I have been racing xterra’s for the last several years and am going to race some half irons this season. I have a great road bike, but am looking at true tri/tt bikes. The shop I race for now carries Felts, so the basic question is; given they both fit, is the B2 worth the $700-$750 it would cost me over the B12 or would they money be better saved for improved race wheels? Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance, Chris
We just did a pretty decent comparison of a number of competitive bikes in the $2500 price range such as the B12 at a Felt mandated, publishable MSRP of $2699. Here is a little of what we learned:
Felt’s TTR3 40mm deep wheelset has comparable aerodynamics to some race wheels costing *much *more. That is a bonus on a bike with a $2699 MSRP. The Bayonet front end *does *offer a perfromance advantage in our opinion based on our experience riding the B2 Pro. Check out our review of the B2 Pro here:
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/feltB2Pro.shtml
Pay particular attention to the sections referring to the bayonet front end.
I hope these references are helpful in your decision.
Thanks for the great review/info. Now all I have to do is get it cleared by the CFO(wife). Thanks, Chris
As Tom has said, we’ve developed the TTR concept in the wind tunnel. While the wheel does not quite offer the benefit of say the Zipp 404, it is considerable faster than many wheels costing much more. After some refinement the wheels aerodynamic performance exceeded that of every spoked wheel from another popular french company.
Look for some more technical TTR information when we launch these wheels into our aftermarket parts line in the spring.
Tom’s comments on the Bayonet are pretty spot on.
Regards,
-SD
Great idea on getting sign off from the CFO! I just got my brand new B12 this week. So far it fits and feels great (I upgraded from an 2003 s22)! After being F.I.S.T. fitted I was able to get 79 degree seat tube angle (with the adjustable seat post). Also, with the money saved over the B2, I upgraded the cranks to the FSA Team Pro, Carbon Cobra Base Bar, and sonic sx aero bars. I was able to do all of this for about $3k out the door. Other than the bayonet fork & cockpit (which I upgraded anyway), I didn’t see any difference between the B2 and the B12. On the felt site it does say the b2 has ultra high modulous carbon fiber over the b12’s high modulous carborn. I guess the difference is a 20% lighter frame and perhaps a little more stiffness. I bet I’ll never ever notice a difference between the two. We also weighed both bikes and after my upgrades to the b12 we were at 17.8 lbs. When I put on the Zipp 909’s I’d figure that number should go down a little bit more. So that’s my take, I purchased the lesser priced felt and upgraded with the money that left over. Personally, I liked the all black and white accents on the b12 versus grey and yellow on the B2. Once I figure out how to post pics, I’ll push it up to this site
I’m in somewhat the same situation as Westhuron. I really want the B2 but the color scheme kills it for me. I hate to go with a B12 since I would really like to have the bayonet front end but since there are no other color options for the B2/B2 Pro. Also the B12 seems to have glossy paint and I would love the matte finish on the other bikes. Sigh. I might wait for a used older black and white DA to come on the market I guess.
Dave would it be that expensive to offer a more modest color option for the B2? It’s a lot of money to have it done aftermarket and it seems like you would cover both segments, those who want the cool yellow/black paint mix and those of us who want what the bike is doing to be the standout characteristic, not the flashy colors.
-Andrew Saar
Trisports has a 52 and 54 da frameset for 2889 i believe, if i was going to dump my p3c for anything it would be a DA. I would do just to try the da out if i could do so without losing too much money in the transaction 
In the spirit of believing you can’t have too much information, here is another review of the B12.
http://thesportfactory.com/site/gearreview/Felt_B12.shtml
That writer’s belief seems to be that the B-12 is the better “value.” In the spirit of full disclosure, I just picked up my new B2 Pro last week, and I absolutely love it. The only complaint I have is that I really didn’t have the option of purchasing the complete bike because it comes with 606’s, which I had already purchased last season. I guess I could have sold my current 606’s which have less than 500 miles on them, but I would have taken a beating on that sale. Thus, I purchased the frameset and built the bike up. I really like the build, but the frameset doesn’t have the bayonet front end. I’m not sure how to post a pic.
Tom, out of curiosity, how tall are you? Riding a 52 with 175mm cranks sounds strange to me. I’m not doubting your expertise in fitting, just curious.
I know I REALLY wish I could squeeze down to a 54 but it just won’t work. I need a 58 but could get away with a 56 possibly, no way I could go all the way down to a 54. Shame as that’s a really good deal they have going now.
Regarding the wheels, they were the reason I went with the S22. For under 2k, I got the 2008 bike which comes with bladed spokes and a 40mm rim, I beleive. That was a pleasant surprise for me, considering most bikes in that price range come with terrible wheels.
I just bought a new 07 B2 for 2800. I can’t complain.
Andrew,
Choosing colors may be one of the most difficult things we do. There are so many opinions and choices, often times we’ll find one color that has 50% of the people very happy, and the other 50% completely put off. The other worry is we have so many different models, each one needs its own creative look.
The B2 uses a color that has been very popular for us. Since 2004 we’ve used a mix of Black and Yellow on one model or another and it has always done very well. Developing a second color for one model would mean doubing our efforts in every area: forecasting, inventory, photoshooting, artwork and creative, even the decal costs and integration of the look of the components. It would undoubtedly increase the cost of the bike all the while not adding any value.
I’m afriad the options for you are to seek out a 2007 as you’ve mentioned, or focus your eyes one something other than the C&G. In all seriousness, what would be your dream color? Have you seen the Tk1 Olympic graphics from our new track bike? Is that too simple for an OE standpoint?
-SD
Dave,
I hope my comments came across clearly. I 100% sympathize with how much time and effort must go into the choice of colors and combinations. I actually think your color schemes are great, they’re just a little too much for me. I’m ga ga about the bikes themselves and maybe I could get over the colors eventually but I guess I just figure if I’m spending that kinda scratch I don’t want to have to “get over” it.
I have seen only one picture of the TK1, the one that was on your news site with a lady track star riding it. It doesn’t really show the color scheme very well so I can’t say for sure. I can say this, the way the 07 DA looked or the way the B12 looks now with matte would be exactly the kind of thing that would appeal to someone as boring colorwise as I am. Those just look sharp and clean and I know I can throw any thing on and it’s not going to clash with black and white/grey.
Like I said at the beginning, I’m just silly over the new B2 and have a ton of respect for the killer products you guys put out at any given price point. You almost always pick the right equipment combos and don’t skimp. I was just curious how much effort (apparently a lot) it was for non-colored version of the current bikes.
For now I’ll try and find someone who is really, really, REALLY hard up for cash and has an 07 DA they need to sell.
-Andrew Saar
In all seriousness, what would be your dream color?
-SD
Something simple that doesn’t “scream” with accents. Black, red, white are all great base colors. Stick with strong base colors and light accents - especially on the wheels (although I often take my stickers off…)
IMHO - you guys went a little over board with the accent colors from this year on the B2Pro and B2. I like a little more simple F1, F2, F4 or S32 approach.
Just my 2 cents coming from a current F15 rider and a future “B2 price point” consumer.
Thanks for the input, I realize that not everyone has the perspecitve of seeing everything (all of the models) all at once, and viewing this exercise as something that needs to change year to year and not repeat itself from previous years.
The dominating color for all of the carbon tri bikes is still black, still true to the original Felt scheme, but matte black with white decals can only be reinvented so many times.
Look at the component companies now, tired of silver, black, etc…you have companies like SRAM that take a huge risk using color as they do with RED. Puting color on a component often means it simply will not look good with other colors of adjecent hues. The fire engine red of SRAM’s Red group might clash with a Ferrari red or even a bright orange. That said, when the look of the RED group in integrated with the bike’s C&G the combo is very striking to me, perhaps more so than just a silver component selection.
-sD
It’s funny how beauty can be in the eye of the beholder. I’m the opposite of Keyser in that I wanted more red on the bike. Hence, I ended up with this:
Some may think it gaudy but I absolutely love how it turned out. I’ve also been looking for an excuse to post and have ST criticize me (i.e., really, there’s spacers on there?!?!). So I have that going for me as well, which is nice.
Looks good, your aerobar extensions are not symmetrical left to right.
If spacers are a concern of yours, you can flip the stem over and get rid of one or two.
You are missing Red speedplay pedals too.
-SD
Thanks. There are red speedplays on it now. I had been waiting for them to come in. I’m still dialing the aerobars in a bit.
Looks good, your aerobar extensions are not symmetrical left to right.
If spacers are a concern of yours, you can flip the stem over and get rid of one or two.
You are missing Red speedplay pedals too.
-SD
You forgot the most important thing…
