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Average Rating
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4.6/5
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# of Reviews
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5
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MSRP
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Description:GENERAL INFORMATION:
SIZES (in)
S (15.5) / M (17.5) / L (19.5) / XL (21.5)
COLOR
Matte Black
WEIGHT
25.68 lbs.
FRAME
Virtue Lightweight Endurance Full Suspension Featuring Equilink, 130mm Travel, 7000 Series DB Aluminum w/Hydroform TT, Carbon Fiber Sub-Frame, Fully Integrated Head Tube
FORK / SHOCK
Fox Talas RLC, 140/120/100mm Travel Adjust, Air Spring, FIT Damping, Rebound & Comp. Adjust, Push Button Lockout; Fox Float RP23 Air, Pro Pedal 3-Position Lever, Rebound Adjust
DRIVETRAIN
Shimano XTR RD, FD, Crankset, Rapid Fire Shifters, Cassette, Dura-Ace Chain
WHEELSET
Mavic CrossMax SL Disc Wheelset
COMPONENTS
Avid Juicy Ultimate Carbon Disc Brakes 180mm FT/160mm RR Rotors, Selle Italia SLR Ti Saddle, Easton Monkeylite Carbon Bar, Easton EA 70 Stem & Seatpost, Maxxis Ignitor 2.1 UST Kevlar Tires, 7075/Scandium/Titanium Seatclamp
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Submitted by
Iwan Kemp
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Eden | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Cycle Factory Store | | Strengths: | Pedalling Platform
Geometry
Weight
OEM Spec
Handling | | Weaknesses: | If used for what it was designed for, nothing. | | Similar Products Used: | Spec Stumpjumper, Merida AM 3000 / 5000, Giant Trance, Titus Moto Lite, GT i-Drive | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | This a review of the Virtue Suspension design and not this specific model.
The Equilink is the first suspension design that I've encountered that does exactly what it's supposed to without any fuss or drama. It simply does the job and get on with it. The Equilink works so well that one can afford to run the shock a little softer or, for that matter, exactly where you want to, without it influencing the bike's pedalling. I like a fairly plush bike coming down, but like it hard on my way up. The Equilink can be tuned to be exactly that.
The first Virtue I tried (07 Virtue Two) had a Float R shock which worried me a bit cause I thought I was gonna miss the lock-out on a trail with lots of climbing, but low and behold it was the first bike I rode which I din't want or need to lock out the shock.
As far as value for money goes: in South Africa they are competitively priced and the local agents give GREAT service.
The Felt Virtue is worth every cent and out-performs MUCH more expensive bikes. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Norm Douglas
a Racer
from Geelong, Victoria Australia
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Anglesea | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$4500.00 | | Purchased At: | Doesn't matter | | Strengths: | Awesome downhilling... this bike feels like a downhill bike when the Revalations are wound all the way to 130mm
Mavic CrossRides are a little heavy, but the HUBS are awesome and the wheels stay true | | Weaknesses: | Build quality... Build quality... Support from Australian distributor | | Similar Products Used: | Scott Spark | | Bike Setup: | Changed components to Sram X0, converted Rims to Stans No Tubes, FSA Carbon riser bars. | | Bottom Line: | When I first got this bike, I fell in love immediately and felt very proud that I could afford to ride such a machine.
After my first big ride (Otway Odessy) I notice one of the pivot bolts had come loose and fallen out. This was replaced by the local store and I thought nothing of it.
Fast Forward 12 months, and I have tried everything to keep these bolts in and finally think I have arrested the problem. However this is CLEARLY a major issue that I know the FELT factory team here in Australia have experienced too.
Southcott (Australian distributor) have let me down and I fear this is where the problem lies.
Don't get me wrong, this is a kick-ass bike that you will LOVE riding, however I don't think I would ever buy a FELT again. My wife has a new Scott Spark, which I think is an equal bike and the build quality is far superior . | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Shelley
a Cross Country Rider
from Palmyra
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Sherando | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2400.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Works as advertised! No bobbing while standing, really fast. | | Weaknesses: | Handle bar, stem and seatpost spec'd poorly. Bike itself NO WEAKNESSES , wish I would have bought a Virtue One! | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 9.5EX, GF Cake, Ellsworth Epiphany, Orbea Alma | | Bike Setup: | This is review is on the Virtue Two, not listed, changes post to a Thomson And bar to a Answer Carbon Riser | | Bottom Line: | I curently ride a Ellsworth Epiphany and got this bike to ride in bad weather (rain, mud, snow)after riding it around the parking lot reallt thought i was not going to like the bike, felt weird. Out on the trail though it rides like a race machine, really hard to describe it, found myself having the fastest laps at my local riding holes and totally forgetting about the bike. It does not have any drawbacks, really the first FS bike I have had that when you pound out of the saddle it really feels like a hardtail(I mean no movement at all!) If you are looking for plush FS this is not it, but if you are looking for a fast, efficient, light, cross country bike (even with 5 inches of travel) -THIS IS IT! Local LBS had the 2007's on closeout and this has been a steal of deal, no regrets! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
curtis
a Cross Country Rider
from bend, OR
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | the one i am on | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Purchased At: | bend bike n sport | | Strengths: | the equalink.... nice componet spec for the money. the revolution fork surprised me, i thought that i would notice its lack of performance on the trail but i never thought about it. | | Weaknesses: | handlebar would be be better replaced by a peace of straight pipe. not a bad quality bar but the ergonomics suck. to much sweep and way to narrow for a riser bar. | | Similar Products Used: | darn near everything santa cruz, trek s-ed, giant, kona, rocky mtn etc | | Bike Setup: | xt/xtr revolution fork | | Bottom Line: | after ridding the same hardtail for almost 10 years i am extremely skeptical of new suspension designs and this was no exception. with 8 pivots total i was scared but at the same time i knew it would be worth it if the design was as good as both felt and my LBS said it was. i was not disappointed once out on the trail. the design has very minimal pedal involvement and it seemed that the small amount of bob that i was getting was due to the weight of my legs pumping up and down and not the change in chain tension. the design worked so well that i never used the pro-pedal adjustment on the rear shock.
the other thing that blew me away was how well the bike cornered. i have ridden a few F/S bike that felt like two half's of a bike bolted together giving the feeling of the wheels not staying in the same plain. this virtue platform definitely felt solid in the corners so much so that sliding the rear end around was comfortable in the first few miles. i think that in the next couple of years this design will become one of the most sought after on the market. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant Kier
a Racer
from Missoula, MT, USA
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | 404 Crested Butte, CO | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Red Barn Bicycles | | Strengths: | Extolling the Virtue (two):
For 15 years I have ridden steel hard tails, mostly of the “Handmade in America” variety. For better than half of those 15 years I have been a cross country racer, though I did dabble in endurance events while living in Europe for a few years. I love singletrack, and on the trail I appreciate the tight, responsive feel of a hard tail, and the suppleness of a steel frame. For years friends have been pushing me to join the world of full suspension. The charitable would call me old school, the less generous would shorten that title by a word.
I have tried full suspension bikes in the past, and admittedly, I have enjoyed the novelty of riding over parking barriers, curbs, and down a few staircases in the shop parking lot. However, once out on the trail I have always been disappointed with the performance of full suspensions on anything but technical descents. As hours on the trail pile up, so too has my distaste for full suspension. More often than not they remind me of riding in an old Cadillac, which in turn always reminds me of riding in a boat. The Felt Virtue Two is the first full suspension bike that I have ridden for more than a day. It was just as fun in the parking lot as many others, but it didn’t let me down out on the trail, or in its first race last weekend.
There are few XC full suspensions on the market today that don’t improve comfort, performance, and ultimately speed, when descending. The Felt is no different. With the front fork unlocked, and the rear Fox Float RP3 open, it grabs the trail through rough terrain and has a surprisingly true-feeling geometry as it soaks up the bumps. Easy enough, right? We all know that the ultimate test of an XC full suspension, and where the Virtue Two really shines, is its performance on flats and climbs.
I now have about a month on the bike including a few days of high-end hill intervals and 1 day of racing. This bike climbs! With the rear fork closed down (no full lockout no the RP3), there is virtually no bobbing. However, when climbing over rough terrain the suspension kicks in and I can stay comfortably seated, again without feeling as though there is any effect on my body position or the drive train performance. As a test, I did several threshold hill intervals on a paved climb with the rear shock set at manufacturers specified pressure and varying my cadence between 80 and 115 rpms. Travel in the rear shock ranged from a mere 5-10 mm. In contrast, a seated climbing over rough terrain produced as much as 22-27 mm of travel at the shock. With superb bump absorption on a rough climb, there were many fewer occasions when I felt a need to stand while climbing.
| | Weaknesses: | However, when chasing a hard tail rider up a long hill, there were a few occasions when I wanted to stand and hammer. Here is the one place where the bike performed less than desirably. It was no worse than any other full suspension I’ve been on, but it wasn’t much better either. There is remains some room for improvement, though I don't think it is limited to this bike. Another thing to note is that the bike comes stock with and E-type XT front derailer. It didn’t take long (about a day) before I realized that this thing needed to be replaced with a standard top-pull front derailer. The standard XT will fit the frame with just a little bit of creativity and it is much lighter and better performing than the stock E-type. | | Bike Setup: | Stock with Flight saddle, carbon bar, and standard top-pull XT Front Derailer (see weaknesses above). | | Bottom Line: | For anything but an ambitious pro rider the Virtue Two is an excellent, race worthy bike. For someone with more ambition and money, the Virtue one will shed a few pounds and offer all the same benefits of this tight climber and plush descender. I don't think anything should get 5 Chili's after only a month of riding, so stay tuned for updates later by visiting http://www.mtbikeracing.com | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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