Felt

Felt is a bicycle manufacturer based in California, USA, with an emphasis on performance bikes stemming from its roots in triathlon.

History

Felt is an American bicycle manufacturer that was founded in 1991 by Jim Felt. Jim, whose background was as a motocross mechanic, had been asked to build triathlon bike frames for Johnny O’Mara, who would use triathlon as part of his training to get into condition for a season of motocross racing.

The frames that Jim had built very quickly gained a reputation for being fast bikes in the world of triathlon, helping the company to quickly gain traction in the market. After a short stint as a product engineer for Easton Sports, Jim decided to make a move to launch his own brand in partnership with Answer sports in 1994.

This partnership between Jim and Answer Sports lasted from 1994 until six years later when, in 2000, the relationship was dissolved. Following this major blow for Felt, the brand was relaunched as an independent company with the backing of Michael Mullmann and Bill Duehring. This newly launched venture for Felt would see it look to expand into a global brand.

Up until the brand relaunched in 2001, Felt had always been a specialist in triathlon and time trial bikes. Now with Mullmann and Duehring on board, the company diversified its product range to include road bikes, mountain bikes, cyclo-cross bikes and more. The brand continued to expand its product range until Felt had 140 models to offer customers across these new disciplines.

In 2017 Felt was bought by the Rossignol Group, whose ownership lasted until 2022 when it sold Felt to Pierer Mobility, a parent company to the likes of KTM. Felt now firmly stands as a global cycling brand, with its bikes shipping to 27 countries worldwide.

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Pro cycling

Current sponsorships:

• Team Human Powered Health
• Team Twenty24
• Sebastian Schonberger
• Daniela Ryf
• Braden Currie
• Niki Terpstra
• Jenifer Valente

Highlights:

• Kristin Armstrong won three straight Olympic Gold medals in the time trial in 2008, 2012, and 2016, riding a Felt bike on the latter two occasions.
• Felt sponsored the Garmin-Slipstream team - know known as EF Pro Cycling as they rose to prominence between 2007 and 2010, with Tyler Farrar winning Scheldeprijs and stages at the Vuelta a España, while Bradley Wiggins placed fourth at the 2009 Tour de France - later upgraded to third after Lance Armstrong's disqualificiation.
• Felt was the bike sponsor of WorldTour team Argos-Shimano in 2013 that saw Marcel Kittel take four stage wins in his second Tour de France. Kittel’s victories at that year's Tour marked a new era for sprinting.
• Wout van Aert won two UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championship titles in 2017 and 2018.
• Felt-sponsored athlete Jennifer Valente won gold for the USA on the track in the Omnium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
• Daniella Rfy won the Ironman world championships in Hawaii 5 times between 2015 and 2021. In every victory, Daniela set the fastest bike time on the IA Triathlon Race bike.
• Since 2019, Felt has sponsored the second-division US road team Human Powered Health, with Brandon McNulty winning the Giro di Sicilia before going on to become one of the top riders on the WorldTour.
• Expanding into the Gravel market, Felt bought under its sponsorship former Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra in 2022.