Dan,
Thanks for choosing to write about the S32, I’m glad it made your short list of reviewed entry level triathlon bikes. I would love to have the opportunity to fill in some of the missing details, and offer some clarifications on points of concern you’ve raised. It seems you may have been misinformed on a few items. Let me know if you’d like to go over the enitre review and have my comments via phone or email, or if you’d like me to just post my corrections here.
You wrote:
"The S32
I think it’s fair to say that Felt has, in the past two seasons, broken from the pack and ensconced itself clearly in second place in the world of tri bike sales. This happened for two reasons: Felt introduced its new DA/B2 mold for the 2007 season; and with the introduction of that mold, all its bikes (including its aluminum bikes) were geometrically redesigned to fit properly. Prior to the 2007 season, the bikes were a terrific value, it’s just that the damned things didn’t fit anyone, at least not without some fairly serious jury rigging.
This is now the third consecutive season of bikes that fit like a dream (and also like a Cervelo), and it was only a matter of time before Felt got out of its own geometric way and made bikes that you could ride without being a contortionist. Because Felt, since its inception, has been a world leader at ingenious and aggressive spec, these well-fitting machines outfitted with sexier spec for the buck are making a run at Cervelo.
All that is just what you’d expect me to say, right? I’ve been saying pretty much this for the past two years, and Felt deserved every praiseworthy report of mine. But I must tell you that with this specific bike, the S32, Felt—the company that so often catches the bike world with its pants down—has been disrobed itself by those in its competitive set. This isn’t to say that the S32 is not a good value, or a good bike. It’s that other companies are very frankly making a better bike in this category.
First, there is the frame. There’s a round seat post going into a round-to-aero seat tube. This is do-able on a $1200 bike, but not one selling for $1550, not when QR’s Tequilo offers sexier features for only $50 more.
Then there’s the house-brand aerobars. I give Felt a 10 for bravery. Certain things you just don’t expect to see house-branded on a bike, and this is one of them. Do these bars deserve to be on a bike? Or are they an overreach? I don’t have an opinion yet, because I have not spent enough time with them. But $1500 is not nothing. Even though it’s the tri bike market entry price, it’s still a chunk to spend. Maybe the bar is an upgrade over last year’s Profile Design Aerolite. But the Aerolite is not the only alternative. Felt is taking a big risk on a proprietary aerobar. Ironically, though, the risk is bigger on an entry level bike like this. You can pull an OE bar off a $4500 bike and replace it with what the customer wants. Not so on a $1500 bike—there’s just not enough profit to fiddle around with these bikes; they have to be built ready to ride out the door.
The crank is the one area where, arguably, Felt holds its own. It depends on whether you consider Shimano’s crank an upgrade. I spoke to one of Felt’s largest dealers about this issue. The dealer also sells many QRs and Cervelos. His shop considers this one of the big values of Felt’s S32, that the shifting of Shimano cranks, with Shimano derailleurs, is superior to the shifting on FSA’s cranks (the cranks that Cervelo and QR spec on their entry level tri bikes).
Okay, maybe. It’s a fair point to argue. But this crank, Shimano model FC-R550, you will probably not find in Shimano’s catalog or on its website. It bolts to a Hollowtech bottom bracket, but it is not, itself, a hollow crank. It is an OE model that sits below Tiagra in the food chain. I can understand no Ultegra, and I can maybe understand no 105 on this bike. But not even a Tiagra? (And if you follow this better-shifting narrative, what do we do with Felt’s B2, which is spec’d with an FSA crank?)
There is one specific thing Felt does that most other companies do not: their smallest two sizes use 650c wheels. Felt does an excellent job of making tri bikes that fit smaller riders."
Thanks Dan, hope to speak with you soon.
Dave Koesel
Felt Road Brand Manager
(949) 268-4464