First Look: Felt 2016
Felt stages its annual bike launch at its headquarters in Irvine, California, where the entire crew is on hand to answer questions. This time, journos were invited inside the secret halls to get a first-hand look at the process that the team uses to bring a bike from concept to creation. Like most every bike maker, Felt's products are manufactured in Asia. Felt, however, maintains a well-equipped rapid-prototyping facility that includes welding, fabrication, 3D printing and CNC-machining capabilities, as well as destruction and fatigue-testing apparatus.
The Secret Tour
Engineers there have up-to-date design tools: finite element analysis software to model how stress affects frames, fluid dynamic programs to model aerodynamics, and linkage programs to fine-tune suspension geometry. Felt's capability stops short of being able to construct carbon fiber prototypes there, but being able to build aluminum "test mules" gives its staff the ability to ride and evaluate suspension kinematics and frame geometry before they pull the trigger and send the bike off for production. Rapid prototyping facilities are the secret weapons of the sport's most successful brands, and it explains how a relatively small marquee like Felt can remain competitive at the highest levels.
Engineers there have up-to-date design tools: finite element analysis software to model how stress affects frames, fluid dynamic programs to model aerodynamics, and linkage programs to fine-tune suspension geometry. Felt's capability stops short of being able to construct carbon fiber prototypes there, but being able to build aluminum "test mules" gives its staff the ability to ride and evaluate suspension kinematics and frame geometry before they pull the trigger and send the bike off for production. Rapid prototyping facilities are the secret weapons of the sport's most successful brands, and it explains how a relatively small marquee like Felt can remain competitive at the highest levels.
Felt Senior Engineer Jeff Soucek dives deep into fluid dynamic modeling. Reportedly, it can take up to a week for the computers to crunch the data for one airstream simulation.
The Living Line
Another take-away from the Felt Launch was that it was disconnecting from traditional model years. Felt calls it the "Living Line," which means that they will release new models when they are ready, and not rush them out to correspond to artificial pressures dictated by selling seasons, trade shows or conspicuous industry events. The benefits, says Felt, are numerous: relevant models in their range can remain in production, Felt can upgrade components at any time in the production cycle, designers can take the time necessary to refine and test new bikes without pressure to rush them to market in the traditional fall cycle, and Felt can release new models to their dealers and the media in a more focused and relaxed manner, rather than lumping them all together in a dog-and-pony show. Felt isn't the first to abandon model years and the trend is gaining momentum as key bike and components makers realize that the race to bring in new technology is more often won by getting it right the first time - not simply getting there first.
Another take-away from the Felt Launch was that it was disconnecting from traditional model years. Felt calls it the "Living Line," which means that they will release new models when they are ready, and not rush them out to correspond to artificial pressures dictated by selling seasons, trade shows or conspicuous industry events. The benefits, says Felt, are numerous: relevant models in their range can remain in production, Felt can upgrade components at any time in the production cycle, designers can take the time necessary to refine and test new bikes without pressure to rush them to market in the traditional fall cycle, and Felt can release new models to their dealers and the media in a more focused and relaxed manner, rather than lumping them all together in a dog-and-pony show. Felt isn't the first to abandon model years and the trend is gaining momentum as key bike and components makers realize that the race to bring in new technology is more often won by getting it right the first time - not simply getting there first.
Felt's 3D printer can make exact-scale thermoplastic replicas of its frame designs, as well as components from the likes of SRAM and Shimano that are not yet in production, to verify compatibility issues - like the brake caliper in the foreground.
Rapid prototyping also means that Felt can build custom bicycles, like this 27.5-plus hardtail to investigate geometry and handling in actual riding situations.
What's New
Felt has a new logo in celebration of its 25th year as a brand. The winged shield is retained, while the brand logo has been sharpened into a more simplified, technical graphic. For the most part, 2016 seems to be an in-breath for Felt that marks an effort to improve the specifications and fine tune the performance of its existing models while its engineering staff is working on its next-gen shockers.
To its credit, the range looks good. Trail bikes have increased suspension travel. Dropper posts appear everywhere. One-by drivetrains have finally penetrated the inner sanctum of Felt's mountain bike range, and its product managers have gone as far as to spec SunRace wide-range ten speed cassettes on lower-priced models to offer entry-level riders a simpler, more enjoyable trail experience. Felt also has eliminated some aluminum models and expanded its carbon offerings down to much more affordable price points. On the opposite end of the pricing spectrum, Felt's racing genetics have produced what may be MY 2016's most expensive trailbike: The $12,500 Shimano Di2-equipped, RockShox Pike-suspended, Virtue FRD.
What has 130 millimeters of rear-wheel travel, 140 up front, electric shifting, a carbon chassis that requires eight hours just to lay up, and costs over twelve thousand US dollars? Felt's Virtue FRD features its Equilink rear suspension and its chassis is constructed using super strong Textreme flat-woven carbon. Carbon is the theme, with Race Face Next cockpit items, Easton Haven carbon wheels and a carbon-rail WTB saddle. The drivetrain is Shimano Di2, brakes are XTR, and its suspension is all RockShox - with a Monarch RT3 shock and a Pike RCT3 Solo Air fork. Sizes are small, medium, large and X-large, with a medium size model pegged at 26.7 pounds (12.14kg)
Textreme is a trademark process that weaves ultra-thin tapes of high-strength unidirectional carbon in a checkerboard pattern. The material is used where two layers of carbon would normally be required. This is what a carbon layup looks like before it is placed in a mold for final curing.Felt makes extensive use of RockShox's Pike fork throughout its range, which is a welcome change from the firm's previous belief that 32-millimeter stanchions were good enough for most trail riders. In response to reports that its rear suspension lacked mid-stroke support, Felt went to work with the tuners at RockShox and developed custom valving and the initial response to the changes is reportedly very favorable. On the same note, all the 100-millimeter forks in its cross-country and XC /trail range have been upgraded to 120 millimeters in response to its customer feedback.
Edict FRD represents Felt's take on the ultimate 29-inch-wheel dual-suspension race bike. Its FAST, 100-millimeter rear suspension eliminates traditional dropout pivots to save weight, and its carbon chassis uses Felt's top-range, UHC Ultimate construction, including Textreme reinforcements. Its RockShox RS1 fork has been upgraded to 120-millimeters of travel and both the RS1 and its Monarch XX shock are remote controlled with the Full Sprint system. The drivetrain is SRAM XX1, powered by a carbon Race Face Next crankset. Brakes are SRAM XX and wheels are DT Swiss XRC 1200. Claimed weight is 22.3 pounds (10.12kg). MSRP for the Edict FRD is $9999 USD. Four models are offered, with the entry-level Edict 5 sporting a less-sophisticated carbon chassis, Shimano Deore components, and an attainable, $2999 USD sticker price.
Carbon frame and a carbon fork. Felt upped the 29-inch-wheel Edict's fork travel from 100 to 120 millimeters, which is in keeping with its purpose as a rough-course XC racer.
FAST pivotless dropouts take advantage of Felt's carbon expertise. The rear triangle is sprung slightly so the fibers relax as they pass through the mid-point of the rear suspension travel.
GripShift has become a favorite among pro riders. The big Full Sprint button controls the fork and shock lockout simultaneously.
No surprise here: Felt has enjoyed sell-out years with its DD fat bike, so next season, three models will be offered that can handle up to five-inch tires. Felt, however, has held back on fielding a line of Plus-sized contenders, justifiably stating that the availability of decent wheels and tires is not sufficient to support the trend, and also that there is little consensus among consumers and bike brands on their purpose. For 2016, Felt will ante up with one model: the aluminum-framed, 27.5+ "Surplus" hardtail, which was only available as a computer rendering at the launch.
Who would have guessed that a brand so steeped in carbon and technology would be serving up fat bikes? The DD 10 is the showcase for Felt's three-model fat bike range, and the only one with a suspension fork. The butted 6061 alloy aluminum frame is equipped with four-inch tires, but it can handle fives. The RockShox Bluto fork has a 100-millimeter stroke and the DD 10 rolls on Schwalbe Jumbo Jim tires. The Shimano XT 11-speed one-by drivetrain is powered by a Race Face Ride crankset. Felt's MSRP for the DD 10 is $2999 USD, with the entry-level DD 70's sticker price pegged at $1499.
Chief designer and engineer Jeff Soucek correctly states that wheel and tire technology is the driving force behind Plus. He says that presently, tire and rims are priced out of the range necessary to make viable production models, but more importantly, that the optimal combination of tire and rim has yet to evolve. Candidly, Soucek said that Schwalbe is the clear leader on the tire side of the equation with its 2.8-inch designs and, if the industry goes that direction, Plus will probably eliminate conventional hardtails. At the launch, Felt showed one of the 27.5-plus hardtail prototypes that the staff have been riding to evaluate components and geometry for a comprehensive range that is sure to emerge in the very near future.
With 160 millimeters of rear-wheel travel backed up by a matching RockShox Pike RCT3 fork, the Compulsion 10 is finally equipped to fulfill the role that it was intended for when it was first introduced. Its chassis and graphics are retained from last year, but the component spec finally checks all the boxes. The SRAM X01, one-by drivetrain is driven with a Race Face Turbine crankset, brakes are SRAM Guides, the dropper post is a mostly reliable KS LEV, and its 27.5-inch wheels are built with not-so-flashy, but proven reliable Novatec hubs, laced to equally tough WTB KOM i23 rims. Compulsions are sold in four sizes (small to XL) and reportedly weigh 29 pounds (13.1kg). MSRP for the 10 is $4999, Three models are offered, all sharing the same chassis, with the Compulsion 50 base model priced at $2999..
760-millimeter handlebar, paired with a 60-millimeter stem.
Equilink suspension, powered by a capable Monarch Plus shock.
What's Unchanged
Felt's Compulsion all-mountain bike is unchanged beyond a fresh graphic treatment and better spec, which is conspicuous, because the bike works quite well and deserves to be upgraded to carbon more than any other model in Felt's mountain bike lineup. It was a sensitive topic at the launch, which ultimately led Felt's Doug Martin to admit that they had been hard at work developing its successor. The V2, which is its working title, is slated to emerge in aluminum first, with a carbon version to follow shortly after.
Edict frames are unchanged, and their FAST (Fantastic Acronym for Simple Technology) pivotless rear suspension's travel remains at 100 millimeters. The aluminum versions have been eliminated and the Edict 5 has been added, which brings the cost of Felt's most popular XC/trailbike to $2999. Felt was quick to note that three out of the four Edict offerings feature one-by drivetrains - the Edict 5 has a Shimano Deore two by ten transmission.
Felt's 29-inch-wheel Nine FRD weighs 19.3 pounds (8.76kg), has a SRAM XX1 transmission, Race Face Next cranks, and just about every component is carbon fiber, including the uppers of its RockShox RS1 fork. If you can't pop for its $8999 MSRP, there are three more carbon models and two aluminum replicas to choose from, with the entry level Nine 80 posting a remarkable, $649 sticker price. If you are racing, however, you have two real choices: the Nine FRD and Nine 1 are the only models that get the 900-gram UHC plus Textreme chassis.
Felt would be foolish to change its "Nine" hardtail - it outsells every bike in its mountain bike range added together. The top-line FRD was once the sole benefactor of Felt's ultimate "Textreme" carbon layup, but they will bring that same 900-gram frame down to the Nine-1 for 2016. Good news, as the Nine-1 costs a thousand dollars less than the FRD version. I am not into 29er XC hardtails so much, but I have to admit that it is a wicked looking machine.
What the future looks like
Felt has been quietly working on an all new model that reportedly will be placed above the Compulsion, presumably, as Felt's all-out enduro racer, but nobody there would confirm that statement. Its name is the "Decree" and it will be released in the fall of 2015 in Italy, October 16. Insiders say that the new bike is actually done and in first production models are in hand, but Felt was not quite ready to show their cards at the July launch date. There was considerable excitement there about the new bike, and for good reason - the public has been waiting forever for Felt to release a second-generation trail bike and a fresh design is long overdue. We'll be all over that one.
Felt has been quietly working on an all new model that reportedly will be placed above the Compulsion, presumably, as Felt's all-out enduro racer, but nobody there would confirm that statement. Its name is the "Decree" and it will be released in the fall of 2015 in Italy, October 16. Insiders say that the new bike is actually done and in first production models are in hand, but Felt was not quite ready to show their cards at the July launch date. There was considerable excitement there about the new bike, and for good reason - the public has been waiting forever for Felt to release a second-generation trail bike and a fresh design is long overdue. We'll be all over that one.
MENTIONS @feltbicycles, @SramMedia, @shimano, @schwalbe
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So far I have two YT Bikes (Enduro and Downhill).
Pretty much the best thing you can get for little money.
A disadvantage however:
They keep certain products merely 2 years on stock, so if something breaks and your warranty covers the damage, it's possible this element is out of stock.
XTR Di2 groupset alone is $3500 retail. That Pike is about a thousand, the Haven carbon 29er wheelset is about $2300, right there without a frame or anything else you're over six thousand.
Nope; I'd spend 25% of that on a bike, then another 25% of it in the form of gas, highway fees, bike park fees and local trail association fees / trail maintenance tools and the other 50％ on family trips and holidays.
For everyone like me, there's someone who wouldn't think twice about dropping that kind of cash.
If you must insist on XTR and Di2 then you have to pay the coin. As long as there is a bike there at a price point that suits you, don't insist people with more money can't spend whatever they want.
www.ktm.com/us/enduro/500-exc
At the same time, I can't see what's the fuss about the 12k price tag. There is a market for everything in this world and someone will most certainly buy one of these bikes. That someone won't be me, but I also won't be screaming about how that price is ridiculous. One man's ridiculous is another man's normal. I'm also sure Felt don't think these will sell like hotcakes.
....
12,000$ + Bike = Biggest "STEAL ME" sign in history. Better have that thing insured, and permanently tethered to your person. Or when its gets stolen....You're not gonna have a good day.
Frame 3000
Fork 1000
Groupset 2300
Wheels 1000
Finish Kit 1000
Um, that's not even $9k... and this thing weighs 2-3lbs more than it should IMO. I haven't been into biking in over a decade but I am shocked at how much more costly and heavy bikes are even given improvements in suspension and elsewhere.
$4500 frame
$2600 wheels
Love the paying for sex comment, middle school right?
New: Felt put it on the scale (medium sized) and said that the FRD version weighs what they stated. They said that the SRAM XX1 version is lighter. Nice to get an honest response.
not for everyone, and the bike co will not sell any real quantity, but it has the purpose of generating marketing kudos for the brand; hell we are talking about this on Pinkbike so Felt's marketing team have done their job?
and most importantly, the 'trickle down' effect that consumers that cannot afford the Halo Bike will purchase a more affordable model because it shows that the brand is credible, and can produce the goods.
the "value" is always in the middle-market model, not the 'low end' (too many compromises to hit a pricepoint) nor the 'high end' where minimal gains are felt for massive price inflations
its nice to graze a visual feast on the bling, but a mid-market model under the control of a skilled and powerful bike rider gets the job done with no fuss; often overtaking the rider on the low end model who is pogo-sticking and mis-shifting his/her way down the trail, and dominating the bling rider on the halo end model who has the gear and no idea...
Specialized probably the worst for obscuring what carbon fibre materials they use? They just tell you "FACT 8" or "FACT 10" to obscure the information...no one in the bike industry seems to know either?
I know from my experience owning their bikes / frames and previously working in 2 Specialized Concept Store, dealing with crash replacement and warranty as a workshop manager....
...its not the best quality carbon pre-impreg cloth or resin; they use a relatively high ratio of resin to cloth (which is cheaper) and lower quality cloth which is weaker, meaning they use more material both cloth and resin - means its a heavy frame compared to much of the competition?
my Specialized Tarmac Elite SL4 road bike frame in medium (54cm) was a surprisingly porky 1.2kg with its thick walled tubes, high resin content and metal co-moulded parts
my Giant Defy Advanced Pro frame (road disc brake) in medium is 0.96kg, its fully toray T700 with Giant's own custom resin
even the halo "S-Works" frame are not particularly light (I've seen 0.97kg for medium Tarmac), especially considering the huge price premium (in the UK the Tarmac SW road frame is £2,800) from their "production" bike frames.
Have I missed something?
The only problem I can see is that the grip you shift with has a big diameter so only the biggest grips out there will fit nicely with it (flush, in terms of diameter). Even though I have small hands, I love big grips so it's not a problem for me (I ride ourys but odi rogues would most likely do). If you're a fan of ruffians and the such, I wouldn't recommend the gripshift as the gap between the GS diameter and the smaller grip would probably be uncomfortable.
While the equilink system suffers from "too many moving parts" syndrome, and as a consequence weighs a bit more and requires more maintenance (less of an issue if you live in dry climates, like the climate they were designed and tested in), it's hands down one of the best riding designs out there, and if they could figure out a way to simplify the linkage and preserve the performance, they'd have an absolute winner. But as it stands, it's just too complex to really be usable in a wider range of conditions beyond dry, dusty, and rocky. It may have a nice rearward axle path that takes square edged bumps super super well (unlike DW bikes, such as pivot mach 5's), pedals very nicely (like DW or VPP), stays active under braking, and blah blah blah marketing terminology etc, but again, there's just too much going on with it to be a viable system in really sloppy, wet climates. ...Which makes me glad I live in so-cal.
Felt's greatest strength is their road offerings, where unlike their full-sus mountain bikes, they offer really damn good value for money, and apart from meh rear brakes on the AR series (it IS a tt bike after all), I got no complaints about what I've seen come through my shop's doors. (Yes, the shop I work at sells Felt, and I own a compulsion LT3. It's a rad bike. I likes it.) Their road-oriented strength is reflected with their MTB offerings, where their XC stuff (the edict) is definitely the best mountain bike they have, with their longer-travel offerings having historically had a "long-travel XC bike" feel, but it sounds like they've got some new engineers and who knows, maybe their new thing will be awesome!
And hardtail had more travel in the front for decades.
i3.pinkbike.com/photo/107/pbpic107786.jpg
lol.
Certainly a $500 bike does not compare to $4000 bike. But $4000 bike versus a $12500 bike, there probably isn't a ton of difference for a fit proficient bike handler. Anyway, no bike is worth that in my opinion, even if I won the lottery.
I hope these bikes bomb.
I also saw someone riding on a lauf fork near mine.....looked pretty trick but why would anyone buy one as its basically £650 of wobbly mess....650 gets you a decent conventional fork. And if weight is that much of an issue you should not be sacrificing steering accuracy so badly for such small bump absorbtion.
www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/components/forks-suspension/product/review-lauf-trail-racer-29-fork-14-48818
Engineer: "........................... Twelve. Twelve Thousand Dollars."
Marketer: "Done."
..tru story bro!
I laughed.
And pigs will fly...
Why you come in my coment to stay against me instead of openning another window to say you dont like this bikes??? Cause you wanna brake my balls and discus with someone???
Foda-se, você não tem habilidades (greetings from my Portuguese friend Michael)
oh and btw
eu peguei você estiver mãe na noite passada
never ofended you and you come and say that you FUKED ME OR MY MOTHER??????
That is what you was trying to say in that impossible to read portuguese???
SO IF THERE IS SOME MODERATOR IN THIS WEBSIT PLESE SUSPEND THIS KID CALLED Dude 1005 cause he said he is fuking my mother that is an 68 year old woman. Thats srange... And unreal
guys... keep calm and ride on that's what it's all about...