WORDS: BRADLEY BABEL
IMAGES: LACHLAN RYANFelt are out of California and started making
bikes back in 1991. They are a small company
that pride themselves on making bikes that
focus on improving the riders’ experience.
Although they have a history of making and
racing bikes in almost all categories apart
from Downhill, I think most people will be
most familiar with them from the Triathlon
and Ironman events and sponsored athletes. In
the mountain bike world their XC athletes are
regularly seen racing at World Cups.they claim to be able to do this? Well the frame
is full carbon fibre including the rocker link.
They focused on stiffness and handling when
designing the frame. he Decree uses Felt’s
FAST suspension. Felt Active Stay Technology,
which basically uses carbon fibre seat stays’
flex to eliminate the need for a pivot in the rear
triangle either on the seat or chain stays.
This sort of design is quite common in XC
and light trail bikes with up to 120mm of travel
but not often seen in bikes with longer travel.
It allows the manufacturer to reduce the
weight of the frame, help to increase stiffness
and keep good pedaling efficiency. Felt have
designed the stays so that when they are at
0% sag the stays are actually flexed, and then
reach neutral or straight at 30% sag. The
stays then flex the other way as you continue
through the travel. This they say helps to
provide a more progressive spring rate but
also gives good small bump sensitivity around
the sag point and with an increasing amount
of support through the travel to resist harsh
bottom outs. Felt say it also helps to provide
good anti squat numbers too.
The trail bike range these days is HUGE!
With many manufacturers doing a great job
it’s a matter of how they have specced out
the bike, what they have designed it to excel
at, and what compromises they’ve made to
achieve this. Of course that has to match up
to what the rider is looking for, their budget,
or the perceived value that the rider gets as a
sum result of all of these things. Bikes like the
Norco Sight, Evil Calling, Santa Cruz Bronson,
Trek Remedy, and the Orbea Occam all offer
great trail bikes, although an increasing
number of manufacturers are heading towards
the bigger 29er hoops in preference over
the 27.5” wheel. So it is a very competitive
segment of the mountain bike market.The Decree is their trail bike, sporting 27.5
inch wheels and 150mm/140mm travel front
and back respectively. The Decree 1 is the
second from the top of the line, with the range
topping Decree FRD above it, and 2 models
below it all with carbon frames, as well as a
frame only option. All the frames apart from
the range topping FRD use Felts UHC Advance
Carbon Fibre. The FRD uses their UHC
Ultimate and TeXtreme carbon fibre to shave
weight and keep the ride quality and stiffness
they are chasing. So if you liked the look of this
but the budget won’t stretch to this model, by
getting a cheaper model in the Decree range
you are not sacrificing anything about the
frame and can upgrade parts later as you wear
them or can afford if you like.
Felt call the Decree the ‘Ultimate Trail
Bike’ which they say has XC like climbing
ability, descending prowess and adjustability
to match any athlete’s ultimate ride. How doFelt
Decree 1