Mekk Poggio Di2 vs. Felt F4 Team Issue

ntotheatothet
ntotheatothet Posts: 26
edited October 2013 in Road buying advice
Hi all - first time poster here...

I'm looking to get a new road bike and have narrowed my choice down to the Mekk 2G Poggio 3.5 Ultegra Di2 and the Felt F4 Team Issue (both currently in the Wiggle sale). I've read quite a lot about the Felt (and have test-ridden) and really like it but also like the idea of the Di2 which comes with the Mekk - given the price, I'm not sure what corners will have been cut on the Mekk. Does anyone have any experience of the Mekk or any advice as to which to choose? I'm leaning towards the Felt and its full Ultegra groupset but still temped by the Di2 on the Mekk... I've been back and forth in my mind hundreds of times now!!! Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received...

Comments

  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    Corners will not have been cut by Mekk, as they don't have massive advertising budgets, sponsor pro teams etc they can offer good products at lower prices.
    If you check the BR reviews of Mekk they do get good ones, that's if your swayed by reviews. As for Felt, nothing wrong with them either as far as I know, people who have them seem to like them. Good luck in choosing. :)
  • bobones
    bobones Posts: 1,215
    Get the Felt. Beautiful looking bike with a truly race worthy frame. The Mekk looks nice enough but it's not full Ultegra (FSA chainset and unbranded brake calipers) and I'm betting it's quite a heavy frame compared to the Felt. The Felt has high quality "Pro Vibe" finishing kit from Shimano whereas the Ritchey Comp stuff on the Mekk is their most basic and heavy. IMO the Felt has the "wow" factor and brand credibility which is not just not there with the Mekk.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    I would get the Felt anyway, regardless of groupset personally.
  • ntotheatothet
    ntotheatothet Posts: 26
    Thanks for the replies... I've bitten the bullet and gone for the Felt - now the exciting wait for it to arrive!

    N
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    You should have had a look around more..

    I would go with MEKK because I currently own one and its a superb bit of kit. They are frame and performance first at the best price they can achieve. Frame sets are very responsive and stiff. The Ritchy finishing kit Mekk currently use is also light in comparison to a lot of other entry/ mid level kit. Its also Ritchy and very well made. - The FELT has own-brand kit for example which could be anything.

    The FELT is a team issue which reminds me of when you were a kid and went around with themed bikes. :mrgreen: I would have looked at non-team ones.

    The MEKK on you quoted however is the 2012 version- hense the price drop. . Bike Discount has some awesome deals on MEKKs and Connondales etc.

    http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=13745&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20SI5.5%20Ultegra%20Carbon%20Fibre%20Road/Racing%20Bike'

    OR 2013 VERSION : http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15479&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20P6.5%20Ultegra%202013%20Road%20Bike%20-%20White/Blue/Carbon'

    Theres also a sportif: http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15472&Item='Mekk%202G%20Poggio%20P3.0%20Ultegra%202013%20Road/Racing%20Bike%20-%20Matte%20Red'

    Mekks Chainsets are FSA Rebrands unless you go with the ranges that have full groupo. The near £500 you could save not going with Wiggle could leave you with cash for a Winter bike, some nice spending money for kit or a spend on uber-light wheels and components which means you get a better bike for the money.
  • wotnoshoeseh
    wotnoshoeseh Posts: 531
    rickeverett wrote:
    You should have had a look around more..

    I would go with MEKK because I currently own one and its a superb bit of kit. They are frame and performance first at the best price they can achieve. Frame sets are very responsive and stiff. The Ritchy finishing kit Mekk currently use is also light in comparison to a lot of other entry/ mid level kit. Its also Ritchy and very well made. - The FELT has own-brand kit for example which could be anything.

    The FELT is a team issue which reminds me of when you were a kid and went around with themed bikes. :mrgreen: I would have looked at non-team ones.

    The MEKK on you quoted however is the 2012 version- hense the price drop. . Bike Discount has some awesome deals on MEKKs and Connondales etc.

    http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=13745&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20SI5.5%20Ultegra%20Carbon%20Fibre%20Road/Racing%20Bike'

    OR 2013 VERSION : http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15479&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20P6.5%20Ultegra%202013%20Road%20Bike%20-%20White/Blue/Carbon'

    Theres also a sportif: http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15472&Item='Mekk%202G%20Poggio%20P3.0%20Ultegra%202013%20Road/Racing%20Bike%20-%20Matte%20Red'

    Mekks Chainsets are FSA Rebrands unless you go with the ranges that have full groupo. The near £500 you could save not going with Wiggle could leave you with cash for a Winter bike, some nice spending money for kit or a spend on uber-light wheels and components which means you get a better bike for the money.

    Rick, Rick, Rick,
    what are you doing to this poor OP. He's just spent his dosh and you're giving him a hard time about it, telling him he spent his money foolishly.

    Good luck OP with the new Felt. I have an F4 by the way, a 2012 US model with full Ultegra. Wonderful bike - good luck with the team issue one. Post some pics when you get it...
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    wotnoshoeseh wrote:
    rickeverett wrote:
    You should have had a look around more..

    I would go with MEKK because I currently own one and its a superb bit of kit. They are frame and performance first at the best price they can achieve. Frame sets are very responsive and stiff. The Ritchy finishing kit Mekk currently use is also light in comparison to a lot of other entry/ mid level kit. Its also Ritchy and very well made. - The FELT has own-brand kit for example which could be anything.

    The FELT is a team issue which reminds me of when you were a kid and went around with themed bikes. :mrgreen: I would have looked at non-team ones.

    The MEKK on you quoted however is the 2012 version- hense the price drop. . Bike Discount has some awesome deals on MEKKs and Connondales etc.

    http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=13745&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20SI5.5%20Ultegra%20Carbon%20Fibre%20Road/Racing%20Bike'

    OR 2013 VERSION : http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15479&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20P6.5%20Ultegra%202013%20Road%20Bike%20-%20White/Blue/Carbon'

    Theres also a sportif: http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15472&Item='Mekk%202G%20Poggio%20P3.0%20Ultegra%202013%20Road/Racing%20Bike%20-%20Matte%20Red'

    Mekks Chainsets are FSA Rebrands unless you go with the ranges that have full groupo. The near £500 you could save not going with Wiggle could leave you with cash for a Winter bike, some nice spending money for kit or a spend on uber-light wheels and components which means you get a better bike for the money.

    Rick, Rick, Rick,
    what are you doing to this poor OP. He's just spent his dosh and you're giving him a hard time about it, telling him he spent his money foolishly.

    Good luck OP with the new Felt. I have an F4 by the way, a 2012 US model with full Ultegra. Wonderful bike - good luck with the team issue one. Post some pics when you get it...

    Opps didn't know op had bitten the bullet! Oh well. Personally I would go with a MEKK but my winter bikes going to be Felt so...
  • bobones
    bobones Posts: 1,215
    rickeverett wrote:
    The Ritchy finishing kit Mekk currently use is also light in comparison to a lot of other entry/ mid level kit. Its also Ritchy and very well made. - The FELT has own-brand kit for example which could be anything.
    Just need to correct you here: the Felt has Shimano's top of the range Pro Vibe finishing kit, which is a few notches above Ritchey's fairly heavy Comp line. As for overall weight of the bikes, the F4 is near enough 2lbs lighter than the Poggio, which is a significant difference in anyone's book.

    As far as I can tell, Mekk seem to be just another brand selling off the shelf Taiwanese frames, giving them a paint job, sticking on some components and selling them cheap. I could well be wrong on that, but there's certainly no heritage or cachet to the brand. Felt, on the other hand, do their own frame design work, carbon layups and molds, and the F4 frame set is closely related to the bikes ridden by Argos Shimano to numerous wins around the globe, i.e. proven race geometry and heritage.

    It's a matter of opinion, but the F4 in Argos Shimano team colours is a real beauty in the flesh and will become something of a collector's item as Garmin liveried Felts of previous years are now.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    bobones wrote:
    the F4 is near enough 2lbs lighter than the Poggio, which is a significant difference in anyone's book.


    Also interested in the Felt, how much does the F4 actually weigh? (cant seem to find the weight anywhere)

    Thanks
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    bobones wrote:
    rickeverett wrote:
    The Ritchy finishing kit Mekk currently use is also light in comparison to a lot of other entry/ mid level kit. Its also Ritchy and very well made. - The FELT has own-brand kit for example which could be anything.
    Just need to correct you here: the Felt has Shimano's top of the range Pro Vibe finishing kit, which is a few notches above Ritchey's fairly heavy Comp line. As for overall weight of the bikes, the F4 is near enough 2lbs lighter than the Poggio, which is a significant difference in anyone's book.

    As far as I can tell, Mekk seem to be just another brand selling off the shelf Taiwanese frames, giving them a paint job, sticking on some components and selling them cheap. I could well be wrong on that, but there's certainly no heritage or cachet to the brand. Felt, on the other hand, do their own frame design work, carbon layups and molds, and the F4 frame set is closely related to the bikes ridden by Argos Shimano to numerous wins around the globe, i.e. proven race geometry and heritage.

    It's a matter of opinion, but the F4 in Argos Shimano team colours is a real beauty in the flesh and will become something of a collector's item as Garmin liveried Felts of previous years are now.

    According to the specs from Felt the F4 doesn't have Pro Vibe ?

    FROM FELT WEBSITE F4:
    Felt SuperLite Road VariableShape handlebar, Felt SuperLite stem, Felt Race Road UHC Performance carbon fiber seatpost,
    According to the weights the Felt superlight handelbar is 10g lighter than the Ritchy at 290g



    As for the MEKK reputation- we are yet to find out. They are only in there 2nd year. So far the frames have proven to be very good - highly responsive, and initial reviews are very positive. Weather they are developed in Taiwan or not is irreverent (according to MEKK the frame design is done in Itally ?). As we all know most of the kit in the entire bike world comes from Taiwan and China and there's no doubt that there's a high level of engineering skill there. I was merely saying you could get a 2012 version or cheaper version of this: http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/catalog/product.php?CI_ID=15479&Item='Mekk%204G%20Primo%20P6.5%20Ultegra%202013%20Road%20Bike%20-%20White/Blue/Carbon'

    also bare in mind the particular MEKK in the OP was £500 less and a 2012 model. Apparently things have moved on a bit at MEKK since.

    The F4 however at £2000 is awesome at £2000
  • bobones
    bobones Posts: 1,215
    rickeverett wrote:

    According to the specs from Felt the F4 doesn't have Pro Vibe ?

    FROM FELT WEBSITE F4:
    Felt SuperLite Road VariableShape handlebar, Felt SuperLite stem, Felt Race Road UHC Performance carbon fiber seatpost,
    According to the weights the Felt superlight handelbar is 10g lighter than the Ritchy at 290g
    The F4 Team does have Pro Vibe. See the tech specs on this page http://2013.feltracing.com/United-Kingd ... -Team.aspx
  • bobones
    bobones Posts: 1,215
    redvision wrote:
    bobones wrote:
    the F4 is near enough 2lbs lighter than the Poggio, which is a significant difference in anyone's book.


    Also interested in the Felt, how much does the F4 actually weigh? (cant seem to find the weight anywhere)

    Thanks
    According to the Felt website, the international version of the standard F4 is 16.8lbs so I would expect the team version to be a little lighter with the Pro Vibe kit.
  • ntotheatothet
    ntotheatothet Posts: 26
    Thanks for everyone's feedback (even if it was telling me I shouldn't have bought it! :lol: ) I appreciate that team colours might not be everyone's cup of tea but I think it looks beautiful... Bike comes on Monday and I've got a lovely trophy bull rack coming soon, too -http://www.outlineworksltd.com/website/trophy-bull/ - so will post some pics of my new machine in pride of place on my office wall! Can't wait and I think I've definitely made the right decision... will let you know how it rides, too.

    N
  • ntotheatothet
    ntotheatothet Posts: 26
    9777435081_4ab8e94e3e_o.jpg

    And here it is in all its glory... (well, nearly - just got the Ultegra pedals to put on...)
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    that's very nice mate, enjoy ...
  • markp80
    markp80 Posts: 444
    ntotheatothet wrote:
    And here it is in all its glory... (well, nearly - just got the Ultegra pedals to put on...)
    - and those wheel reflectors to take off?

    Lovely bike BTW.

    MarkP
    Boardman Road Comp - OK, I went to Halfords
    Tibia plateau fracture - the rehab continues!
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    ntotheatothet wrote:
    9777435081_4ab8e94e3e_o.jpg

    And here it is in all its glory... (well, nearly - just got the Ultegra pedals to put on...)

    Holy poop! That seat looks immensely high.. Have you checked its not past the safety limit?

    Nice looking bike tho. Would take the wiggle reflectors off personally but if your commuter then thats OK.
  • ntotheatothet
    ntotheatothet Posts: 26
    Yeah, the reflectors are coming off!

    And the seat's far too high so it'll be coming down... that's how it came from Wiggle!
  • CrazyHorseB
    CrazyHorseB Posts: 12
    Hi, How are you finding the Felt? I'm seriously thinking about buying one - they are an absolute steal at Wiggle in both normal and Team Issue (is the difference only colour?) I've tried to find a local shop with them in stock to try but so far I;ve struggled, so I might be making a blind plunge!
  • ntotheatothet
    ntotheatothet Posts: 26
    I'm absolutely loving mine and would thoroughly recommend it - the Team Issue has better headset, stem, seatpost and Ultegra chainset - just generally upgraded parts compared with the standard issue (and it looks prettier IMO)...

    I've only taken it out a few times but it's so light and really nice to ride - really comfortable but still quite aggressive. I don't think you'd regret getting one.

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