A commanding new sub-4lb cross-country full-suspension platform
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Felt takes advantage of the tapered head tube's extra real estate with a giant triangular-profile down tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cables are cleanly routed along the top edge of the down tube with the front derailleur line being fed internally.(Image credit: James Huang)
Felt will include its trick built-in carbon chain watcher on the new Edict to prevent frame damage.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Edict will mark Felt's first use of a tapered head tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
The upper links on this prototype were CNC machined but ultimately, the production rig will use stiffer and stronger forged bits. Titanium and aluminum hardware is used throughout.(Image credit: James Huang)
Bearings are used for the main pivot and primary linkage pivot but DU bushings are used elsewhere for lighter weight.(Image credit: James Huang)
Felt's new Edict will trade in the company's proven Equilink suspension system for a simpler and lighter modified single pivot arrangement.(Image credit: James Huang)
The front derailleur cable pops out of the frame just ahead of the bottom bracket shell.(Image credit: James Huang)
Felt Bicycles will finally fill the prominent void in its mountain bike lineup with a lightweight full-suspension platform called Edict.
Edict will be a proper 100mm-travel true cross-country race bike with a sub-1.8kg (4.0lb) target weight (with shock) thanks in part to its carbon fibre front triangle and rear end – nearly a full kilo lighter than the FRD100 prototypes that Felt had previously been testing under its sponsored racers last year.
A tapered 1 1/8"-to-1 1/2" head tube will improve steering precision relative to a straight 1 1/8" one and Felt will also take advantage of the additional surface area with a giant triangular-profile down tube for extra torsional and lateral stiffness.
Much of the weight savings was earned by passing over Felt's proven Equilink suspension design in favor of a new modified single-pivot setup called FAST (Felt Active Stay Technology).
The main pivot is located inline with the seat tube and optimised for the new crop of two-ring drivetrains. Up top, there's a stout aluminum linkage to drive the shock and it's all held together with titanium and aluminum hardware – nothing revolutionary there.
But instead of conventional dropout-located rear pivots, Felt's mountain bike designer, Mike Ducharme, built a tuned flex pattern into the one-piece carbon stays to account for geometry changes as the rear end moves through its travel. He says it not only simplifies the system and shaves grams but also lends additional lateral rigidity for better wheel tracking and allows the carbon dropouts to be molded in at the same time.
Ducharme also took further advantage of carbon's elastic properties to tweak the spring rate. By virtue of how the stays are moulded, the rear end naturally sits at around 25-27 percent sag with the shock removed – outside of that, Ducharme says the FAST stays will flex open and closed ever so slightly help keep the suspension at its optimum pedaling position on smoother terrain.
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Felt hopes to have the Edict ready by late summer but admits it may be later in the year until everything is completely set to go. According to Ducharme, the final moulds have been cut and production bikes should see only relatively minor visual changes as compared to this prototype, such as asymmetric chain stays. Fibre lay-up schedules still have to be ironed out, though.
Felt will introduce the Edict solely as a high-end carbon machine for now, with two models planned for the US market and three for Europe, all in four sizes ranging from 15.5" to 21.5".
Unfortunately, Felt wouldn't allow us to shoot any images of the entire frame or bike but these partial-view shots will still give you a good idea of what the final product will look like (barring graphics which are still to be determined). Having seen it in person ourselves, though, it looks awfully interesting and we'll hopefully have some firsthand ride accounts to report in a few months' time.
