Dave Zabriskie’s Felt DA

US national champion Dave Zabriskie's bike is not easy to miss with its distinctive stars and stripes design. His DA was debuted at the Giro d'italia this year and has seen some improvements over the previous design. Felt has taken technology to the next level by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and designing each part of the frame separately before joining the frame together with further CFD software, with the final step being wind tunnel testing.

The head tube has been narrowed with the help of a new 3/4in steerer tube and bearing, with the bayonet taking over the structural functions of the head tube. Small aerodynamic wings on the seat tube act to ‘trip' air flowing over the rear wheel and a small trip on the seatpost steers air away from the Di2 groupset's battery, positioned just below the saddle.

Designed so that as the yaw angle increases, the DA gets faster rather than slower, as many other designs do, according to the technical team at Felt. A new CNC'd rear brake runs in line with the chainstays and is similar to a V-brake design. Mavic's Cosmic Carbone 80 is fitted up front, a wheel we have seen all year but will now be available as a 2011 SSC product.

The DA's new rear brake is said to produce as much stopping power as a dual pivot with its V-brake design.

A small trip moulded at the rear of the seatpost smoothes air so that the battery doesn't adversely affect aerodynamics.

Mavic's Special Service Course full carbon rear disc wheel is only available to the pro teams. You'll just have to get a bit better!

Resourceful team mechanics have riveted a custom computer mount for his Garmin to Zabriskie's extensions, enabling him to see it easily in his tt position.

This article was first seen in Cycling Weekly magazine Thursday 8th July 2010