I have an older model the IA4. Maybe 2015 or so. No issues that I am aware of aside from being a discontinued model and avability of parts.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

I think they’re just ‘older’ and quite a few people that were on them are now upgrading. I think there were A LOT of people riding them which makes them more common on the used market now.

I was one of the peeps you describe.

Made the switch to P5D and sold IA4.

Side note, wow what I difference, and a great switch.

Agree as an IA owner. Felt has had some parts supply issues, but so have a lot of other manufactures. Felt also hasn't come out with anything new in the budget and mid price lineup. They just have the 2.0 which is pretty expensive and design seems polarizing. Other manufactures have providing a good mix up updates in their lineup.

What were some of the improvements that you noticed?

I bought a used one and they don’t have a website with any parts for sale period. It’s pretty insane. Never seen anything like it. I think I’m going to have to use the counterfeit site which is the only option at the moment.

Just riding the bike, the P5D is a like a corvette vs a school bus.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the Felt, love the Cervélo.

Felt had a Roval 321 rear disc with a 60 front.

Cervélo a Aerocoach ultra rear disc with a zephyr 78 front.

Other things are the cockpits, the Cervélo the aero bars come off with loosening one bolt and one wire.

Adjusting the Cervélo is so simple, the felt, not as easy.

The aerobar cups on the felt, the mounting was shit how they attached to the bar.

Adjusting the saddle with the 3T old style clamp was poor on the Felt. They changed this though.

The saddle height was another thing more simple on Cervélo.

Traveling with both, Cervelo wins hands down.

What are you looking for?

I think I'm the only person on earth who loves that 3t clamp. Everyone talks about how confusing and difficult it is. I suppose that's true and it isn't intuitive, but I love how it absolutely stays set to the tilt you choose, and it's easy to make exact changes. That's my tiny hill and I'm dying on it.

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

I abhor that clamp. I have the road bike for 7 years plus an IA and the clamp plus the bottom brake are the only two things I absolutely hate while the rest I completely love.

Plus the clamp on my triathlon bike stripped within a year. And as mentioned above, no parts. Had to go on Ebay and buy an Ionic seatpost to to take the clamp splines out of it.

I have a TriRig Alpha on my Felt. It's not as seamless at the stem/headtube junction (and the brake cable rubs on the nose cone), but the ease of the height and tilt adjustment is divine.

I switched from IA to P5D and didn't feel a big difference in handling and ride feel.
As far as adjustability, everything said here is true. IA is a nightmare with these tiny screws that keep rounding and there's nowhere to get any replacement. It is awful to work on.

I ride a version 1 IA FRD from 2015. I find it to be a very comfortable frame once I got it dialed in.

I would only consider this bike if you enjoy working on bikes and solving problems. I also own an old sports car....


I actually like the 3T seat angle adjustment. It is complicated to initially figure out but you can really do some fine and repeatable adjustments with that setup.

The front end is a PITA to adjust for aerobar angle. You can go with Tri Rig if you can find a proper replacement stem. Otherwise, Watt Shop has angled aerobar adapters. Not cheap but there is not much alternative. MAKE SURE FOR ANY PURCHASE that any bike you are looking at has the V3 aerobar mounts as the V2 mounts are defective and can catastrophically fail. As others have mentioned, dealing with the front end for travel is a lengthy process requiring lots of tools and many tiny easily lost parts (take spares just in case). Bring a torque wrench with you to reassemble. Or get a Bike Box Alan or a Premier Tactical box.

The brake design is garbage with long stopping distances and poor modulation. I don't use my brakes a lot but you need to make a reservation before planning to stop. Fred Flintstone's car had a shorter stopping distance. As a bonus, they are difficult to adjust.

For the million bolts and screws, the McMaster Carr catalog is your friend. Only buy stainless replacements.


A succession of owners after the founders exited have made these orphan bikes. Assume company support will be essentially non-existent. Which is a shame.

I've been on 3 different versions of the IA over the years and love it. It's a bit longer and lower than a lot of bikes and easier to get a more aggressive position on. I agree the old rim brakes were a PITA - mostly the internal spring would deform and stop opening the calipers (easy to fix, though) and the internal rollers needed to be cleaned and greased often. I found braking power to be fine, however. Now I have the IA Advanced Frameset that I got at the end of 2019 as a crash replacement. It has disc brakes, and I have to kinda reluctantly admit that I love them.

As for the front end, to remove it and fold the handlebars over, I have to remove two small screws on the carbon stem cover with a torx driver, and then one size allen wrench to remove 4 bolts and fold the bar over. To fold the bar over enough to fit into my EVOC bag I also remove two bolts to release the front brake caliper to give the hydraulic hose enough slack. That's it. Not that hard.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I've needed a 4-dollar part for 7 months now.

The steps are always

1. Felt wont ship it to me. I have to go through a bike store (nearest dealer is 100 miles away)
2. The bike store has no idea what I'm talking about.
3. I get FELT support and the bike store in touch
4. FELT assures me they are shipping the part to the bike store.
5. No one responds for weeks. Felt closes the tickets
6. Go back to step 1

What $4 part do you need?

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

https://www.feltbicycles.com/...hreadedlowernut.html

I need 2 of them actually

 

I might have them, let me look.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

I think you are seeing lots simply because it was/is a very popular bike, so naturally you'll see lots for sale over the years. I agree that the older versions with the integrated rim brakes were a pain to keep the rear brake working smooth, but that isn't a whole lot different than other brands with hidden brakes. Other than that they are great, and were raced by many pretty good pros (Rinny, Daniela, Josh, etc).

I currently have the disc brake version, haven't had a single issue, very solid. I have mine listed in the classifieds, but its only because I'm a bit of a bike whore and like to change things up every few years. But if it doesn't sell, I'll be happy to use it again next Summer!

 

I checked and I have one. Would you like it?


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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

In the last 10 years when I've been looking at purchasing new bikes, my impression of Felt:
- overpriced for the spec
- behind the times, ie still doing post mount brakes when every had switched to flat mount
- strange design and aesthetic choices

Have you seen the P5X, Ventum, Tririg, Cadex, Dimond, KU, etc?? :)

I think the Felt IA v1 is pretty normal looking!

Once Jim Felt sold the company its floundered in my opinion.
Ive ridden Felt since pretty much forever and have a road, mtb, and two tt bikes plus an ancient alu road bike as a dedicated indoor trainer.
My old DA and my newer B series are still plenty fast for me. The only downside Ive had with all my Felt TT bikes is the clipon aero extension mounts are sh#t. The extensions have some lateral movement no matter how tight you try and get them.

i am just a casual but i like mine. comfortable, stable in the wind. i chose it partly for looks, partly for reputation, partly for front end flexibility (dagger stem), partly for local lbs support, and fit was good. the dagger stem and bar takes time to adjust, but it actually has a ton of flexibility. stem aside, i run a profile design front. electronic shiftingis the only way imho (would have preferred di2 ultegra over force etap however for improved drivetrain efficiency). and i will take the aero hit for disc brakes at the speeds i ride.

the data sold me also. there are faster bikes at low yaw for sure, but i am not that fast, and i am in a very windy area.