Time trial and triathlon rigs are growing in our shop, we know them well but are just scratching the surface of what we can do with them for our customers. Felt is killing it with their line-up, but again it's a relatively small fraction of what we do, though we do more with triathlon than we do with mountain bikes.
Which brings me to road bikes. Road and cyclocross bikes are what we do. Sure, we sell hybrids as well, and I think we understand them quite well, but road and cyclocross bikes are what we revolve around.
2013 is bringing a lot of new stuff to the Felt lineup. The F-series line was brand new for 2012, so I didn't expect much of a change there, and we're primarily just seeing color and spec changes. Much as expected since those bikes are so new and so good.
More importantly though, are the new Z-series bikes. The carbon Z-series bikes were damn good already, but their technology was falling behind the incredible F-series and some of their competition. So what did Felt do? They made the new carbon Z-series bikes 50g lighter, 25% stiffer, yet more comfortable! That's what I'm talkin' about. They also made the carbon Z-series bikes natively electronic and mechanical transmission ready, added BB30, and gave the frames a tapered head tube for a tapered fork.
Here is the magical frame that I think people are going to love the second they ride it. Felt knows carbon, and they've applied years of work to this frame. Also, Felt has gone very subtle with colors this year which I am a HUGE fan of. Though I believe this photo is of a prototype and not a stock color, you'll see what I mean in the next few photos
An image of that oversized head tube that's going to make this bike really shine. Imagine a bike that when you stand up sprint just goes like a rocket, but also is smooth and comfortable enough to not beat you up when you hit a really bad stretch of road.
Another interesting shot of the head tube shows how far Felt has gone with their carbon mold to add ride quality while still retaining stiffness.
The Z4 will be a very popular bike for us sporting Shimano 105 and this beautiful color scheme. Toned down is becoming very unique these days with so many brands kicking out bikes that have 12+ brand logos plastered all over the bike.
The AR-series also gets majorly refreshed for 2013. While externally the bike remains virtually identical, internal changes net a loss of 350g (!!!!) while improving ride quality. The weight of this frame was always the biggest detractor of it, but to drop nearly a full pound from the frame is shocking and should make this series much more appealing. Even more, check out the paint scheme! White with silver logos (only a couple of them) and a very small graphic. Amazing if you ask me.
The AR does us a straight 1-1/8" steerer tube to maintain the best aerodynamics possible, whereas most of the other road bikes in Felt's lineup are now using tapered.
You've made it this far, you deserve some kudos. And maybe a cookie. Instead I'm giving you the Felt carbon disc CX bike. This was shown in prototype form last year, but she'll be ready to race this fall. Basically the F-series bike but with huge tire clearance and disc brakes. This thing will be sweet!
The fork isn't new news to us since it's equipped on the F65x that we have in stock, but having it attached to a carbon frame is damned exciting! I do have to say I've been surprised with the Ashima rotors so far. In my experience light rotors are rarely round, but these have been great.
Rear dropouts were of course reworked for disc brakes, though not much. Word has it that the current non-disc models were designed around disc brakes but cantilevers ended up being the go-to since so few road disc systems were available for 2012.
One feature I've loved since day 1 of the new F-series and the carbon cyclocross bikes is the ability to convert your frame from mechanical to internal electronic and back. It literally takes about 90 seconds to change the cable stops to internal wiring and it integrates perfectly.
Tire clearance is huge on the disc bikes. The last two seasons haven't seen much mud around here, but I have a sneaking suspicion that's going to change this season. I'm picturing my disc carbon CX bike sporting some Clement PDX tubulars. The perfect foul-weather CX bike.
There you have it, the info I have so far. Much of the info was already there, but we hadn't received many pictures before the media day. Luckily the guys at bikeradar.com are better photographers than I am anyway, so their pictures this time were worth what, about 1,000 words?
