Take one look at the Felt IA series of time trial and triathlon bikes, and you understand how Jim Felt’s name became one of fastest in the world. The 2016 IA bikes represent the consistent, steady evolution of some of the most cutting-edge Tri/TT frames the world has seen. With three straight first-place finishes at Kona since its debut, don’t expect the reign to stop any time soon.

Understanding the IA’s supremacy begins beneath the surface, with the carbon. Masters of carbon craft, the engineers at Felt start where many manufacturers stop. The IA, like all Felt frames, is not comprised of just one type of carbon. Certain types work best for certain applications - some are better if you need the area of the frame to be stiff, for example, while other types work better if you need the area to be more compliant. Even the least expensive versions of the IA, utilizing Felt’s UHC Performance carbon, utilize a blend of various moduli of carbon over different areas of the frame, yielding a ride that is simultaneously more responsive yet more controlled than its competitors. Felt’s UHC Advanced carbon fiber is used on the more expensive versions - blending an even wider variety of carbon types to yield a frame that’s 20% lighter than the already-lithe Performance versions of the IA frame.

The FRD version of the IA uses UHC Ultimate+Nano carbon, taking it all a step further. It blends four different densities of fiber across the frame, then uses Felt’s Nano resin – a resin that uses small, elongated particles for maximum binding surface area, meaning less can be used to save weight, yet it’s even stronger than regular resin – to bring it all together. It took exponentially longer to develop the FRD version of the frame than the others, but Jim Felt says he’d rather spend the time to create the perfect frame than offer a product he knew could have been better.

The features of the IA also separate it from the pack. The deeply swept head tube and the junction of the seat stays very low on the headtube together reduce drag enormously compared to the IA’s predecessor, the DA. Those low seat stays also allow them greater flex relative to the seat tube, affording perhaps the smoothest and most controlled ride of any modern Tri frame. Moving up the seat tube, the post clamp itself utilizes an ingenious two-bolt mechanism to secure the post’s height, a design which doesn’t rely on the force of a collar but instead pushes two halves of an internal shell outward to create the clamping force, saving weight and also further softening the IA’s ride. A patented, integrated set of aerodynamic brakes that’s easy to adjust, an integrated storage box along the top tube for your essentials, and a fully-adjustable cockpit are all just frosting on the cake of the amazing performance the IA offers.

Never one to sit still, Jim Felt has been perfecting his Tri/TT frames since before Felt was even a brand, and the IA stands as a testament to his focus.