Pro bike: John Degenkolb's Felt F-Series FRD

This article originally published on BikeRadar

Young sprinter John Degenkolb had a great 2012, especially later in the season as he took five stages at the Vuelta a España and finished just off the podium at the road world championships. This year Degenkolb, racing a new Felt for Argos-Shimano, is again aiming for success at the Vuelta. Here we take a look at the Felt F-Series FRD bike he rode at the Tour of Qatar.

Degenkolb's Felt looks like the current F1, but it uses a different carbon fiber. Felt uses a blend of fiber it calls UHC Nano TeXtreme spread tow. Using the same mold as the F1, Degenkolb's frame has a blend of uni-directional fibers baked with a resin Felt claims as proprietary.

TeXtreme is made by the Swedish company Oxeon. Instead of standard carbon yarn, TeXtreme uses flat tapes of carbon fiber, which Felt claims allows for more fibers (and thus less relatively heavier resin) to be packed into a given area. TeXtreme is based on Oxeon’s Tape Weaving Technology that uses tapes instead of yarn. In any given area, more fibers can be packed in tape form than in a yarn. This material is then woven and used for the base structure of the frame.

Degenkolb's 54cm frame has a tapered steerer (1.125” to 1.5”), internal routing specific for Shimano Di2, carbon fiber dropouts, a threaded bottom bracket shell and, naturally, Argos-Shimano/1T4i graphics.

Taking the 'most subtle logo' award, the 1t4i blends right in with the frame

Complete bike specifications

Frame: Felt F1 FRD, UHC Nano TeXtreme carbon fiber, 54cm
Fork: Felt Road UHC Ultimate+Nano carbon fiber, tapered 1 1/8-to-1 1/2"
Headset: PRO RI-11 integrated, 1 1/8-to-1 1/2" tapered
Stem: PRO Vibe Team Issue, 130mm x -10°
Handlebars: PRO Vibe Team Issue
Tape/grips: PRO
Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-9000 w/ Shimano carbon-specific pads
Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-9000 w/ Shimano carbon-specific pads
Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-9070
Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-9070
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-9070
Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-9070 w/ 'sprint' and top-mount satellite shifters
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-9000
Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-9000
Crankset: SRM Wireless PowerMeter DuraAce Compatible, 175mm, 53/39T
Bottom bracket: BB30-to-24mm adapter
Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-SL PD-9000
Front wheel: Shimano Dura-Ace WH-9000-C50-TU
Rear wheel: Shimano Dura-Ace WH-9000-C75-TU
Front tire: Vittoria
Rear tire: Vittoria
Saddle: PRO Turnix Ti
Seatpost: PRO Vibe
Bottle cages: Elite Pase Custom Carbon (2)
Computer: SRM PowerControl 7

Critical measurements

Rider's height: 1.80m (5' 11")
Rider's weight: 77kg (170lb)
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 728mm
Saddle setback: 66mm
Seat tube length, c-t: 520mm
Seat tube length, c-c: 472mm
Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 584mm
Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 113mm
Head tube length: 120mm
Top tube length: 545mm

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