Thanks for this info.
Praxis does a crankset with 4iiii power meter.
But you can simply move your 5800 crankset and power meter over to a Breed. If you want sub-compact gearing, get some Absolute Black chainrings, like these:
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Only video review of the Felt Breed 20 I can find, but in German.
Oh awesome ā- post some pics!!! I scratched mine this week (taking pedals off). Are you removing the crappy hydraulic brake system?
Looks like VC did Dirty Kanza this year on a Felt Breed: My Dirty Kanza Bike and Gear Setup - YouTube
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Indeed he did. Not sure how honest he could be in the review. I think he
is an honest dude though. But only 1 ride on the Breed 20 and lots going
on during this ride, I am not sure if he could tell the difference
between good and very good with such a small sample. I could be wrong.
He gave it the thumbs up.
For anyone searching these forums or following this thread, looking for information on the Breed, I asked Feltās Twitter account why there isnāt a Carbon Fibre frame option of the Breed (and Broam). Here is the reply:
Weāll see what the future brings but letās say āyesā or āprobablyā!
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Looking at the revolt for next year (big price increase on the equivalent models for 2020 here in Ireland though).
Do you use it much on road? Not sure I can justify a pure gravel bike, but thinking all the shock absorption features, on top of the tyre clearance and rack mounts, may make it a decent Audax bike too?
I ended up buying the Felt Breed 20. I figured itās all setup how I want it to begin with (650b, Sram Force) and being aluminium for my first foray off road might end up being a smart decision. Donāt know, you read how bad alloy can ride on road (vibrations), still worried if I made the right choice.
Weāll see. Pick up tomorrow, first ride Saturday.
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Congrats, Iād b keen to read your views on the bike when you get out for a ride.
With the bigger tyres I doubt youāll notice much vibration
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Thanks. Yes I think Iāll be fine with the 47mm tyres on the 650b wheels,
but I plan to buy a 700c wheelset with 35mm or so tyres for lighter
off-road and on-road rides. Thatās when Iāll know about the frameās
vibration dampening qualities.
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35mm at the right pressure will smooth out quite a lot of bumps and vibrations. I donāt think you will have any issues from the aluminum frame.
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Hey Dave,
I just finished Gravel Worlds 150mile race on the Diverge Comp. I was running the stiffer spring in the 22mm Future Shock. My choice of tires were Panaracer SK 35mm with 40psi front and back. I change my hand position a LOT and still both palms of my hands were bruised when I finished.
Iām going to try double-wrapping my handle bars or maybe the Gel packs and see if that helps.
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Thanks Chad. Time will tell (and Iāll report).
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Wow!
Iām surprised. Did you bottom out the spring a lot or was it too stiff?
Which handlebars?
No, I never bottomed out.
I think it was hours spent under a āslightā but constant pounding. Iāve done high mileage ride before without issue, I was really surprised at how bruised my hands were.
The Diverge performed flawlessly though, purred like a kitten the entire 150miles.
Stock handlebars.
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Well hereās my report so far on the Felt Breed 20.
Having never ridden any other gravel bike and never ridden off-road on any bike, I have nothing to compare this all to, so this might be worthless. The only changes I have made from stock is:
- Changed to a Specialized Power saddle.
- Changed the chainring from stock 40T Praxis to 42T Absolute Black Oval
- Changed cassette from 11-42 to 11-46 (no chain length change required).
What I have done.
- 2 rides at a local national park. It is 10km of tarmac to get there and I have found out the start (and end if you leave the way you entered) is extremely technical (steep and huge rocks everywhere) and too much for me, so I have done some walking and carrying of my Breed (the heavier weight of the bike became apart here unfortunately).
- Local commutes on cyclepaths
- 1 ride at a 2.3km trail loop that had some loose and steep pinches
- and 1 organised ride that was 67km through a national park with 8km of tarmac at the start and about 5km of tarmac at the end. That was last Sunday ā Log In to TrainerRoad
So far, all 3 āgravelā surfaces Iāve been on are much harder than I imagined. I pictured gravel as being dirt roads with loose pebbles the size of marbles, but there have been roads with rocks the sizes of your head with holes you could loose a small person in. I do like the challenge though but it has meant I have had countless stacks and have needed all of the Bywayās 47mm wide contact patch. I donāt shy away from a challenge.
So the bikeā¦
- Feels slow on the road. I think the 47mm Byway tyres at 45 psi are to blame mostly, but the round tubes of the bike, yet to be tidied up cables and original Devox (Feltās component brand) 46cm wide handlebars (replacing with ENVE 42cm carbon soon) arenāt helping either.
- I am amazed at how well this bike has stood up to the abuse. Some rocks I have hit at speed (30km/h) I thought I would have damaged something, but nothing. The wheels are the original Devox which are Alexrim brand.
- Handling feels not as sharp on the road as I am used to, but that is probably the tyres. Off-road though, it feels like I think it should. I am not noticing the handling which is good.
- My fear of road buzz being an aluminium frame has not presented itself yet. But I havenāt ridden anything but the original 650b wheels and 47mm tyres. Weāll see when I get a 700c wheelset and 28mm tyres.
- After Sundayās ride, my hands were a bit sore. They were really copping it during fast, down hill sections over horrible terrain. I think the ENVE G handlebars I am getting should help a lot there. Also, I will be adding a ShockStop stem once I have the position dialled in. Also moving to the new Silca bar tape too. So conclusion here is the aluminium Devox handlebars with original Felt bar tape might not be great for very bumpy off-roads. Dirt roads with small loose gravel, no problem. Iāll be able to compare once my handlebars turn up.
- I tried doing a ride with as much water as I could fit on the bike to see how it worked. It worked out well, besides making the bike noticeably heavier. I had 3x750ml bottles and 1x600ml bottle. See below:
Question
What is the general idea for bike fit of a gravel bike? Right now, I am:
35mm higher stack and 12mm shorter reach (measured at the end of the stem) than my road fit.
Does this sound about right? I was wondering if I should go to 22mm shorter reach as I have been getting some rear wheel slipping on steep climbs while in the drops, but the Byway tyres are slick down the centre and I have had some front wheel lift on steep climbs too. So I might be in the right position but just needing to move my body around better for the terrain.
Any advice on gravel bike fit appreciated. I want to try and avoid the $300 cost of a bike fit by using my road bike fit measurements from my last 2 fits and applying them to my gravel bike with slight tweaks (like mentioned above).
Red = Road bike, Green = Gravel bike
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I have my gravel bike slammed and pretty racy geo wise. Itās also my cx bike.
The biggest difference is that the bikes are really much different geometries. Think of the Breed 20 as a āfast gravelā or cyclocross race bike. Donāt be dissuaded by the fact that itās aluminum. Itās quite light for an aluminum frame. My girlfriends is still under 20 lbs with 650b x 53mm tires and a very heavy set of pedals on it. The Diverge is much more of an endurance gravel bike. Itās position is much less aggressive and intended for longer days in the saddle. Breed is the faster bike due to rider position, Diverge is the more comfortable bike for longer rides.
I see a lot of discussion about what the max tire sizes actually are. We currently have 53mm (2.1in) on her bike with PLENTY of mud clearance. Weāve test fitted 700c x 43 to it and there is an obscene amount of clearance.
There isnāt a hard and fast rule for road vs. gravel fit, but I personally prefer 2-3 cm more stack and around 1-2 cm less reach. You seem to be pretty close to that now, so Iād suggest trying the shorter reach and see how you feel. At this point I donāt think a full fit would be necessary since you have your road numbersāyou may just have to play with it a bit.
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