Originally Posted by
topflightpro
My point wasn't that they couldn't add carbon to increase stiffness. My thought is given the total number of frames they will likely sell and the fact that both the sprint and pursuit versions have the same paint job, I cannot imagine they can justify the cost of managing two production lines. It would be much more reasonable to assume they are building one frame and packaging it with a different fork/handlebar option, depending on the version you want.
I'm reminded of something a friend who used to wait tables at a very high-end restaurant told me - if you ask for coffee with dessert, there's a good chance you're getting decaf whether you asked for it because they need to empty the decaf pots.
But that's exactly what Felt did with the TK1 Endurance and TK1 Sprint (or whatever they were called a few years ago. The Sprint model used a heavier layup.
So, maybe they are saving money by not creating separate Endurance and Spring molds for each given size. Maybe they are using the same molds and adding more carbon when the sprint frames are being produced. (I don't know if that's how it would go down. Not familiar with carbon fiber manufacturing.)
On a related note, I know for a fact that this is how Mr. Tiemeyer made frames for his clients. He would ask you about you power output (actual or estimated) then choose tubing to match. So, two riders riding the same events with the same body geometry but dramatically different power profiles would get bikes with the same angles and dimensions but the more powerful rider would get thicker tubing. The bikes would look identical from the outside, but the one with thicker tubing would be noticeably heavier...and stiffer under torque.
Seth Snyder used the same principle when he made my steel frame. Steel frames are known to be very compliant and can be flexy under huge load. But, Snyder chose tubing that was thicker than his normal tubing and the outcome was a steel frame that had the geometry and stiffness of a LOOK 496 for a fraction of the cost...with a round seat tube and Chris King head tube. It handled like it was on rails.