Spotted: Felt’s new prototype tri bike
The as yet unannounced bike was raced by Daniela Ryf at 70.3 Switzerland
Photo by:
The Test Lab Instagram
Daniela Ryf posted an impressive bike split on her way to the win at Ironman 70.3 Switzerland this weekend, but she also turned a few heads because of the bike she rode – a new prototype from her sponsor Felt. Usually we’d see an appearance like this at the Ironman World Championship in October, but since Ryf has some high-profile events on deck ahead of Kona this year – notably the inaugural Collins Cup in Samorin, Slovakia, and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah – it would appear that Felt is OK to give us some sneak peaks of the bike before Kona.
Photos of the new bike appear thanks to The Test Lab, who grabbed a number of shots of the bike from the @ironmaneurope race feed.
Related: Ryf re-signs with Felt for three years
One thing is for sure – this bike looks very different to the IA FRD Disc (below) that Ryf helped Felt launch in Kona in 2018, the last time she won in Kona, featuring a curved top tube and a thick seat tube that’s shaped to curve around the top of the rear wheel. The bike also appears to have large storage compartments at the front end of the top tube and also behind the seat post.We will hopefully get a closer look at the new bike when Ryf races at the Collins Cup later this month.
Felt bicycles was founded in 1991. That year founder Jim Felt was approached by Ironman world champion Paula Newby-Fraser about designing a bike with 24-inch wheels. Then an engineer with Easton, Felt designed the bike that, to this day, Newby-Fraser recalls as one of her favourites. That year she took her fourth of eight world titles. Ever since then the company has been renowned for its innovative bike designs.
