Weapon of Choice
I finally bought a new road bike! After riding my rigid Rockhopper with slicks for over a year and a half it was time to move on to something better suited to the majority of my weekly mileage. So here it is, a 2009 Felt F85. It’s an aluminum frame painted gloss white with burnt orange graphics, and the fork is carbon fiber. The derailleurs and shifters are Shimano 105 (10-speed) with an FSA compact crank. The tires are tiny (700×23c) compared with what I’m used to, and they ride on Mavic rims. The saddle and bar tape are gray which is kind of a strange color choice but it does match my Crankbrothers Candy pedals by random chance. The bike is listed at just under 20 lbs, although that doesn’t include my seatbag, lights, computer, and pedals.
I picked the bike up on Saturday from Northtowne Cycling and Fitness in Cedar Rapids after test riding the F85 and several other bikes including a 2010 Felt F75 and a Cannondale Synapse 5. I looked into Trek/Gary Fisher and Specialized as well as several other brands (I even compiled a comparison spreadsheet), but I came to the conclusion that Felt in particular offered equivalent component specs for less money. Plus I kind of wanted a bike from a smaller American company (Felt is based in California). Unfortunately I read on a cycling forum that Felt was discontinuing the F85 for 2010 and moving to either the F75 (carbon rear), the F95 (9-speed), or the Z85 (upright geometry), so I wanted to get one of the remaining 2009 F85s.
After I bought the bike and got everything dialed in I went for an 18-mile ride on Sunday morning up around the reservoir spillway. Everything worked really well and I was averaging about 5 mph faster than my usual speed on the Rockhopper. The biggest change for me will be getting used to all the hand positions available with the drop bars. But I’ve got to say, it’s a pretty sweet bike and I’m really happy with it. It’s definitely the nicest bike I’ve ever owned, and I’m really looking forward to putting some mileage on it before colder temps shut down the fun for the rest of the year.