Tag: Bicycle Builder

Innovation in engineering goes hand in hand with bicycle building to make them safer, faster, and more comfortable, so cycling teams can perform at a high level and everyday riders can be happy with their purchase. Felt Bicycles is no stranger to this concept.

The company introduced innovations through engineering that have helped shape the cycling industry. For an American builder to impact an inherently European market is no small feat. That led Felt to develop a time-trial bike and sponsor several UCI pro teams. But does that make it a good bike for the everyday non-competitive cyclist?

History of Felt Bicycles

Although they were founded in 1994 by Jim Felt, that ownership didn’t last long. Rossignol Group obtained Felt after the company ended its seven year relationship with its distributor. Despite the negatives that being in a business can sometimes bring, Felt put forth innovations in its time trial and mountain bikes.

The company developed the Bayonet Fork for its time trial bikes and what is known as the Equilink Suspension System for its mountain bikes. Felt was also one of the first bicycle builders to place an emphasis on wind tunnel testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics, which measure the flow of fluids.

Today, the company is again under new ownership and builds mostly road, triathlon, time trial, and gravel bikes while staying true to its core company mission. “Speed is earned. Speed is engineered. Speed is proven.”

Pro Team Sponsorship That Continues Even Today

Since 2007, Felt has been sponsoring some of the best pro teams and riders in both the men’s and women’s peloton. Teams like Cervelo Test Team, Argos-Shimano, Garmin-Slipstream, and George Hincapie’s Sportswear Development team.

That sponsorship continues today with Jennifer Valente who won two gold medals at the 2024 Olympics. That means that riders on Felt bicycles have experienced “World titles. Olympic titles. Grand Tour stage wins. Breakthrough performances across road, track, time trial and endurance racing. FELT became the bike of choice for athletes who demanded measurable speed and real aerodynamic advantage.”

Last Thoughts

34 years is a respectable and lengthy period in the bicycle industry. Because of its changes in ownership, Felt has been reborn many times, so it might seem the company has something left to prove in an ever-changing industry saturated with both older and newer bicycle builders.

But Felt also has a performance and race-proven pedigree. It is a known brand with probably its own band of believers and followers. For a company that has focused on engineering and innovation in frame technology, there may still be new realms to explore to make its bikes even faster.