b12t

Greetings and hello everyone,

in January I bought my first new road bike, a 2017 Felt VR5 (all specs on 99spokes, no permission to post URLs yet). All good and it came with Felt-branded wheels merely labeled "21" and "tubeless ready".

According the 99spokes the specs are:

Rims: Felt Versatile Road VR19 Disc (tubeless ready), 19mm Width (Inner), 23mm Depth
Spokes: 2.0mm stainless steel
Front Hub: Felt Versatile Road RSL3 Disc, 12mm Thru Axle, sealed bearing, 28H, Center Lock
Rear Hub: Felt Versatile Road RSL3 Disc, 12mm Thru Axle, sealed cartridge bearing, 28H, 11-speed, Center Lock

I know that many people upgrade right away from stock wheels to improve weight, stiffness etc.

However, the problems with mine seem more severe: The rear wheel started making noises and caused vibrations on the frame rather quickly. Upon inspection I noticed a rough moving bearing. Both front and rear wheels spin significantly shorter compared to my 24 year old previous road bike fitted with solid but not super-spec Rigida Nova and Campagnolo Mirage hubs. I have been cautious not to abuse the Felt and kept in on tarmac except for occasional smooth gravel stretches, still I also noticed that they are no longer running true. I should also mention that I weigh rather average 77kgs.

Now I'd like to better understand what I got here: Is this something to expect for stock wheels even in this price range? A Felt-specific problem? Just bad luck?

Also, I am now considering to upgrade much earlier than I planned - which Aluminum wheels would you recommend for (rough) tarmac and occasional bike packing? My focus is rather on climbing than on speed / rather durability than super-top scores; still mostly tarmac with occasional gravel patches.

Many thanks

Elvo

Maybe bring it up with Felt? Might have came with a bad or poorly installed bearing.

alcjphil

A 2017 Felt VR5. Did you buy the bike from a dealer? If so and if it was a new bike this would be a warranty issue

Koyote

At that price point, you don't get great wheels. Your options are to have them serviced, or replace them.

indyfabz

It can happen. Even my ex's i9 wheelset had a problem with the front hub right from the start. i9 fixed it with no questions asked.

b12t

Many thanks all for your replies - I have a better sense of what to expect now. Perhaps indeed I just got unlucky there. I got the bike from a dealer and wrote to him, next step will be to contact Felt directly.

Kapusta

Explain these vibrations you feel. Does it seem to jerk the bike slightly forwards and back when you pick up speed? Like something is slightly dragging each wheel revolution?

b12t

Sorry, forum rules required me to wait 24h with my next post.

It's hard to tell - it does jump up and down but I also noticed that the rear tyre does not run true vertically (Google translate proposes "vertical stroke" ?), the rim is fine in this respect. I have not yet checked whether a problem during mounting or the tyre itself. I suspect that the jumping is caused by this.

Here I try to avoid forum restrictions for junior members and add a link to a video I also sent to the dealer: dropbox.com [delete all this] /s/t9yv87bf90es91h/VID_20210305_144039.mp4?dl=0

There are noticably vibrations when you touch the frame (goes for front and rear wheel actually) and noticable resistances when I checked the bearings on the non-cassette side of the rear wheel. Not sure about the other side.

In the meantime I heard back from the dealer, indeed it is a warranty case, for now confirmed for the rear wheel.

Iride01 

here it is....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9yv87bf90...44039.mp4?dl=0

TakingMyTime

Just so I'm clear... you bought this "new" or "used" from the dealer? It's a 2017 model and it's now 2021.

Since the dealer told you to take it up with Felt I'm guessing it was used and they sold it to you "as is"? The dealer didn't even want to touch it and said go directly to Felt?

b12t

Actually no, the bike was sold as new this year at a discount and the dealer offered to repair the wheel himself

Darth Lefty 

I would guess some error in assembly, likely by Felt at the factory or a parts subcontractor. That, or the four year old grease hardened up.

msu2001la

I'm surprised any dealer had a new-old-stock bike left after the crazy 2020 bike season, but kudos to the OP for snagging one.

OEM/stock wheels are often overbuilt and heavy, but they should work and should not be vibrating or loose. As far as "spin down" compared to old hubs, i've also noticed that sometimes brand new hubs feel a bit draggy. In my experience this goes away after a few 100km of riding. I'm not sure what causes this, but it could be the grease. I bought a new bike last year and the freehub was really tight and draggy on the first handful of rides. That issue has gone away.

Sounds like there's something wrong with your wheel and glad you're getting it sorted out with the shop.

b12t

Thanks - I had actually shifted my search focus after realising the crazy waiting periods for other bikes and have not regretted it so far :-)
Thanks also for mentioning the possibility of initial dragginess - in my case I did some 800 km since January so can rule this out for this wheelset I think but will definitely keep it in mind for the future.

I'll send the wheels to the dealer tomorrow, keeping fingers crossed they come back soon and running smoothly.