Felt F95 starter road bike

zanush

I appreciate that this has probably been asked loads of times but i'm looking to get an entry level road bike just for local casual riding and the last road bike i had was a Raleigh record sprint many years ago.
I have been using my full suss boardman but while i like doing mountain biking it's not that enjoyable to use on the road so i have been looking at the Felt 95 2014 model as i don't really want to throw a bucket load of cash on a road bike atm http://www.merlincycles.com/felt-f95-road-bike-2014-72331.html?source=aw&awc=3361_1406295514_1a3a87ed236261d2499fc66f4c89632a .
Would this be an ok starter bike?...my other problem is there is nowhere local that i can try one for size so i'm a bit wary with road bikes as i'm only a shortarse (165cm tall and 76cm inside leg) and looking at the size guides 51cm maybe the size to go for.

KonkyWonky

Great spec for the price, you would struggle to get a better spec'd bike at that money unless you go down the second hand route.

I'm 5ft 7" with a 29" leg and would go for the 51cm if that's any help. I wouldn't even consider the size up.

zanush

Thanks for the reply
Just come back from having a shufty in Halfords but i don't want to go down that route again although i did like some of the boardman road bikes.
The Felt F95 does seem like it will be ok for what i want to spend and my intended usage, the 51cm frame looks like it would be around the size for me then.

zanush

I decided to order the 51cm lastnight and should be delivered on tuesday, not as though i will be able to ride it as i forgot to add pedals :oops: ...and to confuse me further now a mate has given me some MTB 2 bolt spd shoes which he was going to send back to wiggle. So i i'm now deciding whether to risk getting some Shimano PD-M520 Pedals (which he recommends) or just some flats as i've seen peeps on road bikes nearly falling over at lights and it kind of worries me a bit. :?

arlowood

Stick with the cleats - you will get used to them fairly quickly.

My advice would be to take your bike to a large traffic free area. Supermarket carpark or suchlike in the late evening etc.

Practice riding, stopping and clipping in and out away from traffic until you're more confident.

zanush

There's plenty of supermarket carparks near me so i will take your advice and practice quite a bit
Just ordered some Shimano PD-M520 from wiggle so hopefuly they won't take too long to arrive, the bonus being if i don't like them for the road i've got them as an option for my mtb

johnmolloy

I got a felt z95 last September as my first road bike and it has served me very well and I imagine the f95 will be equally as good just with racier geometry.

You will get used to the cleats very quickly, just practice clipping in and out leaning against a wall and then its just remembering to unclip, its very easy and becomes second nature very quickly, expect to fall over at least once but that's just part of the learning curve

Rykard

Re cleats, I always unclip my left foot and tilt my head left, old motorcyclr trick, always unclip early

Rykard

Re cleats, I always unclip my left foot and tilt my head left, old motorcyclr trick, always unclip early if you can

mcnultycop

Like the poster above I got a z95 as my first road bike. It's faultless. I've run SPD-SL pedals until today, I found them a bit tricky to get in and out of (mainly in) so after getting some advice on here went with Look Keo Classics. They are miles better than the Shimano's based on thus mornings brief test ride.

zanush

I'm hoping the pedals arrive on tuesday aswell so i can get it all ready to ride, if not i ccould always swipe the flats off my boardman just so i can try it out
Realised now that i will also have to get a saddlebag, cage & water bottle as well as i'm so used to riding with a camelbak.

zanush

It came today and built it up and only the front derailleur needs some adjustment which i'll do later. I gave it a quick 5 min ride out and it picks up speed quite nicely but i will have to get used to the harsher ride and the brakes which feel quite scary but i suppose i've gotten used to disc brakes.
I must admit i was also worrying too much about not being able to clip out as i just set the pedals to the weakest position and i didn't have too many issues apart from i need to stop looking down at the pedal when clipping in :roll:

fatdaz

3 years in and I still haven't stopped looking at the pedals when clipping in