From concept to working prototype, Felt Bicycles can go from a mere sketch to complete bicycle, ready to be ridden, without even leaving the comfort of their own house. Located in Irvine, CA, we took a tour of their facilities and sat down with Felt's Mountain Bike Product Manager, Rob Pauley, who clued us in to the process behind every Felt mountain bike, what's in the works and Felt's departure from the model-year system. They also hinted at a few upcoming new bikes in the works. Check out the slideshow above outlining the story behind every Felt, then check out the new goods below.
The Living Line
Felt has made a number of changes lately, one of the biggest being their recent departure from a typical model-year system to what they call the Living Line. Why make the change? Felt believes the new system will enable them to focus more on development as opposed to sweating trivial deadlines based on trade shows or sale seasons. Forgoing the model-year system also allows Felt to decide when a bike is ready for production and allows them to keep producing them until they feel the bike is no longer relevant. When Felt feels a new technology or standard warrants a redesign, they'll act accordingly.
That said, Felt chose to focus on big leaps forwards this time around instead of showcasing minor updates to their current line. Felt has two new bikes in the works but was tight-lipped with the details. What they did let slip was that one of the new bikes will be called the Decree, and will likely be a plus-sized Trail Bike utilizing SRAM's Boost 148 // 110 spacing and Felts own FAST suspension. Felt also mentioned that their FAST suspension will now be designated for bikes with travel up to 130mm, when previously it was said to be for bikes under 100mm of travel, leading us to believe the new trail bike will be in the 5-inch range. The other bike, Felt was a bit more forward with the details, letting us know that a V2 Compulsion is in the works, first to appear in alloy with a carbon version coming further down the line.
Updated Compulsion
While the 160mm alloy Compulsion remains unchanged in terms of geometry, the bike does see one important change across the entire line. After receiving input that the bike lacked proper mid-stroke support, Felt worked hard with RockShox to develop a custom tune for the shock and specs all Compulsions with a DebonAir equipped Monarch rear shock.
Compulsion 10
- Frame Material: Double-butted 6061 aluminum
- Fork: RockShox Pike RCT3 Dual Position Air, 160mm
- Shock: RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 DebonAir
- Rear Derailleur: SRAM X01
- Shifter: SRAM X01 11-speed
- Crankset: Race Face Turbine w/ 32t ring
- Cassette: SRAM XG1180 11-speed 10-42t
- Chain: SRAM XX1
- Brakes: SRAM Guide RSC w/ carbon lever
- Headset: FSA DX Pro semi-integrated tapered w/ 8mm custom cone spacer
- Bars: Felt MTB carbon Flat Top
- Stem: Felt MTB 3D-forged
- Grips: Felt Wing lock-ons
- Front Hub: Novatec 15x100
- Rear Hub: Novatec 12x142 w/ XD driver
- Rims: WTB KOM i23
- Tires: Schwalbe Hans Dampf front and Rock Razor rear
- Seatpost: KS LEV Integra 30.9 125mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Volt Race
- Weight: 29.1lb
- MSRP: $4,999 (USD)
Compulsion 30
- Frame Material: Double-butted 6061 aluminum
- Fork: RockShox Pike RCT3 Solo Air, 160mm
- Shock: RockShox Monarch RT3 DebonAir
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT 11-speed Shadow Plus
- Shifter: Shimano XT 11-speed
- Crankset: Race Face Aeffect SL
- Cassette: Shimano Xt 11-speed, 11-40t
- Chain: Shimano HG700
- Brakes: Shimano XLS
- Headset: FSA DX Pro semi-integrated tapered w/ 8mm custom cone spacer
- Bars: Felt MTB carbon Flat Top
- Stem: Felt MTB 3D-forged
- Grips: Felt Wing lock-ons
- Front Hub: Forged aluminum 15x100
- Rear Hub: Forged aluminum 12x142
- Rims: WTB Speed Disc i23
- Tires: Schwalbe Hans Dampf front and Rock Razor rear
- Seatpost: KS Drop Zone 125mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Volt Race
- Weight: 29.74lb
- MSRP: $3,499 (USD)
Compulsion 50
- Frame Material: Double-butted 6061 aluminum
- Fork: SR Suntour Aion RL-R, 160mm
- Shock: RockShox Monarch RT DebonAir
- Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT 10sp Shadow Plus
- Shifter: Shimano Deore 2x10
- Crankset: Shimano Deore 2x10
- Cassette: Shimano Deore 10sp 11-36t
- Chain: Shimano HG54
- Brakes: Shimano Deore
- Headset: FSA DX Pro semi-integrated tapered w/ 8mm custom cone spacer
- Bars: Felt MTB 6061 riser
- Stem: Felt MTB 3D-forged
- Grips: Felt Wing long-ons
- Front Hub: Forged aluminum 15x100
- Rear Hub: Forged aluminum 12x142
- Rims: WTB Speed Disc i23
- Tires: Schwalbe Hans Dampf front and Rock Razor rear
- Seatpost: KS Drop Zone 125mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Volt Comp
- Weight: 31.64lb
- MSRP: $2,999 (USD)
Prototype 27.5+ Surplus
Felt also had on display their new prototype 27.5+ Surplus hardtail. While the exact geometry and parts spec is still being dialed in, we do know the new bike will be available in two models, a Surplus 30 and Surplus 70, with pricing to be around $1,800 for and $2,500, respectively. Production for the Surplus is said to be by the end of the year.
For more information, visit feltbicycles.com
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