Instead, the clamp has to push on the trailing or leading edge of the post to wedge the opposite edge tightly against the inner wall of the seat tube or clamp. But to optimize stiffness of both the frame and the post, both are built with stiff fibers that can’t tolerate being pinched the fibers will crack if deflected very far over a short distance by the seat binder clamp.įelt’s solution for clamping aero seatposts is unique and game-changing, and its solution for clamping round posts puts reliability above weight and style considerations.īecause it isn’t round, an aero seatpost cannot be clamped inside an aero-shaped seat tube with a constricting band clamp. A seat binder generally works by compressing both the top of the seat tube and the seatpost. However, with a material like carbon that only works well in tension and not in compression, it’s a significant issue. You may think that how a seatpost is clamped to the bike is a yawner. Here are a number of innovative details of Felt bikes that could easily escape notice, yet I believe they are rare enough and important enough to make Felt bikes stand out as superior in these areas. Some of these ideas can make a big difference.
Instead, ideas that work on road bikes rapidly cross-pollinate to mountain, cyclocross, and track bikes, and vice versa. Felt employs a small team of talented engineers, and the company and its product line are too small for them to be dedicated to single categories. Rather, it is a product-driven company, and has been ever since Jim Felt started making custom aluminum bikes with his name on them decades ago. Just the fact that you most likely hear very little about Felt, especially now that its bikes are no longer being ridden by UCI WorldTour teams, may indicate that it’s not a marketing-driven company.
But Felt Bicycles is a small company that surpasses them in some areas. Given the engineering budgets of companies like Trek, Specialized, Giant, and Cannondale, it’s hard to make a bike better than they make. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been told, “We’re a small company, and the only way we can compete with the big companies is to make a better product,” I’d be a very rich man. VeloNews and Velo magazine’s editorial staff voted this piece as one of our favorite articles of the year.
Get access to everything we publish when youĮditor’s note: To close out the year, we are counting down the top 14 stories of 2014.
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