Felt DA - You CAN buy speed!

This is a blog entry I really should have done a long time ago but I keep forgetting. My sponsor Huntteri, which is the importer to Finland for Felt Bicycles has been incredibly generous to set me up with what is perhaps the fastest bike on the roads today. The Felt DA.

In my past cycling teams I have had sponsors including Cannondale, Pinerello, Specialized, and Trek but I can honestly say that Felt has done their homework to make a superior time trial and triathlon bike. While it is obvious I am biased because of my sponsorship by Felt, I will try to keep this review as honest and straight forward as possible.

Historically time trial bikes were not very comfortable and handling was poor at best. The Felt DA set up blows away the previous standards for TT bikes and gives a comfortable and very precise ride. The steering mechanism is perhaps the key and provides a stiff and responsive feel thanks to it's unique design. Also the adjustable stem makes fine tuning the riding position very simple. The bikes all come with three different lengths of stems as well.

Aerodynamically, the bike has all the latest concepts represented with internal cable routing, massive real wheel cutout, hidden rear brake and the lengthened head tube thanks to the external steerer tube. Most importantly in my opinion is the choice of Zipp 1080 (rear) and Zipp 808 (front) wheels that are the best aero wheels available. Just take a look at what the guys are riding in the Tour de France time trials. Even teams not sponsored by Zipp use their wheels after removing the decals. I might not be able to afford wind tunnel testing to back up my opinions on aerodynamics but you can learn a lot from looking and reading about how the top time trial riders set up their bikes and why.

The Zipp 1080 rear wheel out performs any disc wheel because it can handle cross winds much better, which saves energy, plus the aerodynamics are virtually the same as a disc in a straight line. Especially in triathlon where the conditions will always be changing during the day, the combination of the 1080 and 808 is the best option to maximize aerodynamics while still being able to handle varying winds.

The overall setup for the bike including components and design is very well thought out. Shimano Dura-Ace is the best performing component group available and the DA includes the full group. Felt has been very smart in designing the aero frame to accept normal brake calipers and bottom bracket, where as you see many other current tt bikes requiring custom or special components just to fit within the frame.

The Devox (Felt's own brand) aero bar is surprisingly well designed for a first generation product. The bars include special rubber grips that are very comfortable and safe even when in wet conditions. The extensions come extra long in an 'S bend' style to allow for cutting down to either 'ski bend' or 'straight' style. Personally I cut them to the short ski bend for my ideal hand position. Only down side I see to these bars is the lack of adjust ability for the extensions to move narrower or wider. The arm rests are able to move side to side but the actual bars are in a fixed position. It works fine for me but some people might want more range there.

Perhaps the only other thing that could be improved is the seat post clamp design that is very tightly built and can make pulling the seat post out very difficult if it has been in place for a long time.

The Felt DA is the flag ship of Felt's time trial and triathlon series of bikes and they spare no expense in making the fastest possible bike. Its 9000€ retail price tag is steep but considering the wheels, components and design, I feel its a valid price. Its notable that their cheaper bikes are similarly designed and use almost the same frame but smartly chosen components to help reduce the price. If you are in the market for tt bike, Felt is definitely at the front of the pack and worth considering. http://www.feltracing.com/09-catalog-international/time-trial-triathlon.aspx

My Felt DA will be available for purchase at the end of the 2009 season in November after Ironman 70.3 world championships. If you are looking for the fastest possible bike and want to save a little money, my DA has only 700kms on it and is guaranteed to make you faster! Offers are now being accepted at darby1kenobi at yahoo dot comm.

Antwerp 70.3 - 2009

Antwerp was my first real triathlon three years ago and was part of what got me hooked on the sport. I have come back every years since then and this being my third year was equally as fun as the first one.

Three years ago on my first attempt I struggled through the day and was completely burned by the end. This year was a large contrast in that I was able to push hard the whole day. And the times reflect that too. 16 minutes faster than my first time in Antwerp!

The result for 2009 was 11th place, which was a hard earned place this year. Last year I managed 7th place but looking at the times and the feeling I had in the race, I believe this year was a much better race. Not only was I faster in ALL three sports, but my strength was solid the whole day. Unfortunately for me, there is becoming much more competition at the 70.3 events and Antwerp 2009 was no different. 13 different Ironman and 70.3 champions started the event combined with many olympic distance athletes including some who had competed in Beijing.

I knew the competition would be tougher this year so I made sure to focus on my own race and my own feeling the whole day. I tried not to get distracted when the swim start was INSANELY fast. When there were others on the bike who could equal my pace, I did not worry. And on the run when I felt it was my best run ever, and still someone ran past me like I was standing still, I did not freak out. In the end I am very proud that I was able to race within my limits and not push too hard. It has been my downfall in many races where I tried too hard to follow someone stronger than me only to have my race fall apart later because I burned my engine. I feel like I am finally learning how to race and feel when to push my body.

The only mistakes I made in the race were perhaps in the swim start by not forcing myself to the front line before the gun. Then during the bike I crashed on the last corner by not being careful enough with the rain soaked roads. And finally on the run by not concentrating enough during the 2nd of 3 laps and perhaps lost a couple minutes there.

BUT... it was still my best overall time with a 3:54. My PR run with a 1:18 and 2 minutes faster than last year. Bike was slightly faster than last year. So was swim with one minute faster than last year.

So, the feeling is good right now. While I was dissappointed to not come away with a better placing and some prize money to pay back the expenses, it is nice to know I am almost on the same level with the top guys. Only thing lacking at this point is a little more speed in the swim start, then the story is completely different.

Now I am taking a short break to recover completely before I start a serious block of training that culminates in November with the world championships. After seeing my performance in Belgium I have set my goals for worlds to be a sub 3:50 time, with a sub 1:15 run. All of which I believe are possible I can concentrate over the next three months of training.