VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P93
THE WAITING
We began talking in October 2022 about me
reviewing the new state-of-the-art, California-built
Felt AI 2.0 tri bike. I liked the idea because it would
surely be better than my 10-year-old but beloved
Fuji D6 tri bike and would get me excited about
training again. Anything different is always good
when it comes to the seemingly endless training
hours. Plus, I thought it would be cool to ride a Felt
bicycle since I had known Mr. Felt from my early
days as Cycle News' motocross race reporter. Jim
was always super cool to me at the races.
Unfortunately, my Felt bike wouldn't be avail
-
able until March 2023, and my race in Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho, was in June, which isn't a lot of
time to get used to such a specialized bicycle for
an endurance race like Ironman. March came and
went but the bike finally arrived. My first ride on it
was April 8, and it was an eye-opener.
FIRST RIDE
TT bikes are very specialized. They are designed
to do one thing and one thing only—go fast! And
I indeed could feel the speed difference between
it and my faithful Fuji. I'm not a bicycle junkie by
any means, but even I could tell this bike rips and
while using less effort—more speed with less
people-power, I'm in! I already like this bike.
Tri bikes aren't known for their comfort, partly
explaining why you don't see many on the road.
When it comes to TT bikes, speed takes prece
-
dence over comfort. Surprisingly, I found the
Felt quite comfortable—for a tri bike, of course.
The 56cm carbon-fiber frame I chose for my 6'1"
Felt offered Cycle News the IA 2.0 to ride at the Coeur
d'Alene Ironman, which worked out well since the
author was already registered for the race.
