Felt S22 vs. Felt B16

Well i don't have any aero data to back it up, but i can not see much difference if any, between the  B16 and the S22.  Even their weight is almost identical, not that it matters.

If you would be stretching your budget with the B16 and not have money for anything else then my choice would be to go with the S22.  with the money left you can buy an aero helmet and a wheel cover for the rear, then you can look in the classifieds for a used race wheel for the front.  The S22 set up that way will be faster than the B16. 

Make sure that you get fitted properly, thats the most important thing.  Also, make sure that you would be happy with aluminum and that you won't suffer from carbonitis upgrade in the the near future.  I have the older version of the S22, the S32, it is a 2006  and i'm more than happy with it.

I bought my B16 last October and paid full price of $2199+tax.  So, you'd be saving even more on the bike many said the best deal on the market. One great factor of B16 to consider is that its frame & folk are the same as the ones on B10 which cost $5799. 

I love mine and it may change my best leg of Tri race to be the bike from the run this season.  

I have to say i am still torn.. I didnt relize the frame and fork are the same as the B10. I thought the B16 had a lower end carbon frame.

How does the S22 absorb the bumps of the road?  

I have a B16 and love it.  With that said ..if I had to do it again I would have at least considered the S22. I bought mine b/c I thought that it would absorb a little more than my Aluminum road bike. I did not find this to be true. Some may disagree with me but my body can't tell the difference.  Another thing to consider is durability. Taking a spill or it  falling of a rack  never really worried me too much with my road bike.

How much money will you have left in your budget if you go for the B16?

You won't notice the difference in the road between those two frames in the way the absorb bumps.  Once again,  if the B16 leaves you without money for some of the other things that would also make a difference, i would go for the S22 without thinking it twice.

IMHO, if you're looking to keep this bike for awhile and know you're still gonna be riding and doing tri's on it for some time to come, get the most bike you can (safely) afford (i.e. don't overextend yourself).  You know better how the B16 would or would not do that.   If you can add a ~$100 aero helmet (search classifieds here/ST) to the B16, I'd do that. 

If you're thinking you'll want to jump to somehting even nicer in a few years, go with the S22 (and a powermeter ).  Triports.com had an article comparing the Felt Aluminum frame to the Cervelo Al frame and basically pointed out that the Felt "aero" Al isn't really all that aero (so the B16 will be an improvement there).  How much? 1 min? 2 min?  That's a good question, but the difference in aerodynamics is real.

I know it is the same mold, but I think (again I THINK) that they use a different carbon weave and layup.  So you get the same shape frame (aero properties) but a different carbon material.

Scratch that... just looked at the Felt site and it appears, from what they say in the specs, that it is indeed the same frame.  Might have been some of the earlier model years that used different layups.

Thanks again for all the input. Im also thinking that if i did want to upgrade, the reselling value of the B16 would be higher than the S22.

I also saw a used  S32 for sale...the price is good but then i wouldnt get that special attention from my LBS. 

more desicions!

I have S32 that i purchased used from the classifieds here in BT.  If you are sure that it fits feel confident that the bike won't hold you back.

I wouldn't concentrate too much on what has a higher resale value.