Congrats, I've been riding one since November, and I love the bike. Enjoy!

So then...what would be your first changes?

My remaining list was shaping up to be Enve aero drop bars and stem, upgrade from 6800 to 6870, jag wire elite links for the front and rear brakes. 4iii left/right power meter.

I fear that the power meter will be a clearance issue with the stock ultegra brake and that may mean an eebrake in the future as well.

Sounds like you have a very good plan!

I finally got the bike the fork isn't cut yet. Since I'm riding it around to see if the fit is right.
However, the bike is very very comfortable! Obviously, I come from an aluminum bike so it was obviously going to be this way but it is better than most carbon bikes I tried before.
Also I have 105 5700 on my previous bike and 5800 makes the previous one feel like crap. It blew my mind how much shimano improved their105 group set.

Overall, the whole bike is amazing, my only issues are very simple, the saddle, I will very likely have to go back to my arione. Also the bar tape. It feels a bit too squishy for my own taste but I'll keep it anyway, it's not as if it was a real issue.
And pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/mmI5V

If they're using the same foam bar tape as the 2014s, it disintegrates after about 1000 miles.

Just thinking out loud here, but with the cost of replacing the existing brake for an eebrake, if you were to add that money spent to the going price for a 4iiii (esp if you take both left/right?) wouldn't you be really damn close to say the price of a quarq or power2max? Or are there other factors beside cost which steer you toward the 4iii?

Well, public service announcement. The Jagwire Road Elite Link Brake kit doesn't supply enough links to run the full length of a 61cm frame. Not sure what i'm going to do now, I don't see that you can buy the links separately so that leaves me with either dealing with the mediocre rear brake performance that the stock setup provides, or buying a complete extra set from Jagwire just to cannibalize it for the extra links I need to make the full run from the handlebars down through the frame to the brake itself.

Any ideas?

Did you try contacting Jagwire?

-SD

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https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Well I have now....

Sometimes the simplest of solutions elude me...

I was worried about this too. I used a normal brake housing from Jagwire with an inline adjuster and I am quite pleased with the braking I am getting. I will hold off on the compeessionless housing for now and save myself $80 to $100

I'm using the 3T seat post on my 2015 AR1. Because I only own carbon rail saddles, I had to purchase the 3T diff lock system for oval (carbon) rails. $80

Unfortunately it isn't working properly and my saddle slides out of position during my rides, up to 1.3cm which isn't cool. You would think an $80 component just to use a carbon rail saddle would work properly. Anyone else have this issue?

The clamp doesn't seat properly around the saddle rails for both Selle Italia and Specialized carbon rails. I have tried carbon paste to take up some of the play but it doesn't work.
#frustrated

Any comment on, in honor of the other Dave, what would be your "Top 10 Felt AR modifications"?

I come from a very unaero bike, a 2008 trek 1.5 and to be very honest, I didn't quite feel the improvement in the aerodynamics at first but today, It blew my mind, 15°head wind at 20 mp/h and there I was, rock solid, I could see the other guys being pushed by the wind and I was there, unaffected while usually, it was totally the other way around since I'm a light guy. The wind actually didn't feel like as much of an hurdle as it used to be. You'd think these larger tubes would actually be more affected by the wind but it's not the case at all.
Also yesterday, I was alone in some similar head wind, it wasn't easier or anything but I was able to keep a faster speed than usual without pushing harder. Easily 1 or 2 mph faster.

Take it with a grain of salt though, I have no power meter to back it up but I'm not complaining!

And to answer LOW2000


Not in any particular order but in my head here are the stuff I will improve over the years for my AR5
1 new wheelset, something more aero and lighter
2 aero drop bars
3 group set to dura ace or SRAM red
4 handlebar tape
5 chain catcher ( already on the way)
Other than that it's really just lighter parts
Lighter saddle, lighter pedals, lighter stem, lighter skewers. Lighter stuff really. Different cables I don't know at this point.

Oh, I switched to my good old arione. It's much much better now.

Oh and it is also impossible to achive the proper saddle angle (level) because the of the splines in that 3T diff loc ratchet system. My saddle is either pointed too high or too low. This really isn't working for me.

Saw that they had the 2016 models posted on the website, liking the new paintjobs! Someone in another thread complained about some bikebrands stamping their name on it so many times, these bikes are basically the antithesis of that! (a good thing in my book)

You are not adjusting the saddle angle properly.
Check online for the DiffLock instructional video. The difference in the finest spline movement is nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.

Dave

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https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Dave I followed these to a T. It doesn't because of poor manufqcturing tolerances. Not only can I not get my saddle level but When I torque the end cap bolts to 5Nm there is over 1mm of play at the saddle rails and the saddle ends up sliding out of position after 5 mins of riding. I can actually bump the saddle moderately with my hand and get it to move.

1 would be huge. 2 would be ever huger :-)... I have a Felt FC built with Red/Quarq Riken and now a AR built with Red/Quark Riken. Same bars. Same saddle. Exact same fit. I'd estimate the AR is very slightly faster. Somewhere around 0.25-0.5mph at 26-ish. With that said, it's amazing how much a nearly imperceptible amount of wind can mess with speed. Not to mention a slight bend in the arms etc...So my numbers should be taken with a grain of salt as well.

One thing I have not taken the time to do is a roll down test. Wonder if that would be a better way to highlight any difference? It would take the noise of power discrepancy out of the picture. Not that it matters. Both frames have proven to be sleepers. Slightly confused why I don't see more on the road.

Yes, there is a better way, the Chung method. This can get you way better data than a roll down test. Use something like aerolab in golden cheetah to analyze the data.


http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3536905;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

Ok thanks. I've got some work to do. Right off the bat I see GPS on with the Garmin 500 make what I found noise.

Hey Dave quick question: if you had to guess, assuming the same cockpit and wheels for all three, how would the AR fare against the IA and DA? Let's say my average observed yaw angle is 10degrees.

My dilemma is this: I'm thinking about building up a "super bike" but with vertical dropouts and external brakes. Turns out with the only frames that meet those requirements are the AR, S5, and the old Speed Concept 7.

The 1or 2 is in a headwind, on a flat section by my eyes on the Garmin and perceived effort. So yeah... I could be wrong and this improvement didn't stop me from getting dropped on the group ride lol.
At least, I had the nicest looking bike, that has to amount to something ;)

I don't think you are installing the splines in all the possible configurations to get the saddle level.

The 3T saddle rail clamp caps are designed for 7mm round rails or there is a version for 7 x 10mm carbon oval rails.
Are you using one of these sizes of saddle rails?
I don't think Velo nor Selle Italia use this size. I think Velo is 7 x 9mm and Selle Italia is 7.4 x 8.5mm IIRC.

-SD

Dave got the saddle 1 degree nose down which is how I need it so thanks.

Looks like I need to switch to non carbon rails for my Romin as this is the saddle I need right now.

Thanks again Dave.

I just built up a AR1 frame set and it is great! Here is a pic, before I wrapped the handlebars.[/url][/img]




I also started a facebook page for Felt AR owners to post pic of their set up. (hopefuly Felt is OK with this), I got the idea from a Specialized Venge owners page.

check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/...ps/1578684835727968/

Looks really good. Are those FELT decals on the frame white or silver?