Do you have your brake pads perfectly parallel? Keep an eye on that! If your brake feels soft, this can help!

Rubbing on the right side: just try, try, try,... I heard from another person to NOT use the hardest spring tension. I recommend the middle one. And really make sure your arms are moving freely. And you HAVE TO remove the crankset for that.

Is the problem, that the pad is ALWAYS rubbing (too narrow), or just after the first release (too less tension)?

Have had my B14 for 3 years, and the back brake has always been finicky, but not really an issue on the narrower rims. However, the wider race rims are a different story – worst location for a brake ever! I love the bike, but I honestly don't know if I will buy another because of the rear brake. IMO, brake adjustability trumps any drag issues it might cause by being behind the seat post.

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"My lungs will not actually burst."

You can't replace this brake with a dura-ace! It's a special construction... Older DAs HAD a Dura-Ace, but the new DA has something special. Some people are mixing things up...

The frame is great and over all it's a fantastic bike. But the brake-issue needs a lot of time and good will.

I could fix the problem and I'm using FC808 with Swisstop yellow. Now I did about 500km since fixing the brake and everything is still fine. But no long time experience... I think if you fixed it one or two times (needs a lot of time... perhaps 1 hour) you should be able to do it always with less time.

Attention: we're talking about the NEW DA... completely different brake (issue) than the B14. I never had a problem with my old DA, my B2Pro and my B12.

I just pulled the trigger on the new DA1- as in hot off the press, still in the plastic, on the UPS truck, coming my way. I'm kinda sick in a way because it was at the top end of my budget and I thought I had done my due diligence. So, flame away as you will, but how bad is it? And, will no other brake work?

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"What do you mean your running shoes don't match your bike?"

So if you had the chance to cancel the purchase right now before the bike ships to me (11am eastern), would you? Or go with it and live with it? 1-10, how technical do I have to be to adjust it in my own.

Worth noting: got a smoking deal on the frame. Very happy in that regard.

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"What do you mean your running shoes don't match your bike?"

No other brake will work. But that doesn't matter. It's not a brake-issue, it's a general construction problem that also other top-bikes have (e.g. the Argon). Built to the limit and therefor not that easy to work with... Don't worry too much. Just take your time, take a look at it und try to use our tipps and explanations. I think it's adjustable, it's just not that easy.

Depends on the alternative you have... ;-) As I told before, the bike is great. Very fast and nice for a very good price.

I think for the first adjustment you need quite good skills, because you should remove the crankset to do it perfectly. And you need the right grease, tools,...

Ok, then I'll have a go at it. I will follow your points exactly.

Last question: can you just leave the brake really "open" (less stopping power), and maybe rely on that brake a little less- keep the pads a bit further apart from the rim?

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"What do you mean your running shoes don't match your bike?"

The brake doesn't feel soft. I've tried the middle tension and the easiest tension. The problem is "too less tension" after the first release. I get everything aligned and when I squeeze with my hand, everything seems to work fine and then when squeezing the caliper, the drive side refuses to return back to its original position. Which then means the non drive side is sticking out.

Like I said, it doesn't seem as if rubbing or scraping anywhere on the arms is an issue but more that the housing and noodle, once the lever is squeezed, refuse to allow the drive side to return to the original position.

And my crank is off as I'm building up a frame set.

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"One Line Robert"

Not really. There's nothing you can leave open (a lever to open and close) like you know it from regualar race-bike brakes. The only thing you can do is playing with the cable! If the cable/brake is too loose, you'll have almost no braking power. That's the point... we're talking about some millimeters space for adjustment.

Did you try the brake on the completed bike? I ask this question because I saw that my brake behaved differently when the bike stood upside-down on the floor...

The brake-arm issue is mainly a problem of the right balance between the two arms (small screws for tension). For that both arms have to move freely. In addition you should play with the cable routing (which side of the screw to go with the cable). And as i noted in my big post: a lot of grease everywhere, especially inside the metal cable housing (what's the name in english??). Take your time and "observe" the brake arms working... and try different things. For me it was really try & error.

I am so surprised that FELT has not chimed in on this yet- especially since their road guy does look around here from time-to-time

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"What do you mean your running shoes don't match your bike?"

seeing that this is a linear pull brake, could you not use a noodle with barrel adjuster? say (this one) or is the issue with centering the brake once it has been squeezed? if this is the issue, it reminds me of my old zero gravity brake issues.

Centering after squeezing is the issue... And because of the whole construction you can't just leave some additional space between rim and pad (too less braking power/too soft).

I'm surprised too, and it's what makes me angry...

where did you see a pic? I can not get hold of one. Stuck on waiting for the frame to arrive.

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"What do you mean your running shoes don't match your bike?"

not really, no room for it to fit. i was going to do this to accomodate different width wheels, but opted to just get another wider rim training wheel.

i have not had issues with the rear brake. the brake arm set screw seem to take care of all my issues with brakes lining up one side or the other when brake released. my guess is that those with issues are just not setting these correctly. ie if you get one where you want it, do not go and completely tighten down the adjustment screw on the other side, or you will just have pulled it over.

i would.......loosen both adjustment screws(one on each arm) then press and release the brakes. see where the arms end up. on the one that did not go back where you want it, tighten that adjustment screw, not both. press and release again, only make tweaks if arms are not going where you want, leave the other side alone. works just fine for me. these adjustment screw can be reached(on mine anyway) with cranks still on bike.

sounds like you know how to wrench your own bike...


My mail order bride is currently on her way. She is somewhere in Texas and arriving Monday. I can't wait to get "FELT" up. I will post my brake build experience here once she is ready for some action.

things I dont do on it are the things I don't have tools for, ie pressing in the BB30 bearings.

folks like to pretend these things are difficult, they are not. you just have to be prepared to get your hands dirty if you forget to put on gloves. sometimes you need patience too, but like any relationship, you just need to walk away for a timeout when things are not clicking. :)

I took another crack at it this morning and got it figured out. I moved the spring tension in the arms to the hardest/most tension which helps move both arms back into place. Then, as you mentioned, made small tweaks with the limit screws. Snaps back with no issue now.

I'm coming from an SC that had an especially finicky front brake when using the 10/100 stem. It also took a bit of "elbow grease" to get set properly. But once set it was fine and worked well.

I think once you get it figured out, it won't be an issue adjusting again, should the need arise.

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"One Line Robert"

I'm not surprised. Felt probably knows that the rear brakes on their tri bikes are a PITA to mess with. Nothing short of some engineering work will fix this issue. There just isn't anything to say about it.

I love my two Felt bikes, but I hate the rear brake on my Tri bike. If I didn't need a rear brake, I'd take it off and see how far I can throw it. It's that awful of a design really. Of course, I've designed parts for the auto industry too. I was actually the engineer that re-engineered things based on customer complaints too. It's an awful task to say the least.

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You will remain the same person, before, during and after the race. So the result, no matter how important, will not define you. The journey is what matters. ~ Chrissie W.

Are you on a new DA?

While I originally had some issues, once I figured it out it was relatively easy to adjust. The problem is there are a few things that need to adjust to make it work and it will vary from bike to bike based on setup I imagine, you have the cable/housing itself, the spring tension on each arm can be adjusted, the limit screws and the number of washers on each side. Quite a bit that you have to get lined up, but again, once you do, its relatively easy to adjust and stops quite well.

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"One Line Robert"

And once you had your "formula" dialed in, and knew what you were up against, and everything was set, how long would the "fix" last? Kilometorial speaking?

At this point my frame is now two days on route. I am a DA owner. So, what am I in store for with respect to this issue, and are you of the opinion that this is endemic to EVERY DA?

For me, it seems like "it's just a rear brake". Design a new one; acknowledge that some people have problems; sell the new one online. Done. It's a brake?? So we buy it for $200 and move on.

Also, are there any teams out there in LeTour, for example, riding DA for their TT bikes? Argos/Shimano for example? I wasn't paying that much attention...

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"What do you mean your running shoes don't match your bike?"

you dont need a "fix" the brakes work fine as long as you have half an idea what you are doing when you set them up initially. I adjusted mine once, (when I set them up), when i got the bike, after removing a set of washers for my 23mm wide rims. kilometrically speaking....5-6k