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Felt's Z4 plays third-fiddle in the Californian brand's six-bike carbon endurance range, but is only one of two to feature hydraulic disc brakes.
For an RRP of £2,099 – £2,600 less than the Ultegra Di2 and hydraulic-equipped Z2 – the Z4 comes with the same UHC Performance carbon frame and a full SRAM Rival 22 groupset including hydraulic discs and WiFli rear derailleur.
The frame uses a slightly lower grade of carbon than the UHC Ultimate Nano of the frameset-only (and non-hydraulic) Z1, but it's exactly the same as the Z2. Like that bike, the frame is adapted at the rear triangle to provide an IS disc mount. The Z4 also has a post-mount full-carbon tapered fork with really neat internal cabling for the hydraulic line.
The 160mm front, 140mm rear rotors are bolted to 25c Mavic Aksium One Disc wheels, which are nicely colour-matched to the red accent flashes on the gorgeously finished 'gloss pewter' and black frame. The wheels are wrapped in 25mm Aksium tyres tailored for the rims. There are no thru axles here, but familiar QR levers to secure the hubs.
The Z4 is built for long days in the saddle and claiming the scalps of massive climbs thanks to comfy, upright geometry, those broad tyres and a ludicrously wide gear range. The 11-speed chain tethers the BB30 50/34t Rival chainset to an 11-32t rear cassette thanks to SRAM's WiFli rear derailleur.
It's all set-up to be an ideal companion for sportives and we'll have an update soon on exactly how it fares over hilly terrain.
