|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
berg
a Cross Country Rider
from San Juan Capistrano, CA USA
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Any and all dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | used from STR Market | | Strengths: | Light, good climbing bike (well, to be expected from a hardtail), fits well and looks good. Quality craftsmanship. | | Weaknesses: | Haven't found any. But when I purchased the bike from its previous owner, he already upgraded the wheels, bar and I upgraded the Juicy 3s to BB7s. | | Similar Products Used: | None. This is my first 29'er. | | Bike Setup: | XT shifters/levers, BB7s, SDG saddle, REba SL fork, Maxxis Igniters. | | Bottom Line: | I call this bike my Magic Carpet Ride! It just floats over the terrain, makes me a faster, flowier rider through singletrack, over rocks, roots and ruts. I find it suits my riding style better than any of my 26" full sus bikes. I'm 5'6" and my Felt is a 15.5" frame. Fits me perfectly and yes, you can get air on a 29'er! It gets through switchbacks without much effort.
This is a great bike for XC racing, or all day riding. I use it on the same trails as my Giant Trance, but for strictly downhilling, you'd want suspension. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rghbsn
a Cross Country Rider
from Leland, NC, USA
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Any Trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1100.00 | | Purchased At: | Two Wheeler Dealer | | Strengths: | Light, great components, fit, finish | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | No 29ers, raced a Trek 970 SHX a LONG time ago | | Bike Setup: | Stock plus some eggbeater SL's, ergon grips | | Bottom Line: | The bike fits well and handles well...I was skeptical of getting a 29er because back when I raced, they weren't being used. After several years out of biking, I've done a lot of research and tried several bikes in the 29er catagory. The Felt Nine Elite had the fit and finish I was looking for, great welds, attention to detail in the build and geometry as well as a great components list. It feels nimble and quick, unlike a few of the others I tried that felt long, slow, and "spread out."
I will have to admit that I got a smokin' deal on an '08 model that was left over...added some serious bang for the buck to my purchase!
The reviewer below me has his bikes mixed up, though...the Nine Elite is NOT a carbon bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Go Nine or Get Behind
a Cross Country Rider
from Aliso Viejo
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Fenceline | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2250.00 | | Purchased At: | Switchback Cyclery | | Strengths: | Lightweight Carbon Fiber Frame, Geometry, Fit and Finish, Ride, Ride, Ride, oh, and the WOW factor. SLX is decent. | | Weaknesses: | Top of the line frame with mediocre components. 25lbs for the 18" medium off the rack (heavy for CF). SLX brakes are for beginners. Wheelset a bit weighty. | | Similar Products Used: | 08 Gary Fisher Superfly CF 29er. Santa Cruz Blur XC 26er, Cannondale Scalpel 3000 26er. | | Bike Setup: | Xtr 960, Rapidrise, Magura Marta, Magura Pro 29er Custom Wheelset, Reba SL, Crank Bros Triple Ti, Kenda Block Eights. | | Bottom Line: | I'll start with the WOW factor. Such a nice ride when compared to the Superfly, though not as light off the shelf. Handling and steering between the two bikes is amazingly different. The Felt Elite bike with its shorter wheelbase and steeper head tube handles so much nicer and predictable, sorry I absolutely did not like the handling of the G2 Geometry Superfly (way too slack and squirrely). The Felt thus far has not even peeped a crick or creek, solid build throughout. The factory wheelset with SLX hubs, cassette, and disc brakes weighed in at just under 10 lbs for the set, and a lot on the heavy side for quickness. A change of hubs, rotors, cassette, and tubeless tire setup resulted in a dramatic reduction of 2 full pounds. Bam, a whole new even better bike. The SLX components are nice, in fact I like them better than the new XT. They are solid, shift nice, brake good, and some parts are even lighter than XT. They are however an entry level set which when pushed to a higher level of expectation, failed to satisfy my needs. This became even more evident after I put on my XTR 960 components and Magura Brakes. Another reduction in weight plus a huge increase of faith. I will ride it more and submit a follow up, but for now I continue to say WOW. I'm still giving it the highest marks, because even at 2300 bones, the ride value makes it worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
boodaroo
a Weekend Warrior
from Chiefland, Florida,US
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Comes stock with many quality components, little need to upgrade. | | Weaknesses: | I don't know why they even bother putting a plastic bash guard on the bike. You will have to rip it off after the first rock garden encounter. | | Bike Setup: | Stock, time atec pedals. 19.5 inch frame and I am 5'11"- perfect fit | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that this bike is screaming fast on the trails. I had been riding a specialized full suspension and found myself fighting to keep up on climbs. I was scared to go to a hard tail thinking that I would simply get abused by roots and rocks. Definitely not the case. The front fork locks out for the climbs and at the flip of a swith turns to a very cushy ride for decents. The huge 29" tires absorb the rest amazingly. I actually find myself leaving it completely locked out most of the time and riding it as a rigid. I treat this bike more as an all mountain than I do a cross country and it performs to standards. The only thing I may be changing in the future is a shorter stem and wider bars as the stock ones are definetly designed for XC riding. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrey
a
from Irvine, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Laguna Wilderness | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1149.00 | | Purchased At: | Sand Canyon Cyclery | | Strengths: | Great frame geometry for climbing, plus hardtail which I prefer. Great componentry - mine came with the Reba RockShocks SL fork, Juicy 3's, XT rear and deore front. | | Weaknesses: | Seat is narrow and harsh on the derriere. Handlebars are a little too narrow and not conducive to climbing. TruVativ crank is crap and after it broke twice I replaced it. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for Shimano XT crankset. | | Bottom Line: | Really awesome bike for climbing, really solid for single tracks and downhills. If you are short though, avoid this bike - it is a really big frame. The 29" wheels go over obstacles like they are nothing, and especially for the price I paid, the componentry it comes with one of the best purchases I've made. If you are at least 6 foot and like to climb I would highly recommend this bike. If you are a pure downhiller, I would avoid this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
j
a Cross Country Rider
from chino hills
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | chino hills state park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Warehouse | | Strengths: | Tall frame (21.5"), long cockpit, and great components for the total price of the bike. | | Weaknesses: | Seat (a bit narrow) and handlebars (too short in length for my shoulder width). | | Similar Products Used: | Various Gary Fishers 21" frames in 29" rims (both hardtails and full suspension), Kona Hoss Deluxe (26" rim hardtail). Researched a ton, and called many distributers of many models in 29" to get the best info. | | Bike Setup: | Stock, so far. | | Bottom Line: | I've been searching for a bike that can handle my height (6'6"), weight (250lbs) and how hard I ride (Chino Hills SP-rough trails with brutal climbs and descents). So those specifications put me to a more heavy duty bike. I looked at bikes from all dealers throughout the Anaheim, Fullerton, Inland Empire, Temecula, and even Internet ordering. Some bikes I looked at were the Kona Hoss Deluxe, and various Gary Fishers (GF's). The Kona was a great bike, but if I have a chance to go with a bike that fits me, and not one I have to adjust into, then a 29", large frame is where I must look. The GF's had great frames, but I did not like the bike setups with the Shram shifters and lower end derailers. Basically, the GFs seemed priced too high for the componentry. I found a Felt (never heard of them before) from the "Bicycle Warehouse" in Temecula, and after researching it extensively, then test riding it, it was definately the best deal around with: lifetime frame (most have this), great componentry, frame that fit with regards to physical makeup, and can handle what I will do to it on the trail. So, after a solid week of riding, the seat kills, but am getting use to it, and the handlebars are a bit narrow for my shoulder width. But everything else (Juicy 3 brakes, Shimano XT rear, Deore front, shifters; RS Reba fork), is super. So my 4 chili rating is based soley on my physiological makeup with respect to the componetry of the bike. The value is of course 5 chili's for the excellent deal I struck with an 07 closeout with good componentry. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jasper
a Weekend Warrior
from Kansas City
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Minor Park & abandonded industrial areas by the river | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1350.00 | | Purchased At: | Leawood Bikes | | Strengths: | Components are great for the money. The frame looks really well built and the bike overall looks great. It's pretty light too. | | Weaknesses: | Cheap stock Truvativ crankset, narrow handlebars, frame sizing misleading. | | Similar Products Used: | None, this is my first 29er. | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for Deore crankset and Funn pedals. Bars and stem coming soon. | | Bottom Line: | After riding the Fisher Cobia and Paragon, a Raleigh XXIX+G, a Kona something and an Orbea Lanza 29 I decided the order this Felt to give it a test ride. The Orbea was the only bike that came close and was quite a bit pricier.
So far I'm loving the Felt. It's light, has a great paint scheme/look and the build quality of the frame seems extremely high. It's fast, climbs great, is nimble as they come and feels like it just fits really well. That being said, I'm 6'4" and I'm riding a 19.5" frame-they run VERY big-so be wary when ordering.
5 chilis for Felt! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$
