Written by: Dan Empfield

Date: Mon Dec 14 2009

The Seduza frame has the big five: all-carbon frame; reasonably narrow minor diameters in its major tubes: telescoping aero seat tube and post; rear wheel cut-out; rear-entry, set-screw adjusted rear dropouts.

It sells complete for $1999 and I can't think of its equal in the marketplace (save one) such calculation based on the return on your invested peso. The Felt B16 (for 2010) is this bike's match in the sub-$2000 category, but, that's it. Nothing else compares, feature to feature.

To give you an idea of this bike's pedigree, it started its life in 2005 as the Lucero, and a complete bike at that time would've cost you more than double the price you'll pay today. The Lucero still exists, and the Seduza always was a slightly downscaled version of a frame that popped out of the same mold (expensive carbon instead of ridiculously expensive carbon).

In 2006 the Seduza sold complete at $3000 and it was a spankin' deal then. In the intervening years, this model has crept down in price as other, newer models debuted above it. But today's version is actually an upgrade over the original. The molds have been tweaked, steepening the former 76° seat angles to 78°, a bit of weight has been hogged out, and the lines smoothed for a slippery profile. A new seat post debuted in 2009 as well, and this running change has "run" its course through 2009, I presume, so all the 2010 bikes have this new seat post.

You might think, at this price, and because there is a frame of this substance on the bike, that the parts must be on a par with those found on bikes sold at Walmart. Surprisingly, no. The derailleurs are Shimano 105 (front) and Ultegra (rear). Cassette and chain are both 105. The crank is an FSA Omega compact, and this shows the careful product management of the Seduza: most triathletes ought to be on 110mm bolt pattern cranks, with 50x34 chainrings. Instead of making you upgrade the crank at the point of sale, QR puts the crank on the Seduza as original equipment.

If you don't want the compact cranks on your Seduza, no problem, your retailer will be happy to swap them out at no charge, because he's got dozens or hundreds of 130mm bolt pattern cranks he's taken off other companies' ill-spec'd bikes; you LBS would love to absorb your more salable cranks into his inventory, replacing them with the boat anchors you're choosing to "upgrade" your Seduza with.

The aerobars are Visiontech clip ons, wheels are functional Alex 220 and tires are Conti Ultra Race.

The bike is made in four sizes; they are properly graded and each size tends to fit a person of average proportion who wants to ride in a 77 to 79 degree relative seat angle.

About that new seat post: this allows riders who want to ride a bit steeper to easily get to that spot. To see what that post will look like, check the pic of QR's CD 0.1 . As noted, this was a running change during the 2009 season, and did not show up in stores until last May and June. Do not buy an "older" 2009 Seduza. Insist on the new seat post. Your retailer will rightly state that there is no difference between the 09 and 2010 models in any way: parts, frame, geometry, or cosmetics. He's right, excepting this seat post. This new post is the "change you can believe in."

Finally, the smallest size, 48cm, is built with 650c wheels and is a great choice for those 5'6" or shorter. It has a "stack" of 45.3cm and a "reach" of 39.4cm, making it very low in front for those who just can't find a bike small enough, yet it's also quite compact in length. This frame mold is made with a 78° seat angle, and I can't think of a better overall value for a woman who wants to move to a fast bike that fits very well, while nicely slotting into a reasonable price range.

In the spirit of full disclosure, and for those who don't know, I founded this company in 1987 and built it up through 1995, when I sold it to Saucony. I then managed it until 1999, when I left and started Slowtwitch. The company (currently and for most of this decade under the same umbrella ownership as Merlin and Litespeed) has had good and bad starts in the interim years, and we've tried to be faithful scribes when chronicling that process for our readers. We've been critical where the critique was warranted, which it often was. Very frankly, specific to its tri bike line, QR is just about all the way back. From the bottom (Tequilo) to the top (CD0.1) this bike line is muscular.

Unfortunately, a lot of retailers have experienced the fits and starts we've seen over most of this decade, and retailers tend toward a posture of once-burned-twice-shy. So, you might not find these bikes on showroom floors as often as you should find them, and that's too bad. But, do not be deterred. If you think a Seduza is your bike, just keep looking until you find it. Make sure it's a 2010, or at a minimum a 2009 with the new post.

There was a time when a 35mm deep rim looked oddly deep. In that era, 19mm deep box-section rims were the norm. Nowadays, 35mm looks normal. And at 82mm deep, wheels like the Zipp 808 look deep. The tubular version of the 808's rim is only 460g, which is lighter than many box-section clinchers. Many riders will think of this only as a time trial wheelset, but bigger riders could certainly use it in road racing. The Big Swiss Time Machine, Fabian Cancellara, used the 808 wheels during many stages of the 2007 Tour. It could well have been the secret to the success of his final-kilometer attack in Compeigne, where he rode away from the field to ride past the break and hold off the sprinters by a few bike lengths. And most famously, he rode 808's to the most astounding solo victory of the 2008 race season at Milan-San Remo. And the 808 front is the wheel of choice for time trials; Cancellara, David Zabriskie, and Peter Reid have all levered in an 808 front for victories against the clock, including Cancellara's gold medal ride at the Beijing Olympics.

These wheels are uniquely, remarkably fast. Tour Magazine of Germany, which specializes in extensive component testing, tested aero wheels and found this to be the fastest non-disc wheelset available anywhere on the planet; and faster than discs from zero up to 13-degrees of yaw. Many people wonder how they compare with Hed 3's/Tri-Spokes. They're not only faster, but have 28% less side force, meaning they're much easier to handle in crosswinds.

The 808 has a totally redesigned rim profile. It's now fully toroidal, based on the proven profiles of the 1080 and the Sub-9 disc. By toroidal, it means that there's a more pronounced "bulge" to the rim to reduce drag at every angle from 0 to 30 degrees. Other changes include its use of Zipp's new 88/188 hubset. As a pair they weight a mere 276g. But their beefy 17mm axles are larger in diameter than most mountain bike hubs, and their Swiss bearings are as precise as many of the ceramic "upgrades" you see in the marketplace.

Buyers of the 808 tubular will benefit from Zipp's Carbon Bridge rim construction method where Kevlar thread is stitched in a co-axial helix (think round) to bind the layers of carbon fiber at the top of each rim's sidewall. What the stitched segment does is better spread out the compressing load that the rim experiences as it nears and passes the ground. They call it a "capstone." The result is a rim that is 28% more impact resistant than earlier iterations and allows Zipp to remove material from under the tire bed (hence the diet between the previous iteration and this one).

The clincher version of the 808 seems, at least to us, to be where the difference between clincher and tubular might be least apparent. That's because of the typical application. A rim this deep is pretty much only going to be used for one thing. Timed events. And the typical timed event has very few accelerations. There's the start, there's the turnaround, maybe a few corners. Chances are the hills will be few and mild. In all these situations, a little extra weight is barely consequential, while the aero shape makes a huge difference. We see this wheel becoming very popular with triathletes, as clinchers are easy to repair in race situations.

The carbon attached to the aluminum rim in Zipp clinchers is not merely a fairing, it's a structural element to the rim. The joining of carbon to aluminum, known in Zipp-speak as M2CM, is also stronger than all get out. Since the carbon is structural, it is also shock absorbing. The rim itself weighs a mere 200g, which needs the bonded carbon lower section to work. The spokes are affixed to the carbon. Between the spoke track and the rim, the curved carbon functions as a leaf spring, compressing every so slightly to take the edge off rough and imperfect roads. If you've ever felt that deep-section wheels have a harsh ride, we recommend you try clincher Zipps; you'll come away with a different opinion.

The Zipp 808 has 16 radial spokes in the front wheel. The rear has 20 spokes, with the 10 drive side arranged in a radial pattern and the 10 non-drive spokes in a cross-two pattern. All spokes are straight-pull Sapim X-Ray with aluminum nipples. The rim width of the tubular is 26.25mm, the clincher 24mm. The depth is 82mm. The cassette body can come with Campagnolo splines or Shimano/SRAM splines for the appropriate cassettes. The tubular front wheel weighs 672g, the tubular rear 790g for a total wheel weight of 1462g. The clincher front wheel weighs 887g, the clincher rear 1004g for a total wheel weight of 1891g. One note of interest to Zipp clincher owners: The maximum recommended tire pressure on the clinchers is 125psi. Skewers are not included.

Written by: Dan Empfield

Date: Tue Dec 15 2009

At the 2006 edition of Interbike, the cycling world's important North American trade show, Felt unveiled a line of bicycles that remains the biggest step forward, one year to the next, that any brand has made in triathlon at least since the turn of the decade. Felt went from a disastrous fitting bike line to a spectacular fitting bike line, such frames also exhibiting the sex appeal and functionality to work well both for triathletes and for the riders on what is now Team Garmin-Slipstream.

What shoe makers call a "last" and what car makers call a "chassis" is in Felt's case a "frame" that forms the basis for almost its entire tri bike line. Save for the S32, all the other tri bikes Felt makeseight in allpop out of this one size run of molds. Felt places a different modulus carbon, or affixes its Bayonet fork and, presto, another bike model. This has become a common theme (consider QR's Seduza, Caliente and Lucero) and no company does it more artfully than Felt.

If you want to hop aboard a frame popping out of this Felt mold, but you're on a restricted budget, the B16 is your recession buster. The nice thing about a mold that's been around for a couple of seasons, if there were any problems with shifting, clearances, straightness, they'll probably have been sorted by now. So what you have is this very nice handling, extremely-well fitting frame, with a "lesser" fork to suit the price point, and you're off and running.

The price Felt hits with the B16 is $1999, the same as QR's Seduza, and this is a discount from last year's MSRP of $2300 for this bike. Few if any all-carbon complete tri bikes come in underneath that price.

Felt outfits the B16 with a Shimano 105 front and rear derailleur, and a "Shimano" chain and cassette which can mean something so low on the Shimano totem pole these iterations don't even bear model names. But that's okay, because nothing Shimano makes is that cheesy and, besides, these are "consumables," like tires and handlebar tape. Just know that you'll "consume" this chain and cassette a bit more quickly, so be prepared to replace each in a year or so.

The cranks are FSA Gossamer Mega EXO, an acceptable but not spectacular spec choice. This is a slight downgrade from last year's Gossamer TT Mega EXO. Then again, is it an downgrade? As far as I can tell, the TT Mega EXO has as its primary feature larger chainrings, and, most triathletes are heading in the other directionpeeling off their 130mm bolt pattern cranks in favor of 110mm compacts. So, for all practical purposes, Felt did its customers a favor by "downgrading" to the crank on the 2010 model.

An awful lot of the B16 is spec'd with Felt's proprietary parts. Rims, hubs, saddle, aerobars, stem, pursuit bar, are all Felt-branded, and the brake calipers exhibit no brand. I'm not against house brands, I'm in favor of them, because a complete bike seller should enjoy the freedom to design the parts he feels he needs to make his bike work as he think it ought.

Nevertheless, there is always the temptation to use low-cost items churned out by no-name factories, and retailers and end-users must always hold brands accountable for parts that bear the house brand logo. Are aerobars, saddles, forks, stems, handlebars, wheels and wheel parts, as commodotized and ubiquitious as nuts and bolts? No, they're not.

I'm a fan of Felt's Devox aerobars, it's done a very nice job with them. And, Felt has done well with its tri saddle. The B16 gets the saddle, but not the Devox bars. These are lower-end bars and you may have to change them out for something preferable. Still, at $1999 you have the luxury to do so and still end up with a very nice bike at a great price.

Felt does one thing no other major tri brand does: it makes its smallest two sizes with 650c wheels. If you're shorter than 5'7", go on our Slowtwitch reader forum and ask folks of a similar height whether they'd be willing to give up their 650c bikes. Four times out of five, you'll find you couldn't blast them off those wheels with a stick of dynamite. Felt caters to these shorter riders with well-conceived bikes that make the 48cm and 50cm sizes among the very best in the size run.

You've got an option you didn't have last year. For $500 more you can move to the B14, a model squeezed into the lineup, between the 12 and the 16. You don't get that much more bike for the extra moneyUltegra derailleurs, a slightly different wheelset, and those TT Mega EXO cranks you'll probably end up pulling off the bike. Best stick with the B16.

As a consumer, I'm always drawn to that place in a company's lineup where they're really straining to make a marginwhere the company's bean counters wince as they look at how much money they're not making on an item, and just shrug their shoulders and say, "We'll make back our margin on the other models." That's the soft spot where, as a consumer, I figure I'll get my best value. If I was to guess, I'd say the B16 is that soft spot. This might be the most Felt for the least dollars.

For 2010 SRAM’s original top-end professional road gruppo, SRAM Force, reclaims the spotlight with exciting upgrades, lighter weight, while continuing to deliver race-proven performance. The New SRAM Force admittedly borrows from SRAM’s professional RED gruppo, including race-inspired graphics, featuring its distinctive white logo against black carbon. The aluminum is anodized with a sleek ‘zephyr silver’ finish that sharpens the visual package. And, like RED, the SRAM logo will be featured on the inside of both crankarms.

SRAM Force moves to unidirectional (UD) carbon throughout, which adds strength and provides a better substrate for graphics. The aluminum parts of the gruppo are now forged, providing more strength, lower weight, and a more robust finish.

While all the technologies including DoubleTapTM, ZeroLossTM and Exact ActuationTM remain unchanged, the road brakes get a significant upgrade with a RED-styled skeletonized Dual Pivot design featuring spring tension adjust and center adjust. SRAM Force brakes lose weight, improve stopping power, and ease adjustability and set-up.

SRAM Force will be priced exactly as it was in 2009. S1399 (US) for the complete gruppo. Additionally. 2010 SRAM Force sheds 10 grams, weighing 2097 grams in the GXP version while reaching 1951 grams with the BB30 crank option (new for 2010).

Upgrades:

• Unidirectional carbon throughout
• Forged 6000 aluminum series parts
• Brakes - center adjust and spring tension adjust
• Bold graphics and anodized finish
• Greater value - more features, same price

Technologies:

• DoubleTap
• Exact Actuation
• ZeroLoss

Details:

• Speed: 10 rear/2 front
• Weight: 2097g (GXP), 1957g (BB30)
• Materials: Carbon fiber. Aluminum, Magnesium, Steel
• Bottom bracket: GXP & BB30

   

  Weight and Price Comparison:

  2010 SRAM Force vs. Shimano 7900
  		BB30 SRAM Force	||	Shimano 7900
  Shifters		302g		378g
  Rear Derailleur		174g		198g
  Front Derailleur		83g		104g
  Crank		645g		886g
  Brakes		280g		295g
  Cassette		210g		156g
  Chain		257g		259g
  Total		1951g		2276g
  Difference		-325g
  MSRP		$ 1,399		$ 2,599

Look 586

When I first headed out for my usual ride, I thought the bike felt wimpy. It seemed too soft and absorbing until I came to my first hill. I rose from the saddle and all I could feel was maximized pedal energy directly towards getting me up the hill. The bottom bracket flex I worried about is nonexistent. It is a very stiff, rigid, compliant bike, if that makes sense. While riding into the wind, I get a sense of efficiency coming from each stroke of the pedal. When I came to my first roundabout in Carmel, I started to slow down and lean into the corner, but I could tell the bike could handle more. When I came to the second one I just hammered through it, leaning over farther than I have before. I just flew through the roundabout, turning out 3/4 around, never once feeling nothing less than glued to the road. There is a true sense of connection with this bike, more than I have ever had before. It is one crazy bike. I have a feeling I will slowly appreciate this bike more over time, instead of immediately. The Bianchi does a lot of things well. It is no slouch, but the LOOK is so much more refined, yet stiff, responsive, and strong.