Felt DD 10 fat bike review
Total weight, size large, is 31.8 pounds. Price is $3000 (click to enlarge).
Editor’s Note: This article is part of the Mtbr Ultimate Guide to winter mountain biking, fat bikes, gear, apparel, lights and trainers. We are taking a deep dive into all manner of cold weather mountain bike gear, with round-ups and reviews of fat bikes, tires, wheels, apparel, trainers, lights and more. To see all the articles, head over to our Winter Guide Hub Page.
Lowdown: Felt DD 10 Fat Bike
Though there are exceptions, the fat bike niche can generally be broken down by examining three key metrics: price, suspension (or lack thereof), and frame geometry. For price, the dividing line is typically around $3000. Anything above that and you’re likely getting a carbon frame and the requisite lightweight benefits. Anything below and aluminum is material of choice.
Suspension is a simple yes or no. With it you get greater diversity of use, but a higher price and heftier overall weight. Without it, price and weight go down, but anything other than snow riding can be an exercise in molar loosening.
The 455mm chainstays hit a sweet spot between handling and stability (click to enlarge).
Finally, geometry primarily looks at chainstay length and headtube angle. Long stays, roughly 455mm and up, mean better straight line stability at the expense of tight-handling capability. Conversely, short stays mean a more poppy feel and can help with uphill traction. Finally, headtube angle tips around 70 degrees. Anything steeper and you’re entering the realm of twitchiness with the benefit of sharp steering feel. Slacker set-ups make shorter work of techy terrain, but can lead to vague steering, especially in slower-moving situations.
Then there is the Felt DD 10 fat bike, which rides the proverbial white line with its $3000 price tag, 70-degree head angle, 455mm chainstays, and a 100mm RockShox Bluto suspension fork. So is this a true happy medium, or an act of compromise? Read our full review below to find out.
| Frame: Double butted 6061 aluminum | Wheels: Single-wall 80mm rims |
| Fork: Rock Shox BLUTO RL A2, 100mm | Hubs: Forged aluminum |
| Shifters: Shimano XT | Tires: Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 4.0″ |
| Rear derailleur: Shimano XT | Hub spacing: 12x197mm rear/15x150mm front |
| Cassette: Shimano XT 11-40 | Headtube angle: 70 degrees |
| Cranks: RaceFace Ride 30t | Chainstay length: 455mm |
| Brakes: Shimano Deore M615 | Wheelbase: 1151mm (size large) |
| Rotors: 180mm front/160mm rear | Standover: 82.5mm (size large) |
| Bars: 760mm Felt MTB carbon Flat top | Sizes: SM (16″), MD (18.5″), LG (21″) |
| Stem: 80mm Felt MTB 3D-forged | Weight: 31.8 pounds (size large) |
| Grips: Felt Wing lock-on | Price: $3000 |
| Saddle: WTB Volt Race |
Rating:  4 Chilis-out-of-5 |
| Seatpost: Felt carbon shaft, dual bolt |
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Review: Felt DD 10 Fat Bike
Felt has never been a particularly flashy brand. Like component giant Shimano, it typically opts for staid letter-number driven product nomenclature (like DD 10) versus perhaps more compelling monikers such as Big ED, Fat Boy, Farley or LES Fat. But don’t let this lack of marketing moxie fool you. The SoCal based bike maker is first and foremost an engineering company, and it’s that analytical approach that impressed us most during our winter riding time on the DD 10 (which officially stands for Double Dee, though that name doesn’t appear anywhere on the bike).
In the winter we could take or leave the 100mm fork, but come summer it’s a must have (click to enlarge).
This is seen most notably in the bike’s frame geometry. With a 70-degree headtube angle, Felt has hit a Goldilocks mark, not too steep and twitchy, but not too slack and clumsy. This was most appreciated during slow-moving, narrow trail situations, where steering must be precise but not overly twitchy, lest your front wheel wander off the side of the trail into the soft stuff, which typically results in an end of forward momentum — or worse.
Continue to page 2 for more of our Felt DD 10 fat bike review »
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