2014 Felt F95
Nathb
Posts: 36
Hi All.
So this is nothing as fancy as most of the other bikes on here... but
Last year, having moved to London near RP
, I found I was using my MTB less and less, so I decided to try my hand at road cycling. I was all set to buy a Ribble Gran Fondo when I spotted the Felt F95 on sale at Merlin for £365 and couldn't resist.
That was back in October and since then I've done 1600 faultless miles on it, very impressed with it I can really see why some on here recommend this as a newbies bike.
It hasn't exactly remained standard though, it started life at 10.6kg (58cm frame and X1 saddle) however with the following changes:
105 5800 Chainset (aesthetics mainly but also -434g!)
Tiagra cassette (-54g, old one used for turbo trainer)
Madison Prime Saddle (-82g)
Rubino Pro Slick tyres (-280g)
Supersonic innertubes (-235g I had slime ones for winter)
It's now at a little over 9.5kg 8)
I'd like to replace the wheels in the near future with some cheapish but better ones (Racing 5/7 etc) - I don't see the point of spending £200+ on wheels for a £365 bike.
The plan is to use it all through this year, and if I reach my target miles for the year (3,333) then I'll treat myself to a Ribble.
Here are the pictures, as you can see I went with the black/white/green theme :P - the kitten wanted in on the pictures too!:
So this is nothing as fancy as most of the other bikes on here... but
Last year, having moved to London near RP
, I found I was using my MTB less and less, so I decided to try my hand at road cycling. I was all set to buy a Ribble Gran Fondo when I spotted the Felt F95 on sale at Merlin for £365 and couldn't resist.That was back in October and since then I've done 1600 faultless miles on it, very impressed with it
I can really see why some on here recommend this as a newbies bike.It hasn't exactly remained standard though, it started life at 10.6kg (58cm frame and X1 saddle) however with the following changes:
105 5800 Chainset (aesthetics mainly but also -434g!)
Tiagra cassette (-54g, old one used for turbo trainer)
Madison Prime Saddle (-82g)
Rubino Pro Slick tyres (-280g)
Supersonic innertubes (-235g I had slime ones for winter)
It's now at a little over 9.5kg 8)
I'd like to replace the wheels in the near future with some cheapish but better ones (Racing 5/7 etc) - I don't see the point of spending £200+ on wheels for a £365 bike.
The plan is to use it all through this year, and if I reach my target miles for the year (3,333) then I'll treat myself to a Ribble.
Here are the pictures, as you can see I went with the black/white/green theme :P - the kitten wanted in on the pictures too!:
0
Comments
-
Stem needs flipping so that it doesn't point up so much, and whilst you're there you also happen to remove some/all of the spacers underneath it then so much the better.
No point have a road bike which is so upright.
And whomever cut the rear brake cable outer to that length should be shot.
No 'shame' in a cheap bike - it's more than good enough to be an effective weapon if you're fit enough!0 -
Nice machine - enjoy.
Why Ribble though?0 -
I agree, nice bike, you wont be gaining much getting the Ribble Gran Fondo. I would much rather be riding the Felt than the Ribble.
There is nothing wrong putting a decent lighter wheelset on the Felt (the Felt is a nice frame and has decent components), Its the best way to reduce the overall weight and could make it feel much more sprightly.0 -
D O G wrote:Stem needs flipping so that it doesn't point up so much, and whilst you're there you also happen to remove some/all of the spacers underneath it then so much the better. No point have a road bike which is so upright.
And whomever cut the rear brake cable outer to that length should be shot.
No 'shame' in a cheap bike - it's more than good enough to be an effective weapon if you're fit enough!
I've considered flipping the stem, but I'm still trying to rebuild lower back muscle from a rowing injury and so didn't want to agitate it. Definitely on my to do list at some point this year.
Ah the factory did the cabling and it's never bothered me to be honest - if it isn't broke and all that. 8)wotnoshoeseh wrote:Nice machine - enjoy.
Why Ribble though?
Thanks!
Before moving down here Ribble/Merlin/Paul Hewitt where my local shops, and ever since seeing the Gran Fondo in the shop I've wanted one. But I'm actually swaying towards the R872 now, I think with some carbon wheels it'd look rather nice.dwanes wrote:I agree, nice bike, you wont be gaining much getting the Ribble Gran Fondo. I would much rather be riding the Felt than the Ribble.
There is nothing wrong putting a decent lighter wheelset on the Felt (the Felt is a nice frame and has decent components), Its the best way to reduce the overall weight and could make it feel much more sprightly.
Thanks!
The R872 would be better than the Felt though?0 -
Yes the R872 would be more of an upgrade, don't rush into it though, enjoy your Felt for a while.0
-
dwanes wrote:Yes the R872 would be more of an upgrade, don't rush into it though, enjoy your Felt for a while.
Yeah, there's no rush - definitely won't be this year!
I made some amendments to the Felts setup after feedback 8)
May have slightly shortened the rear cable by a little too much making it look worse, but I flipped the stem to see how my back gets on with it...0 -
So this bike has now covered 4,992 miles
How it stands at the moment:
Mods are:
Fulcrum Racing Quattro's
Ultegra Chainset
105 Brakes
Carbon seatpost
It's weighing in at a smidge over 9kg.
It has also been joined by my Chinese commuter and the missus' triban:
It's only now that I am looking to upgrade the Felt, after it passes the 5,000 mile mark of course.0 -
Bike looks good Nath.
I'm not following you either......honestly 0
