TESTED
the top tube and down tube, which tends to
draw my eye when I look at it. The all internal
cable routing keep things looking nice and
neat, and no remotes keeps the cables to a
minimum. Compared to most new bikes these
days the slightly higher seat tube and shorter
dropper post changes the lines in the back end
a little.SETTING UP THE FELT DECREE
Set up was pretty straight forward, and with
cable routing for the rear brake entering the
right side of the frame I didn’t get to test out
how easy routing cables was. Felt do have a
cable port under the bottom of the down tube
that does come out allowing easier cable
routing, but it is not as big as some on the
market. That same port offers the Di2 battery
mount also. The frame came well-greased
everywhere you needed and friction paste in
the seat tube, so again good attention to detail
on the little things.
One of the only niggles in set up was the
bars the Decree comes with do not have any
centre marks to help line up the bars when
adjusting, so I had to get the tape measure out
and check each side and adjust as needed.
I was pretty impressed with the contact
points, the grips are a wafer style grip which
I find give great comfort and I but have been
quite happy with the comfort and stability
when seated and climbing with the WTB
saddle.
For the suspension I set the pressures quite
a bit lower than I would usually run to get the
sag levels I was after. I ended up setting up at
25% sag in the rear, and about 23% sag in thetravel to do that, so they do give a little more
feedback, but this is something I rather like
about trail bikes. They need to keep things
comfortable and in control over that small to
medium shudder bumps but will still let you
know when you are pushing hard as things
get a little rowdier, daring you to push a little
harder if you are up to it.
The Race Face Aeffect R wheels paired
with the Maxxis Minions DHF front and rear
definitely helped on the handling front, giving
you oodles of predictable grip. The Aeffect R (R
is for Rally) have a 30mm internal width, which
matches very well with the 2.5” WT Minions. I
did feel that the hubs on this bike could have
done with a bit quicker engagement on the
trail. The Race Face Turbine wheel set still
have an alloy rim not carbon, but have a higher
engagement better quality rear hub, and would
have been a nice spec on the Decree 1.
With the short chain stays, slightly shorter
wheelbase and the 27.5” wheels this bike loves
the tight stuff. It pedals very well thanks to the
rocker link 4 bar style design but with Felt’s
FAST setup in the stays. It encourages you to
play and hop around to get the most speed
from the trail. But when the descents get quite
steep The Felt Decree just isn’t quite as stable
and the steep ups require a little more input
from the rider to keep the front wheel down
and steering the bike where you want it to go.
I think having 180mm rotors front and rear
would help on the longer downhills to manage
the heat and help with a bit more power, with
the Guides performing well, but not really
having massive stopping bight compared to
other brakes in this style. The smaller wheelsfront. I was getting full travel on the big hits,
but it never felt harsh when bottoming out.
The Decree felt good through G-outs, resisting
diving through the travel and without getting
squirmy.ON THE TRAIL
Overall the handling felt pretty responsive.
The set up on the bike felt comfortable and
in control pretty much on most things except
the quite steep climbs, when the front end got
a little light, and the steep downs when that
slightly shorter wheel base didn’t quite have
the same stability. The suspension platform
was impressive. It had plenty of pop when you
wanted to pick it up and was supple off the sag
point, moving easily due to the lower pressures
and damping tune, but ramping nicely deeper
into the travel without feeling harsh and giving
me plenty of grip through the turns. That nice
wide tubing of the frame certainly felt like they
were keeping things stiff and tracking online.
Most bikes in this market segment won’t
feel like a magic carpet ride over all bumps
you’ll encounter, they just don’t have enough