2009 is the year of higher prices in the bike industry. Bikes,
accessories, components, and gear, it seems everything is going
up...way up. There are, however, a few bikes that have come as
pleasant surprises. We've noted the CAAD9 series of bikes from
Cannondale already, an entry-level bike so popular, that we literally
can't keep them in stock. Now we have a bike for the budding
triathlete - the Felt B16. It offers you a full blown, full carbon,
tri-optimized bike at a price never seen before - $2250.00! A full
carbon bike at that price, born from the mold of the $10,000 Felt DA
super-bike, needs a closer look. Let's do it...
The 2009 Felt B16
There's
not much we can say about the frame-mold used for the Felt B16 that
hasn't already been noted by virtually every magazine, website, or
forum. It's arguably the most aerodynamic tri bike in the world (at
the time of this writing it is, these things change fast, but not
enough to matter much anymore), and the geometry is a great fit for
many different athletes. Felt had an affordable version of this bike
last year, the B12 - it was easily the most popular tri bike we sold in
the shop as you got a great machine for $2600.00, and at that price it
was a steal. The Felt B16 tops the B12 price with the same frame, and
an aero carbon fork. The only change for the frameset between the '08
B12 and the '09 B16 is an aluminum steerer tube, which I could really
care less about. Some people care about the grams in weight savings a
carbon steerer brings, but I'm worried about aerodynamics on a tri
bike, and everything else is simply window dressing. So, the
foundation of the Felt B16 is a high modulous carbon frame with a
carbon aero fork - nice start.
The B16 gets a solid drivetrain
The
components on the Felt B16 are not all that "gucci" upon first glance,
but they're surprisingly good for a bike of this price when you look a
little closer. The ten speed shifters are Shimano Dura-Ace, which is
about the only choice you have for bar-end shifters except for the
carbon SRAM Red stuff. Both the front and rear derailleurs are Shimano
105 in the new-for-2009 black color (not pictured at the time of
publishing). These are good solid components that will do their job
very well because they're being controlled by Dura-Ace shifters, and
it's the shifters that do more for the the drivetrain than any other
component (my opinion). Braking is handled by "Dual Pivot" no-name
stuff. Probably Tektro or something similar. Nothing great, but
they'll stop you fine, I'm sure. Brakes are an easy upgrade if you
don't like what comes with the B16, and a set of 105 brakes would
provide all the stopping power you'd ever need for less than $100.
Still, I'm sure the stock brakes will do the job without worry. I
like the crankset on the bike - the FSA Gossamer Mego Exo TT. It's not
carbon, but I'd actually expect something a little cheaper on this
bike, because a manufacturer would probably be safe to figure you'd
except anything at this price. Instead, Felt chose a good, stiff,
two-piece crank with an equally good bottom bracket. Smart move.
Felt's new modular tri bars
Felt's new tri handlebars form the cockpit of the B16. Felt has been working
on an entire line of tri bars for a few years, and they're now set to
release a few different models at various price pints. From what I've
seen of them, they're all well thought out, modular (meaning you can
exchange pieces for fitting purposes), and should work well for any
triathlete. The B16 includes the un-named "aero base bar with 'F' bend
extensions." The reach is adjustable, and you can exchange the
extensions with those from other brands like Profile, HED, Oval, etc.
if you have a favorite.
The wheelset is Felt's TTR-4 - a
good solid 30mm deep set of hoops. Good for training, acceptable for
racing, and there's not much more to say about them. They roll, what
more do you want at this price people!?
The Felt B16 is a great
full-carbon bike at a price never seen before (at least not on sale).
I suspect this will be a very popular tri-bike for 2009, and I also
suspect they'll sell out quickly just like Felt's 2008 tri bikes. We
expect them to become available a the end of this month (September '08)
in limited numbers. The initial run will sell out quickly, and they'll
be better availability at the first of the year. Our opinion is that
this could be THE tri bike for 2009. Lot's of super bikes will be
announced over the next few weeks, but their prices will be crazy-high.
The Felt B16 is a super areo bike at a price for the newbie...nice.