Felt AR4

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Felt AR4 is a carbon fibre road bike with some benefits gleaned from their time trial and triathlon range. Aimed at riders who are interested in fast road riding and for whom an alternative could be a Cervelo S3 or similar.

Felt say that their AR4 has amazing aerodynamics, unique, carbon fibre only frame design and superb componentry all at an affordable price. Affordable is relative, if you have £2400 to spend on a bike then this does give you a lot for your money.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Utilising Felt's own High Modulus Carbon they have been able to produyce a smooth and exciting looking frame with many aero benefits from their against the clock bikes. A 3k weave and matte carvon finish set the bike off well.

This bike is all about aerodynamics, from the obviously aero inspired frame and forks right through to the handlebars that offer a 'wingtop' design aimed at promoting smoother airflow. You dont get super light weight but lets be fair, a recorded weight of 7.7kg for the 54cm bike is by no means heavy.

I have only had a couple of issues, the compression plug (star nut) within the fork has shaken itself loose several times despite being tightened why, on such a nice bike, scrimp on this? The build quality is great though, I have total faith in the frame and forks. Shimano Ultegra is well known for its durability but small things like the unit shaking itself loose are annoying. I know an AR4 who had this issue on their machine too.

It makes me feel fast on the flat, my Garmin 705 says my riding is consistently 2-3kmh faster over three of my regular routes without any discernable increase in heart rate. When being used in a race situation I felt slower than on my full on tri bike but not by much, the benefits I got from being able to climb hard and fast out of the saddle far outweighed any drawbacks from using drop handlebars.

I was pleasently suprised by the climbing performance of this bike, I didnt expect it to be as responsive or positive as it is.

This is being dragged down by the issues regarding the headset/fork area. Having this part of the bike work loose during a ride is an issue, one that Felt should know about, selling a bike for £2400 means that no parts should be cheap. Some may be unbranded or own branded such as, in this case, the wheels, bars and saddle but the low cost components should not compromise the bike.

Not superlight but lighter than I was expecting. There is a lot of carbon in this frame, carbon fibre is light but using lots means the weight benefits could easily be lost. A neat, aero frame that delivers a fast pace on the flat but is light enough to provide strong climbing performance.

A very good performance comfort wise, the saddle is no slouch providing comfort and light weight (the standard issue saddle is a felt branded 1.2a with carbon inserts). I changed this to my own preference but this isnt to do down the quality of the saddle Felt provide. The bars are an acquired taste, the aero design is lost on me a little, I would prefer somthing along the lines of the FSA K-wing that offers comfort first but with an aero edge. These bars are good at what they do but I would consider an upgrade.

A bike that provides a superb ride and a pacey performance. I have few complaints about the price tag on this bike, if you search online you can even find 20% off this so it has now come in below the £2k barrier. I expect one of the the reasons for this is another Felt bike, the Z15, which offers a full carbon road frame, albeit with totally different geometry, showered with a full dura ace groupset for a discounted price of £2400.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The AR4 is designed to be a fast, energetic road bike and it didn't disappoint. The aero frame certainly felt quick when riding at 35kmh+ and with a few choice upgrades I imagine it would be a rocket. I have ridden it with dura ace carbon deep rims as well as mavic cosmic carbones and the AR4 jumps ahead even more. Give it some new bars and I think it would be the finished article. You can argue of course that for £2400 it shouldn't need that amount of fine tuning.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The frame and groupset. Ultegra is a workhorse that misses the spotlight hogged by Dura Ace but dont dismiss it, the performance and weight of the Ultegra SL groupset is superb. The frame delivers a positive, energetic ride that was great fun on the first ride and remains so. I know it should all be about performance but the bike looks good too and there is no harm in that!

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

I was frustrated by the lack of attention to one of the smallest and cheapest parts of the bike, the compression plug, this led to a decline in braking performance, positivity in handling and,likely, damage to the headset.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

A stunning looking machine that offers a real alternative to Cervelo. The AR2 (£3800) may be even more competitive but with the AR4 coming in at a list price of £2400 you do get a lot of development and research for your money. This bike feels fast, rides well and delivers performance.