Southridge Winter Series III

This past weekend was the third race of the Southridge Winter Series, and the second race that Felt attended. We showed up in force with five Felt employees racing over the weekend, as well as the SDG/Felt Factory Team racing too.

Eddie manning the Felt Tent

Felt Engineers Nick Ducharme and Anton Petrov were the highlights of the weekend, with Nick winning the Expert 27-34 age group, and Anton winning the Expert 19-26 group. Sadly, Nick missed his XC podium ceremony because he was too busy racing Super D. But, he made up for it by finishing third in that race - not bad for a day’s work! Nick and Anton’s fellow SDG/Felt Factory teammate Eric Christensen also did well, finishing second in the Expert 27-34 age group, right behind Nick.

Nick at the start

Nick racing XC on the Edict

Anton post-race

Felt Purchasing whiz Scott Lampe had his Fontana debut, and finished a respectable third place in Sport 19-26. Scott had to battle with a mechanical, but managed to pedal his way back to the podium.

Scott on his way to a podium finish

Felt's newest employees, Nathan Wright and Eddie McDonald, took on Fontana’s gravity racing, with Nathan racing the Downhill Sunday and Eddie racing the four cross Saturday afternoon. Nathan had an alright run, and finished a respectable eighth place in expert, but was less than a second off the podium! Eddie had issue in his four cross race, popping out of his pedal and falling behind quickly. Thus is four cross racing though; one mistake and you’re off the back!

Overall, the weekend was good! Our booth was a success, and many people read our Twitter and Facebook posts and were rewarded with free shirts! The tent was a very welcome source of shade for all the Felt employees and racers, and we look forward to expanding at the next race! Hope to see you all then!

Southridge Winter Series II

This weekend was the second round of the Southridge Winter Series mountain bike event. Each of the rounds feature two days of competition - Saturday is XC, Super D, and 4X; Sunday is DH. Now that we have the schedule and accompanying acronyms out of the way, lets get on to the action.

Two Felt employees attended the event. Eddie McDonald, a new hire at Felt, is getting acclimated to the So Cal MTB scene. He was there to get acquainted with the local racers as well as test his fitness in the 4X. Engineer Nick Ducharme competed in the XC race aboard a bike that he helped design - the Edict. Nick went on to win his age group in the Expert Class. It was also his first race as a member of Team SDG (more on them in a later blog post).

SDG Edict Post Race

SDG Edicts are full suspension and under 21 lbs with this setup

At the next Southridge Series (Feb 5 and 6) , look for Eddie, Nick and the rest of the Felt gang under one of our red Felt tents.

Bob - Rock Bassist/Felt Graphic Designer

Bob Thomson, a Senior Graphic Designer at Felt, works on the graphics for Felt road, TT/tri, and cyclocross bikes. He has designed bikes for professional cycling teams including custom work for Dave Zabriskie, David Millar and Bradley Wiggins. Occasionally after work, Bob will spend time shaping or painting his custom bass guitar - a hint at his not so distant past.

Bob slappin' da bass big time

Prior to working at Felt, Bob was the bassist of Big Drill Car, a melodic hardcore band based out of Costa Mesa, CA. Although not necessarily a mainstream hit, Big Drill Car had a faithful following, and is recognized as a pioneer in its genre. One of Big Drill Car's fans sat down with Bob for an interview. Here is a snippet, along with a link to the full interview:

"Bob Thomson is a Senior Graphic Designer at Felt Bicycles. He designs the graphics for all of Felt's road bikes, TT bikes, as well as their cyclocross and fixed gear bikes. During his time at Felt, he has worked on team bikes for Garmin/Transitions as well as special one-off bikes for specific riders, and for special occasions like grand tours. Before his time at Felt, Bob played in a band called Big Drill Car...but perhaps his most important accomplishment is that he played a large role in me cutting my mullet off in 1991. Before we delve into the interview, allow me to explain." -Cycling Inquisition

http://cyclinginquisition.blogspot.com/2011/01/from-punk-rocker-to-designer-at-felt.html

Amanda Carey's Felt F15X

Felt rider Amanda Carey is having a terrific 2010 cross season, and just recently won the Iceman Challenge point to point MTB race. Although she is currently recovering from the flu, Carey raced the USGP at Fort Collins aboard her Felt F15X.


Frame: Felt F15X
Fork: Easton EC70X
Stem: FSA SL-K Black
Front Brake: TRP CX-9
Rear Brake: TRP CX-9
Brake Levers: Shimano Ultegra
Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra
Shift Levers: Shimano Ultegra
Crankset: FSA SL-K Light w/Rotor Q-Ring 44/33
Pedals: Crankbrothers Eggbeater
Wheelset: American Classic Carbon 58 Tubular
Saddle: WTB Devo
Seat Post: FSA FR-270

SF Bike Expo Fashion Show

Over the weekend, Felt traveled to NorCal for the San Francisco Bike Expo. It was an interesting event, synthesizing several distinct cycling cultures. It is pretty surreal to see cyclocross racers right next to a dirt jump competition. We met people interested in buying their first bike, kids looking for BMX rides, seasoned industry vets, custom bike builders, free ride pros, masters road racers, fixed gear trick riders, and everything in between. It was really rewarding to see how many people are interested in Felt Bicycles and to see how diverse those people are.

In addition to vendor booths and competitions, the SF Bike Expo also included the Pedal Savvy Fashion Show which showcases bicycles and bicycle-oriented clothing. Below are some pictures from the show, featuring the Brougham, Cafe 8 W, and Verza City 3.

All Photos are credit to Rebecca Williams.













It was a great event, and we plan on being there next year - so keep an eye out for us!

Another Injury!

Felt employees have a long, long, long history of documenting their injuries (cycling related or otherwise) here on the Garage Door. Therefore, we welcome the newest member to the Felt injured team, Uwe, Felt's International Marketing Manager.

Uwe went down on his commute from the office to his residence. His front wheel slid out, inducing a hard impact on the tarmac concentrated on his elbow. The damage: dislocation of the elbow, comminuted fracture of the olecranon, and complete ligament rupture.For those of you who don't know medical jargon, Uwe's doctor provided a much simplified characterization of the injury - "a total elbow disaster." Ouch.

Two months, three specialists, four surgeries, five screws, two ligament pins, one prosthesis, and one infection later, Uwe is starting to feel better. X-rays:



Good luck Uwe!

Felt Demo Truck at Orchard Cross in New Hampshire

This weekend, the Felt Demo Truck stopped by Orchard Cross, the New Hampshire Cyclocross State Championships held at Applecrest Farm. The event was put on by NorEast Cycling, and sponsored by legendary LBS, Gus’ Bike Shop. Felt was there to give mechanical assistance to riders, let people demo our cyclocross lineup, and have a good time. Applecrest Farms insured the latter by providing live music, a petting zoo, apple cider donuts, and a gorgeous landscape on which to race. The former two tasks were left in the capable hands of Sean, one of our East Coast demo truck managers and a total bike nut.

Orchard Cross was probably one of the most well attended cycling events in New England this year, drawing around 450 racers, and about as many spectators. Below are some pictures from the event, enjoy!


Awesome.

The Felt booth was busy all day.

A very well attended event.

Costume races are becoming more and more popular in cyclocross (especially those events that occur near Halloween). Here is someone dressed up as an Avatar character and riding a Felt Breed - way to color coordinate!

Sean seen here tackling one of the barriers.

Sean again on his F75X.

Keep your eyes out for a later post - local TV station WMUR mounted a camera to Sean's bike for the race, and is going to put up a video story of the race. We will post it here when it becomes available.