exxxviii wrote:
jazzymusicman wrote:
BryanD wrote:
After all of this, I just felt like buying another bike.
one and done Felt owner here. next bike will be anything else
I do not get all of the angst over the Calpac and draft box. If Felt never put the rear bosses on the IAxx frame, then no one would have said a peep. When I bought my IA, I did not base the decision on a future promise of the draft box. At the time, draft boxes were an emerging trend, but not a factor at all for my purchase decision. I am mystified why Felt has not produced it, but I find the "buy anything else" response extreme. It is a very fast bike, even without a Felt draft box.
I did question the Calpac design when I bought mine. But, the overall value and performance of the bike offset the Calpac. Now, 4 tris later, I have never used it and the design is a total non-factor. I hope they offer an improvement, because I probably would use it in a full IM. But, even if they do not, the bike is still very fast.
The market has definitely pivoted since Felt introduced the original IAx line and then the IAxx last year. Back then, was it only Trek that had a draft box? Now draft boxes are table stakes on many bikes. So, Felt is at a clear competitive disadvantage today that did not exist a year ago.
I largely agree regarding the draftbox.
However, the Calpac is worse than useless. It's too small alright, but it will hold 2 or 3 gels so it's still useful....except for that damn cover. The design is just bad. I'm mystified to understand how they didn't recognise that before releasing the original but even more stumped by their releasing the IAxx without improving on it.
What the cover needs to do:
- Give easy access to the contents
- Stay in place
- Bonus points: Look alright
It doesn't do such a great job at letting your fingers in there. Instead you get access to the shallow end of the cavity and have no hope of retrieving anything small while riding, despite the relatively small volume of the cavity to begin with.
Okay, maybe you do have a hope of retrieving something if you have long fingers but don't be too aggressive or number 2 may come into play. The hatch is not positively locked in place. It's a squeeze fit with rubbery catches that give zero confidence that they are engaged. The cover doesn't sit flush and tidy as I would expect and to be honest, ruins the aesthetic of the bike. Oh, yes, that's number 3 failed too!
Providing on bike storage in that area is an obvious thing to do and they were one of the first to build it in. But they really did a half-assed job of it. Perhaps Specialized had something to do with it and the originally planned hydration system, had it gone ahead would have been far better executed and what we ended up with was just a last minute damage control measure. But, if so, how did that fudge manage to stick around unaddressed ever since the release of the first IA.
IMO, bosses on the top tube behind the stem, ala P2/P3 are a better solution than the Calpac as executed.
Oh, did I mention that I regularly knock the cover of the Calpac out of position with my knee or leg. Usually when I stop at a junction and rest the top tube against my leg. Incredibly irritating. So I have a "feature", I rarely use but which nevertheless causes irritation on nearly every ride. These are not huge issues, but they are real and shouldn't be, not in a properly refined design; which this should be given it's not the first iteration.