Felt adds Plus bikes to line-up for model year 2016 – their last
The new logo is on top and the twin “F” wings will stay. The old logo is on the bottom (click to enlarge).
For model year 2016, Felt Bicycles introduced us to the concept of what they call the “Living Line”. What this means is that moving forward, they will no longer be releasing all of their new models in July like previous years. From now on, they will making rolling changes to their bikes when needed and new bikes will be developed and released when they are ready. Other bike companies like Santa Cruz or Niner use a similar schedule and Felt emphasized that the vast majority of their dealers also supported the change. Felt dealers will no longer have to discount their “year old” models during the summer months anymore, something that was occurring with new models coming out earlier and earlier every year. Michael Ford, General Manager of Felt says that this change will allow Felt to produce a “better product, from a a better brand with better availability.”
Felt also released a new logo to help reinforce this new sense of new identity for the brand going forward. Gone is the old outline font and in it’s place is the solid black lettering. The Felt wings will remain.
The Decree – ?????
Felt has a new bike coming in October but the details on it are sparse. All we know so far is that it is called the Decree and has over 5″ of “plush” travel. Will it be 27.5 or 29? Alloy or carbon? Our guess would be carbon. And yes, they confirmed this new bike is not a carbon version of the Compulsion (that was our second question). We will have to stay tuned for more.
The new Felt Surplus is a 27.5+ alloy hardtail with a 1x drivetrain (click to enlarge).
The Surplus 27.5+ hardtails
A bit more solid than the Decree is the Surplus 27.5+ alloy hardtails. There will be two models available called the Surplus 30 and Surplus 70 rolling on 3” wide tires. The Surplus 30 is the higher spec’ed model with an estimated MSRP around $2499 (production spec has not yet been set). The Surplus 70 will have an MSRP around $1799. Felt believes that the fat bike category is showing no signs of slowing down and that the 27.5+ category will “one day bike into everyday hardtails sales.”
The Surplus 70 will have a Deore rear derailleur and the Surplus 30 will have an XT rear derailleur with both having 1×10 drivetrains. Both also have Boost 110 and 148 axle spacing. The Surplus was designed with a 120mm trail fork in mind, so it’s not an XC racer and it’s not a freeride hardtail, but something in between. The 1×10 drivetrain uses a Sunrace 11-40 cassette in the rear. There are holes for a direct mount front derailleur but with the Boost 148 spacing in the rear, there is an extra 3mm of clearance required. Right now, 9 or 8 speed direct mount front derailleurs with that kind of spacing are not available, but as manufacturers catch up to the needs of Boost, they should become more readily available. There is cable routing (external) options for a dropper post. The head tube is also Angleset compatible. It will be available in 5 frame sizes (XS, SM, MD, LG, XL). Availability hasn’t been set yet but target timeline is Fall of this year.
The Felt Nine FRD has been a mainstay of their MTB line and now comes as a complete bike option (click to enlarge).
Felt Nine FRD
The Felt Nine FRD was previously available as a frameset only, for MY2016 the FRD is available as a complete bike and the frame features their top-of-the-line UHC Ultimate + TeXtreme carbon fiber. The spec highlights include a RockShox RS-1 fork, Easton carbon bar, stem and seatpost, SRAM XX1 drivetrain, Race Face Next SL cranks, SRAM XX brakes and DT Swiss XRC1200 wheels.
The Nine is also available in 4 less expensive carbon versions as well as 2 alloy versions. The Felt Nine FRD will be available in 5 sizes (XS -14″, SM – 16″, MD – 18″, LG – 20″, XL – 22″) and has a claimed weight of an amazing 19.31 lbs. The MSRP is $8999 and will be available starting September of this year.
The Edict 5 has 100mm of FAST travel paired with a 120mm SR Suntour fork. MSRP is $2999 (click to enlarge).
Felt Edict 5
The Edict is Felt’s best selling full suspension bike and it features 100mm FAST (Felt Active Stay Technology) travel. For MY2016, the FRD and 1 level both feature TexTreme carbon fiber. The Edict 5 has a carbon frame with 100mm of FAST travel and features a RockShox Monarch R shock and a SR Suntour Raidon 120mm fork. The drivetrain is a Shimano 2×10 Deore and the brakes are Shimano M355’s.
The Edict is also available in 3 more expensive carbon versions including a top-of-the-line Edict FRD version. For MY2016, there is no longer an alloy version of the Edict. This model is available in 4 sizes (SM – 16″, MD – 18″, LG – 20″, XL – 22″) and has a claimed weight of an amazing 28.86 lbs. The MSRP is $2999 and is available from your local Felt dealer now.
Continue to page 2 to see the Compulsion, DD 10 fat bike and more new bikes from Felt and a photo gallery »
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