The Felt Nine 3 feels Tonka toy tough and it’s a friend on trails you don’t know, feeling stout and secure beneath your feet. It’s not a bruiser, though – the extra weight is component-borne rather than from meat in the frame. 

This chassis is a race weight, fine-tuned item, but one with an element of finesse, especially in the rear end, which was relatively very comfortable. The 71.5-degree front end places a bit more weight over the bar than we’d like, but this is a hangover from Felt’s desire to make this a serious race bike, which it is. 

In stock form you don’t want to be stopping and starting it – the 12kg (26lb) weight tells – but once rolling it holds speed very well. Wise upgrading will reveal the lithe blaster that’s lurking under the decals. 

It’s a fast steering bike that will please riders who like pinpoint slow-speed precision.

Felt have gone for the benchmark tapered head tube for a more stable front end when the action hots up. The headstock is beefy – in fact, it makes the very large down tube, with all its flex-resisting strength seem normal size. That steeply sloping top tube is narrower, but still a stout old thing in relation to the skinnier seatstays. 

Seatstays are the de facto place for engineering in some bum-cosseting vertical compliance, and there’s a power delivery upside to such flex. You can stay relaxed in the saddle, and on the gas, when you might otherwise be hovering tensely. That ability’s enhanced here by Felt’s decision to go with a flexiest size of seatpost, the now unfashionably (because dropper posts rarely fit) skinny 27.2mm. 

Componentry is a mix of mid-field, reassuringly solid X9 and X7 SRAM running gear with a non-series S-1000 2x10 alloy compact crank. The fork is a 100mm travel QR1-axle Recon Gold with leg top lockout, the next model down in the RockShox  pecking order. 

One issue that really should be fixed is the rear brake hose routing. As it passes the headstock it’s loopy, ugly and prone to waving in the wind. We also suggest losing the conical Aheadset bearing cap as it adds 2cm of height to the front end, and lowering the stem by removing spacers. 

The Nine 3 is a workhorse that performs well in stock form, and a bit of wise component upgrading will, over time, leave you with a real weapon. 

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.

We tested the F5 last year  and were impressed with the ride quality. Getting out on the 2013 version was like slipping into a favourite pair of comfy shoes. Even better news for potential buyers is the price reduction – it might only be £50/US$230 less but that’s still a saving worth having.

Frame & equipment: Light and dependable but rolling stock needs attention

Felt’s F Series bikes had a major overhaul back in 2011. The frame’s carbon layup was optimised to reduce weight to the 900g mark while improving stiffness and ride quality. That goes some way to improving the 2013 F5’s overall weight of 8.26kg (18.21lb), impressive for a bike at a price of just £1,649/US$2,069.

Despite the bike’s modest price tag, it’s certainly not outclassed in the spec department. It features full Shimano 105, Mavic-rimmed wheels and nice touches such as a carbon seatpost, quality cockpit and classy Prologo saddle.

The drivetrain performs faultlessly, as you’d expect from Shimano’s solid, dependable 105. We were also impressed with Felt’s compact drop bar and classy stem. Out back, a carbon seatpost is a classy touch, and we’re big fans of the Prologo Nago saddle shape.

Though the frame is a class performer, its tech details are starting to look a little dated, especially compared with Felt’s hugely impressive Z5. All the cable routing is external, and there’s no provision for electronic drivetrains should you want to upgrade at a later date. If you’re happy to stay with mechanical gearing for as long as you’ll have the bike then it’s a bargain, though.

Our only issue with the F5 is the wheels. Mavic’s CXP22 rim has been around for over a decade, and its semi-deep profile makes for a stiff rim. The construction will last and last, and it’s a popular choice for training wheel builds. The Felt branded hubs are simple but solid, too, but the overall package is a little heavier than the frame deserves.

The same can be said of the boots it’s running. Vittoria Rubino Pros are hard-wearing, solid tyres. They’re a great choice for off-season use but you’d want to step up a grade or two before your racing gets into full swing.

Ride & handling: Race-ready but still comfortable

The slender, understated frame has race-ready geometry, and the low chassis weight makes for a bike that’s imminently chuckable. Unlike plenty of bikes designed for speed, though, the F5 isn’t a hard ride.

In fact, we’d go so far as to say that its overall characteristic is suppleness. It’s light and lively over broken road surfaces, but stiff and stable enough to handle the stresses when you throw down the power. Felt’s compact drop bar and stem are both stiff enough during sprints but without transferring any road buzz to your hands.

All in all, we’re still big fans of the F5. It was a top proposition when it was launched and is still a class act in the riding stakes. It is starting to show its age features-wise, but is a bargain for the money.

This bike was tested as part of Cycling Plus magazine’s 2013 Bike Of The Year feature

The original Z-Series carbon frame set the standard for Felt’s distance bike range as it combined endurance-focused geometry and decent components at competitive prices. More recently, though, the frame was starting to show its age, lacking provision for electronic drivetrains and in need of losing a few grams to keep up with the advancing competition.

Ride & handling: Comfortable and light for sportive riders and climbers

The ride is absolutely defined by a beautiful smoothness, which is impressive seeing seeing as Felt haven’t resorted to fitting a 25c tyre, relying on Mavic’s standard 23c Aksion’s that come as part of the Aksium wheelset package. We’d love to try the Z5 with a bigger volume tyre, as we’d expect it to become a cobble-busting blaster perfect for the Classics.

The ride position is quite upright and, though the geometry of 72.5-degree head angle and 72.5-degree seat angle combined with a 200mm head tube and 575mm effective top tube length isn’t particularly relaxed, we quickly dropped the stem down as it comes with over an inch of spacers below.

We’d still like to drop it further but a cone-shaped headset bearing top limits slamming it down any further. We recommend changing this cone spacer as soon as you can, especially if you’d like to use the Z5 for racing duties as well.

Despite the slightly elevated position, the Z5 still has impressive handling traits. The front end reacts quickly without getting nervy and the head tube never exerts any drama. The long 102.5cm wheelbase adds to the stability but it does dull the edges a little when you’re snapping through a pack or railing through a section of S-bends.

Frame & equipment: Future-proof frameset with smooth 105

For 2013 the Z-Series carbon has been revamped from the ground up, not that you’d know from its quietly understated looks and thankful lack of overstated acronyms.

Up front there are all new, all carbon forks with a steerer that tapers from 1.25in to 1.5in. The fork design features a ridged central spine on the legs that’s continued into the oversized head tube. These ridges change the profile of the head tube into a more ovalised shape, which Felt claim bolsters the front-end stiffness.

This leads into a squared profile, oversized down tube flowing into a huge BB30 compatible bottom bracket. Oversized chainstays with full carbon dropouts curve upwards in their final few inches flowing in one continuous piece into slender seatstays.

While the bottom half of the frame is all about the business of stiffness and power transfer, the top sections are designed to offer comfort. The top tube starts wide and broad but quickly tapers down to a very slender joint with the equally slender seat tube.

Unlike the previous generation Z-Series carbon frames, the new chassis features full internal cable routing. That keeps cables out of the elements and away from grime, meaning it’ll keep running smoother for longer. It also adds compatibility to the latest electronic drivetrains, as where the cables enter and exit the frame it’s a dual fit design to take either wider (mechanical) or narrower (electronic wiring) cables.

The 105 gearing works smoothly and efficiently. Felt have used an FSA Gossamer chainset in place of the expected 105 unit. That’s due to compatibility with the BB30 standard bottom bracket shell and Shimano’s reluctance to produce their chainsets in this ever more popular standard.

Felt have taken a considered approach to gearing, specifying a 50/34 compact combined with a wide-ranged 11/32 cassette. That gives a decent gear for speed and a 34/32 bailout gear that will get you up and over the most extreme climbs.

As mentioned above, Mavic provide their complete wheel system. It combines the great value Aksium wheelset with matching Aksion tyres. These may be marketed as a budget package but the French manufacturer’s quality is still present and they’ve been hassle free and smooth rolling throughout the test.

Stopping duties are handled by Shimano’s 105 brakeset. Quite often this is a place where manufacturers will try to save some cash but Felt’s choice of speccing great quality brakes (and importantly quality cartridge pads) means the Z5’s braking prowess is absolutely spot on, consistent in feel and power whatever the weather conditions might throw at you.

The frame’s smoothness is further enhanced by the quality 27.2cm diameter Felt UHC carbon seatpost. This is topped with a Prologo Kappa saddle. We got on really well with it, despite it being firm and narrow.

The shallow and short Felt drop bars are very easy to live with and the compact dimensions make switching between hand-holds quick and fuss free. The shorter reach makes for a relaxed on-the-hoods position that we were more than happy to spend hour after hour in.

This article was originally published in Triathlon Plus magazine

Felt’s Z95 has something other bikes under £650 don’t necessarily have: nine-speed gearing. The significance isn’t the number of gears, but the Felt manages a higher top gear than some other theoretically racier bikes, and a low bottom gear. There are no mudguard eyelets, so it’s not in winter trainer territory, and given its geometry stands in the ground marked endurance and sportive bike.

The frame is par for the course – Taiwanese-made 6061 aluminium – but it’s beautifully finished for the price and the fellas at Felt have seriously raised the game when it comes to spec. The nine-speed Sora groupset with compact FSA Tempo chainset is a very impressive setup for your 650 quid.

Sora’s levers are, ergonomically, a huge improvement over both Shimano’s 2300 and the Microshift specced on the 2012 Z95. Unlike 2300, shifting up the cassette is possible when you’re riding on the drops, and paired with the 11-32 cassette – with saucer-size inner sprocket – its gear range is virtually the equal of a triple.

NThe knee-friendly lowest gear more than makes up for the downside of larger jumps between gears, and allowed us to stay in the saddle and climb regardless of the length or severity of the hills we hit.

It’s ideal for a bike for long-distance riding and sportives, lower gears coming into their own after long, hard miles. It’s a good choice for newer riders too, or returning older riders who might need to look after their knees.

The combination of slightly shorter top tube, slacker head angle and taller head tube (18cm) puts less pressure on your lower back as the miles mount up, but the position isn’t that extreme, and with the 50x11 top gear you can hit high speeds and maintain them well.

The Felt also has great stoppers: cartridge brakes, combined with chunky dual-pivots offering the best mix of power and control. The wheels are pretty much the norm: Alex R500 rims with Felt’s skinny own-brand hubs. Competent if not hugely exciting. The overly padded saddle wasn’t that popular either, but might appeal more to newer riders. The only compromises have been in the use of own-brand kit.

If you’re looking for a bike for sportives, Felt’s well-specced, comfortable and classy-looking Z95 should be close to the top of your list.

This article was originally published in Cycling Plus magazine