The reason I have held off posting this one is that I wasn't sure I was keeping it. Wiggle did a shit job of assembling and shipping it. They claim "Each DA is fully built, tested and tuned by Wiggle's team of qualified bike mechanics to ensure you're bike arrives in perfect condition."
They ask for your size info, but don't set it up for that size. Then they ship it with half the parts not fitted, and stuffed in the box so that the loose handlebars chip all the fork paintwork and scratch the rims. Then we start on the sheer laziness; they don't grease the carbon parts so they are already seized by the time they arrive, they half inflate the tyres, they break one of the dust caps, they don't adjust the brakes equally (fronts are loose, rears are so tight they rub) , they supply the battery charger with a korean plug, and don't charge the battery, the cable tidies are missing or incorrectly fitted ... the list is extensive.
It arrived Tuesday, and I spent a chunk of that evening putting the basics together to get it to the state of the photo. I then spent another couple of hours of Wednesday evening trying to undo some of that fault list, much of which involved removing sizeable bits of machinery in order to refit them correctly. And a bit of Friday evening fiddling with the settings to try and get them closer to the right set up for my size.
I finally took it out for a ride on saturday morning. I planned to ride 4 x 10 mile time trials, two on each bike. I did a 10-mile route from my house on my road bike in 35:36. Then I had a 15 min break then went out on the TT bike and did the same route in 33:58. My plan was to try and keep the effort levels easy and then to go out again on each bike. Doing each ride twice would hopefully correct out some of the inherent errors. However, this would be the point where I found out that Wiggle hadn't bothered to charge the battery on the Di2 shifters so I had to take them apart and go to the shop for a cable to charge it.
Anyway, with some fine tuning still to do on my position, and feeling like I put fairly similar effort levels into each ride it looks like the change of bike is worth 10 seconds a mile, or thereabouts. It is slower through corners, but I think much of that was just me being a bit nervous on it. It is much more comfortable in the aero position than sat up. It is difficult to climb on, not slower just more difficult to balance and handle. Brakes are better, the Di2 shifters are nice but are going to take some getting used to.
Have fiddled again with some of the positions. And charge the battery. If I get home at a sensible time tomorrow and am not too tired I will maybe take it out on the same route again. But don't want to do too much as I am going out for an 80-mile ride on Monday.
For any bike nuts out there, here is the full spec:
Top Features of the Felt DA2 Dura Ace Di2 2012
The DA is the ultimate TT machine and is designed entirely for speed. Built around the aerodynamic UHC Advanced carbon fibre frame and using Shimano's Dura Ace Di2 components, the DA2 is ready to tackle your next race against the clock.
- Frame: Felt TT/Tri UHC Advanced MMC carbon fibre
- Fork: Felt Bayonet3 UHC Advanced MMC carbon fibre monocoque
- Headset: Felt Bayonet3 stainless steel 19mm integrated ACB
- Stem: Felt Bayonet3 integrated 2D forged & CNC machined aluminium
- Handlebar: Felt Bayonet bar with Di2 optimised internal cable routing, integrated adjustable length UHC Ultimate + Nano carbon fibre bend tri-position extensions
- Bar Tape: Felt Gel Velvet
- Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 & SW-7971 bar end
- Front Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, braze-on
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, 10 speed
- Chainset: Vision TriMax carbon TT BB30, 53/39T
- Bottom Bracket: FSA BB30
- Chain: Shimano 10 speed
- Cassette: Shimano 11-25T
- Brake Levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
- Brakes: Felt integrated aerodynamic front U-brake & rear liner pull with cartridge brake pads
- Saddle: Felt SL Tri/TT
- Seat Post: Felt Aero UHC Ultimate carbon fibre bladed monocoque x 350mm
- Wheelset: Reynolds/Felt TTR1 AWS 46mm deep carbon clincher
- Tyres: Felt Aero TTR AWS 220tpi clincher, 700c x 23c
- Accessories: Di2 battery & battery charger, aero battery cover
- Road
- Frame Material: Carbon
- Wheel Size: 700c (622)
- Fork Material: Carbon
- Model Year: 2012
- Brake Type: Caliper
- Chainset type: Double
- Groupset Manufacturer: Shimano
- Unisex
- Cable Routing: Internal
- Condition: New
Built with the wind-cheating Bayonet base bar, Reynolds/Felt TTR1 aero wheels, and internal cable routing, the DA2 is a no compromises race machine. Dura Ace Di2 electronic shifters deliver precise and accurate shifting, while the Bayonet 3 fork provides exceptional aerodynamics and unprecedented adjustability.
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