Felt Z70 frame - RIP

10 months and 4757 miles on this bike.

This morning was gorgeous, but about 1/2 way to work my chain mysteriously jumped off the middle ring to the little ring. It continued to do that every time I was in low gears on the rear set. It was becoming a pain. No problem. Bike Pedalers gives a years worth of free tune-ups with a new bike purchase, and the Felt is only 10 months old. So after work I rode over to Bike Pedalers to have them adjust the front derailer and send me on my way.

Once they put it on the stand I pointed out the play in my bottom bracket, they opened it up to find my bearings were bad and that I'd wore a deep groove in the steal crank!

I also pointed out the cracks my Felt had developed where the rear drop outs connect to the carbon fiber seat stay. What began as a hairline paint crack eventually fatigued and separated clear through. The front fork also has some slight cracks in the carbon fiber, they haven't seemed to get worse like the ones in the back though.

Well, the wise folks at Bike Pedalers urged me to stop riding it until the frame could be replaced for safety reasons. Felt makes amazing bikes, and they guarantee their frames for as long as you own the bike.

I have plans to do lots of riding, and can't be with out a good bike for the 2 weeks or so it'll probably take to get a new frame, so, get this, Bike Pedalers graciously pulled a brand new bike off the floor and put my wheels, pedals, seat, etc on it for me to use till my new Felt frame comes in! Talk about service!

I have a LOT of love for my Felt. And hate to go without it for even a week or two. But, I'm thankful to have another quality bike to use in the meantime. Bike Pedalers has sold about a zillion Felts. And mine is the very first frame (besides shipping damaged ones) to ever need warrantied. I don't blame Felt. But, it'll be interesting to see what they warranty it with since 2009 was the last year they had the Z70. Hopefully they still have one laying around somewhere. If not, I hope I'll be as happy with the new frame set as I was with the Z70.

I still can't get over the great service Bike Pedalers is giving me. We've bought a lot of bikes (6) from them, but it's a true testimonial when you feel delighted with their service when you have a serious problem. There is a lot to be said for buying from a reputable local shop rather than used, on-line, or from a big box store. I've always liked Surly Cross Checks when I've tried them in the bike shop parking lots. But it'll be fun to see how I get along with it on some weekend rides and work commutes.

Stay tuned to see what happens.