I’ve been thinking of adding another bike to the stable for a little while, toying with the idea of a hardtail MTB or a gravel/adventure/allroad road bike. After borrowing my friends Yeti ARC-X cyclocross bike and realising how much fun it was switching between paved roads and dirt paths I finally settled on a Felt VR30 ‘Variable Road’ bike. This is Felts next generation endurance road bike, following on from the very successful Z series, and is aimed at riders who blur the traditional lines of road cycling.

Luckily for me, Adele, in secret, bought it me for Christmas! The bike arrived shortly after Christmas but to my dissapointment it had numerous quality control issues so had to be replaced by the dealer. The 2nd bike duly arrived with a minor issue but one that was easily solved, all bottle cage and fender threads were gritty and tight so needed to be chased with the correct size tap.

First, or shall I say second, impressions are good, the VR30 is an alloy frame with full UHC carbon forks and 105 groupset including hydraulic disc brakes. I chose the alloy frame to allow for better components at my price point and I also intend to use this over winter. The chainset is a new combo from FSA with 46/30 chainrings and an 11/32 rear cassette, great for bigger hills around here! The bike is spec’d with 28mm tyres, max clearance is listed as 30mm to satisfy ISO safety standards but Felt state there is a 42mm tyre clearance circle (total clearance between the chain stays).

With that in mind the bike went straight into my stand, firstly to shorten the obscenely long gear cables and to fit some 35mm Schwalbe CX tyres I had to hand to satisfy my curiosity of clearance. They fit no problem!

Granted thick mud will soon fill the gap but I don’t intend on riding in thick mud with it! My actual tyre choice for the bike will be 33mm Challenge Grifo Open Tubular (Clincher) with a tan sidewall for off-road duties and for road specific riding, for example in winter, I have chosen 30mm Challenge Strada Bianca again with a tan sidewall. Bottle cages will be Lezyne flow with the rear and upmost top being side loaded versions. I will also replace the front disc/rotor for a matching Shimano Ice Tech version as the bike is supplied with mismatching rotors which is annoying to someone picky like me!

I headed out today for the initial shakedown ride and I’m certainly pleased with it, very comfy to ride and the drivetrain is silky smooth. I’m looking forward to my parts arriving to achieve my desired look!