I know the AR is not offered as a frameset, YET, but it’s on my shortlist in the future for a new frame. Felt’s website doesn’t have the frameset weight on it, sooo who has the info? Superdave? Oh yea, I’m lookin for the weight of the AR2 specifically, but weight for each of the 3 framesets wouldn’t hurt either.
TIA
bump for the night crowd – anyone?
FWIW, I’ve heard that the 2010 ARs will be lighter than the 2009s. Unless you get a screaming deal on an 09, I’d wait for a 2010.
Have you ridden the AR yet?
Just curious.
I haven’t. At this point, I like it purely for cosmetic reasons. I’ve been on a Felt for a few years already, which I’m pretty happy with so far. So, that’s why I’m considering staying in the family.
I saw your mini review a couple days ago about your experience on the AR. What exactly did or didn’t you like about it?
Here’s another perspective:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=159022
FWIW, I think the author is a Felt dealer. Hope it helps.
I’m getting my AR4 on Friday, PM me if you have any questions.
My cyclocross bike is a Felt, so some love here 
I also like the “look” and function of an aero road frame. I jumped on board this concept with a Soloist Carbon way back at the end of 2005 that I’m just now replacing, so naturally I had the AR on my list.
Felt very “dead” or numb like early carbon frames. No snap when standing to accelerate or power out of a turn, up a hill, etc. Seemed slightly heavy to me - SRAM Red kit, I forget what wheels (although that was not really a priority in my choice, it does matter some since all the bikes I was considering were north of $5K). Didn’t help that I rode a Pinarello Prince before and it was stellar!
interesting and good to know. did you just go into your shop and ask for a test ride or did you have something special setup?
how would you describe your riding style? at 6’1, 160# I feel like I’m right in the middle ground in terms of height/weight ratio and am more of a spinner vs. a masher. do you think that would change the ride characteristics?
5-10", 155 lbs. neither “spinner” nor “masher”. Really depends on what you are going to use said road bike for. Race bikes definitely don’t make the best century cruisers. I’m an aggressive road rider, esp in the hills (both up and down), so I like geometry that allows a nice tight line. Not necessarily a short wheelbase, twitchy crit setup, but close.
For reference, if/when you test ride an AR, ride an F series bike as well - I road an F1SL and like it a LOT better.
interesting and good to know. did you just go into your shop and ask for a test ride or did you have something special setup?
how would you describe your riding style? at 6’1, 160# I feel like I’m right in the middle ground in terms of height/weight ratio and am more of a spinner vs. a masher. do you think that would change the ride characteristics?
Like rroof, I like my F1 SL a bit better than the AR2 I had previously, No big suprise as the F1 has a much nicer carbon material and lay up owing to the livelyness and compliance of the UHC Nano frames.
The new AR1 frameset however used on the AR1 Team Issue and 2010 AR1, AR1 Team and AR2 is a huge improvement in this area. The UHC Nano frame drops another 150 grams, but the real improvement is in ride quality. I’m a lot bigger at around 190 pounds, so the missing smoothness for me would be amplified on someone that much lighter.
One big difference in the two frames is the added stiffness the aero seatpost adds. It helps seated climbing and low RPM efforts and takes away a little bit of the cushion and compliance on those gravel, uneven, ripples and seams in the road surface.
160#? Wow, I’m jealous.
-SD