Brand new 2014 Felt B16 - good deal?

The B series are all the same frame, the only difference is the components. B16 is built with in-house components, FSA Omega crank (which is pretty decent) and Shimano 105 (which works just fine is definitely won't hold you back). The only thing I dislike is the Microshift bar-end shifters... but that's not a lot of money swap over to a pair of Shimano bar-end shifters (and I would wait a season or so before doing so).

$870 is reasonable for the bike and unless you're looking used, there's not going to be a much better option. As long as it fits you that is... if it doesn't it's $870 poorly spent, you'd be faster on an old Huffy.

The important thing is, Does it fit?

Yeah the big thing is that it fits. That is most important. It isn't necessarily the fastest bike, but if your goal is just to compete races it will do the trick!!!

I have a 2013 B16 and really like it. Mine came with ultegra derailleurs but not like that matters (looks like they switched to 105 for 2014+?). What's nice about the B16 is that it's the same frame of the more expensive models and Felt just kept making the frame until the molds went bad. For me, I went with a crank power meter and now have race wheels. Those two things changed the bike. I did install an Ultegra crank since I was planning to go with a Stages PM but it does NOT work on the B16 due to the rear brake placement. The 2 trainer rides I used with the new crankset didn't really seem to do anything for me. I like getting 105/Ultegra for the rear cassette just because it shifts better but for the front, the FSA should be fine. The deal seems ok for brand new. Even though I paid ~$1800 brand new for mine, I would have a hard time selling mine for less than 1K (and I have no plans to ever sell...) since I know it's a good bike but it's a really good bike for the money.

For what they're asking for I'd take that deal. I've got a 2014 B14 great bike and plenty fast if properly fit.

If it is a good fit I think it would serve you well.

thanks everyone for the replies!
I'm trying to resist the urge to "have to" spend more money than is really needed.

I'm going to get it fitted in the store to make sure.
If i pull the trigger, I'll let you know. I'm pretty excited!

Jonathan

I have that exact frame (same year) and love it. I can't say it's just the frame (as fit probably has a lot to do with it, along with many other factors) but I get watts/mph that rival a lot of much more expensive bikes.

Two things to note on this particular year/model; one is that it has a square tapered bottom bracket. Like what you'd see on a bike from Walmart or something. It was the only year and model they did it on, so I'm not sure what happened there. It makes it difficult to change cranks, etc and the bracket housing won't fit any decent brackets except one (which took a lot of digging to find out). I ended up switching it out for that one particular bottom bracket since I wanted to use a P2Max power meter. I think it was and EVO386. So this limits what you can do as far as cranks. Second is that the rear brake clearance is tight to the non drive side crank so no pedal based power meters either. Your only options on PMs will be something like a power tap that is wheel based or the P2Max that works with an EVO386 BB.

IMHO, that's pretty much a steal for that bike. Buy it, or share where it is so someone here can.

Sorry for the delay but as promised, I would send an update - i did get it. it was too good of a deal to be passed of

I ended up getting it for $50 less than the advertised price for some reason!

I got it a sporting goods store nearby - not an actual triathlon shop. So even though it's a more generic sporting goods place, the guy whom i talked to was a professional bike fitter for road and triathlon bikes. So i'll be a getting a free fitting session at no extra charge. The bike had been sitting there for two years because no triathlete around here would even think about going to a general sports store - they all go to the fancy shops around here (Speed Theory, etc.) and dedicated multisport shops.

It's a nice feeling to find a hidden nugget/gem somewhere!

Can't wait to start training on it!





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