Thoughts on the Felt Broam (vs Breed, etc.)?
 

Looks like Felt has a new gravel bike – The Broam. The top end version (Broam 30) is aluminum with a carbon fork, a 105 groupset with hydraulic brakes, and 700x40 tires for $1800.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00...g?v=1533155560

https://feltbicycles.com/collections...ture-road-bike

Gearing is decent – 48/32 and 11-34. Stack/Reach ratio is a bit high at 1.57. Bottom bracket drop is 72mm. And the wheelbase is pretty long (106.6 @ size 56). The one oddity is that the front brake rotor is 160mm while the rear is 140.

In many ways it's similar but different than the Felt Breed – the Breed comes with 650x47 tires, has a lower stack/reach (1.52), a taller top tube, a 160mm rear rotor, a shorter wheelbase, and costs $100 more for some reason I'm not seeing at first glance.

Neither the Broam nor the Breed really talk about max tire clearance.

Any thoughts on the Broam vs some of the other new gravel bikes like the Checkpoint, the Topstone, the Revolt, etc.?

Curious why the stack and reach has been put into a ratio. What does that accomplish? Stack and reach vary from bike to bike and there is no good or bad setup since everyone is different. There is no ideal ratio.
Or am I misunderstanding your comments?

Stack/reach ratio is a thing. This page has a good explanation of why it's useful. The lower the number the more stretched out you are, the higher the number the more upright you are. It's a general overview number. Yes, when you get more particular you'll want to drill down to actual stack and reach numbers, but at first glance the ratio is useful.

For sure its a thing, but i moreso am asking why its being mentioned at all in terms of a review of a bike as if its a good or bad thing. You mentioned the 1.57 ratio being 'a bit high', but it isnt a bit high if it fits someone with longer legs and a shorter torso/arms. To that person, the other ratio of 1.52 may be a bit low.

Just a curious observation since there is no ideal ratio.

You're reading a judgment where there was only an observation. "A bit high compared to most of it's competitors" would have been the longer way to state it. As you noted, some people like the ratio to be "a bit high".

oh right on. Totally get ya now.

Judging by Felt's website, the Broam is strictly a touring/bikepacking bike, while the Breed is strictly a gravel bike.

I asked Felt about max tire clearance. They gave me a lecture about ISO standards, then said 700C x 45 for the Broam and 650b x 2.1 (53) for the Breed. I had asked max for 700C and 650b for both, so still waiting to hear 650b for Broam and 700C for Breed.

Ah yes, they seem to have a new "adventure" category on their site. Both were in the gravel section a few days ago. But other than marketing terms, what's the substantive difference between those two categories? Or, put another way, why can't the Broam be a gravel bike or the Breed an "adventure" / touring / bikepacking bike?

For the hell of it, since we're talking about the Breed just as much as the Broam, here's the pic of the Breed 30…

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00...?v=1533155552p

I think you touched on it with the geometry differences, as small as they might be. Appreciate you reporting back with the tire clearance maximums-hopefully Felt is smart and writes back with a full answer rather than the glibness which you already got.

I have an F75 from 2007 that has always been a bit big for me, and am looking at gravel/adventure/light touring bikes for its eventual replacement. In 2007 Felt was pretty much second to none in terms of value for components, and while the Breed and Broam seem to be a little bit cheaper than some other brands, I wish it they were more competitive with the Topstone.

So to be specific in this case, I've put things that are different in bold…

Broam…
Breed…

You can get an Ultegra CAADX for $2050… $50 more than many/most of the 105-equipped gravel bikes…

Nice, Cannondale seems to be a pretty good value proposition these days.

I am intrigued by the extra rack/fender mounts on Broam and Topstone.

I notice there's slightly different gearing between the Broam and Breed as well. 46/30 vs 48/32, but hardly that big of a difference.

Your LBS, sells Felt bikes? mine, nearby does but it does not stock Many $2K bikes ,
more MTB than gravel racing.

go on a test ride ..

I live in Manhattan, there are probably 20 reputable LBSs near me. Pretty much everything is sold here. There are a bunch of bikes I'd like to test ride, and I figure it will help to do the test rides close in time to each other, so I'm waiting for all the new bikes to be announced, for dealers to get them in stock, and then I'll set up a weekend where I ride from bike shop to bike shop and do test rides.

And having heard several of you bemoan that your LBS will only let you do circles in the parking lot – that's another advantage of NYC – since our bike shops don't have parking lots, you leave ID and a credit card with the bike shop and can take off for 30 min to an hour if needed. Go to Central Park or wherever you need to go to test the bike.

We're in the same (general) area! I'm up in Washington Heights and was planning on doing a similar test ride tour once these new models are in stock.

Living in Washington Heights is sort of the impetus for shopping for a gravel/adventure bike too. Commuting by fixed-gear up and down the hill every day is getting tough on the knees, and 23mm tires are getting hard to handle on the streets, especially when commuting in the winter.

The Breed has much shorter chainstays, so theoretically a bit more lively when riding. Everything looks similar enough on the geometry chart.

It also has different cockpit pieces (most notably the carbon seatpost) and what I assume is a nicer crankset. These things probably make up the $100 difference.

I think it's just a way of explaining to the public at large what they intend the bike to be for. There's obviously a huge amount of overlap.

That being said, the Breed seems to have a bit more of 'race' slant towards it, but why couldn't you also bikepack the hell out of it?

The Breed also has three bottle mounts inside the triangle, which I think is a super cool feature.

I think I really like this bike!

The person answering questions for Felt on Facebook didn't really understand my question about tire size, but s/he went and asked a production manager who did understand. Bottom line, both the Breed and Broam have the same tire size limitations. The max sizes are 700C x 45mm or 650b x 2.1" (53mm). It's just the Breed comes with 650b wheels and the Broam with 700C wheels.

That's actually pretty sweet. It gives a lot of workable options. Everything pretty much works – from 700x25 road tires on up to 650x53.

And one correction from what I stated in my original post (they changed the specs on the website) – both the Breed and the Broam have 160mm brake rotors on the front and 140mm on the back.

Actually, low-end gearing (for hill climbs) on the CAADX 105 SE is the same as the Breed (48/32), but yes, it's higher on the CADDX Ultegra. In terms of gear inches (for a 700x33 tire), Broam is at 23.9, Breed & CAADX 105 are at 25.5, and CAADX Ultegra is at 28.7.

Cannondale hasn't gotten back to me on my max tire width question so no official answer, but based on comments I've seen in reviews, etc. the max is 700x37 or 650x47. The 105 version ships with 37s, so maybe it can go a bit higher than that – 38 or 40.

In terms of geometry BB drop on the CAADX is 68 vs 72 on the Breed & Broam. Which means the BB height is pretty close with max tire sizes, but the Breed & Broam get 4mm lower when you put skinny road tires on (260 vs 264). Both are in the range of "normal" BB heights.

And the stack/reach ratio for the CAADX is the same as it is for the Breed. At the size that probably fits me best, the stack for the CAADX is between the values for the Breed & Broam. Reach is just slightly more than the Breed. The seat tube angle is a 1/2 degree more on the CAADX. Wheelbase is between the Breed & the Broam.

So CAADX is pretty close to the Breed & the Broam. It just has smaller max tire sizes.

the Breed is more attractive to me than the Broam. As for the Broam, I'd pick the Cannondale Topstone first. Cannondale SAVE tech on an AL frame will be miles more comfortable than any other AL frame on the market. My opinion. and It is only $1,650 leaving you with enough $ to go buy the tires of your choice.

I have been looking at the 2019 Revolt.

The Broam does have a more relaxed geometry than either the Topstone or the Breed. As per the discussion above, this is either an advantage or disadvantage depending on your needs and tastes, but it's nice to see a bike in this category with a substantive difference in this area.

Off the top of my head, of the big bikes in this category, I think only the Diverge and Haanjo have higher stack/reach ratios than the Broam.

I'll take the breed. Ability to use 650x2.1 tires is pretty nice.

Did you get the Breed? My LBS just got a Breed 30 in my size and I'll probably buy it. I love the huge tire clearance and 650b. I wish it was carbon but then it'd be a different price. $1900 for a bike I won't actually ride that often seems about right.

Let us know what you think of it if you test ride it! The Broam/Breed are high in the running for me right now too, but I haven't found one to test yet.