will replace it. Otherwise I'll have to go to the carbon repair guys.

That sucks.

Could you borrow Hoke's loyalty card?