Daniela’s bike officially released – check out the Felt IA 2.0

It is possibly the worst kept secret in the triathlon world – we started reporting on Daniela Ryf’s curvy new bike last August. The bike has finally been officially released, although seemingly without much fanfare as the earliest production models will be available will be the fall of this year.

Felt bicycles, of course, has a rich history when it comes to Ironman success. Jim Felt started building bikes in the late ’80s. In 1991, the year he started Felt Bicycles, Paula Newby-Fraser won the Ironman World Championship on one of the company’s bikes — she still feels that aluminum frame was one of the fastest she ever rode. Jim Felt was revolutionary in the triathlon bike world because he focused on the rider’s position first and foremost, capitalizing on the aero advantages made possible because of aero bars.

Felt has remained one of the iconic brands in the triathlon world, but also expanded to other parts of the cycling world and the company now produces road, tri, track, cyclocross, gravel and adventure bikes. In 2017 French ski company Rossignol bought the company. Last year the company was sold to an Austrian-based group – Pierer Mobility.

The new IA 2.0

According to bikerumor.com the new bike is said to be 4% faster than the previous iteration of the IA FRD (the 1.0), with a curved “arch” on the top tube which is more aerodynamic. There’s a new top tube-mounted storage system that holds 0.2 litres of storage, so you should be able to get lots of gels, bars or other items in there with ease. There’s also a 0.9 litre ThirstPac removable hydration reservoir. There is also space for two frame-mounted water bottles for long training days or races.

The frame is made with Felt’s unique Swedish-made TeXtreme carbon fibre. Felt’s cockpits have always featured lots of adjustability, and the new integrated cockpit for the IA 2.0 adds adjustable grips for the basebar, and aero extensions that allow for height, angle, width and reach adjustment. Cabling, of course, is all integrated, and there’s room for tools, a tube, tire levers and a CO2 cartridge in the seat tube/ tail fin area. As with the last iteration of the IA, the bike comes with disc brakes.

Pricing

According to the Felt website, the new IA 2.0 will be among the most expensive tri bikes on the market.

• IA FRD 2.0 | Ultimate | Red E-Tap AXS — $21,399 CAD
• IA FRD 2.0 | Ultimate | Dura-Ace Di2 — $17,999 CAD
• IA FRD 2.0 | Ultimate | Force E-Tap AXS — $15,099 CAD
• IA FRD 2.0 | Ultimate | Ultegra Di2 — $13,029 CAD
• IA FRD 2.0 Frameset (includes frame, integrated hydration/nutrition with straw system, fork, seatpost, basebar, and aero extensions) — $7,499 CAD