Some BT members have contacted me about the 07 Felt S22 frame I bought on ebay from xstuffmarket and I thought I'd share my experiences with the frame.
I won the auction on Aug. 10 for $390.15
(shipping included
) for the frame, and paid on Aug. 11. I thought I'd be waiting 2 weeks on the frame, but it arrived on Aug. 18! Pretty amazing that it came from Asia so quickly, considering I'm still waiting for other bike parts coming from California. I also bought the fork and double-offset seatpost from the same seller. The seatpost hasn't come in yet, but I can sell you a little about the fork as well.
First impressions: The frame looks awesome, and is really light in my opinion. I plan on taking measurements to ensure correct geometry, but a quick naked eye inspection proves that all is well and good. The construction quality looks to be on par with other Felt products. I did notice the clearcoat on the carbon part of the fork and carbon seatstays of the frame had a few minor imperfections. I'll take some pics and post them later. They're barely visible and they do not look like they compromise the strength of the frame. But since they are present on both the fork and frame, I'd like to think his other stock has these imperfections as well. They don't bother me one bit, though, because I'll probably scratch the frame with I fall from forgetting to unclip my SPD shoes.
It seems this particular frame was made for the European market, since the warning stickers said "ACHTUNG!" instead of "WARNING!" and were in German.
The area where the serial number is engraved on the bottom bracket tube either wasn't painted
(at all; no color or clearcoat
) or the paint was removed for some reason. I don't know if this is typical with other 07 S22 frames, but I found that weird. Good thing it's on the bottom of the frame! I'm going to try to email Felt and see if the serial number is legit and/or in their system.
Again, I'll do more measurements as I go through, and post some good pics when I have the chance.
Some other things to note:
-The rear derailleur hanger is brazed on; it's not a removable hanger like more recent Felt bikes.
-There are three felt 'stickers' that cover the transition between carbon and aluminum on the frame seatstays.
-Inner diameter of the head tube is 38mm. I got a FSA Orbit IS 1" integrated headset. Hope it works!
-The box it came packed did not look like it was originally for a frame. They packed the frame well inside, but then threw on random pieces of cardboard to make a makeshift diamond-shaped box! Luckily, no damage was done to the frame so I can't complain.
-Did I mention how awesome the frame looks?
Here are the parts I've purchased to complete the bike:
-Felt 3.1 carbon double-offset aero seatpost
(also from xstuffmarket
)
-53/39 Ultegra Octalink crankset and Shimano bottom bracket
-SRAM 9-speed chain
(PC-951 with powerlink
)
-Shimano 105 front derailleur
-Shimano Ultegra 9-speed rear derailleur
-Tiagra 9-speed 11-25 cassette
(I also got an Ultegra 11-23 but I like the wider range
)
-Aerus C4TT integrated handlebar, base bar, stem
-Tektro bar end brake levers
-Dura-Ace 9-speed bar end shifters
-Used Felt house brand brake calipers
-tri saddle from a Felt B2
(used, from ebay
)
-Forte Carve PSD pedals
I plan on getting a nice set of wheels and maybe a new seat. I'm starting to like the ISM Adamo seats. A yellow one would look cool and match the yellow accents on the S22 frame.
So there are my thoughts! Enjoy, and all comments are welcome!
Edited by pfadul 2009-08-20 9:27 AM