Felt Edict Nine 2

The Edict family pre-dates the arrival and domination of the 29-inch wheel for cross-county riding. We reviewed the original small-wheeled Edict back in 2012, but she’s been retired now in favour the 29-inch model. Felt still make 26-inch and 27.5 inch bikes but the Edict is designed with one thing in mind, and that’s race level cross-country performance.

Some brands offer similar bikes in a range of wheel sizes, or a single suspension system for a number of different applications. Felt however chooses the platform to suit the travel range and intended use. The Edict is built around Felt’s ‘FAST’ (Felt Active Stay Technology) suspension design, a system that is unique to the carbon framed Edict models.

Their other suspension bikes use their Equilink platform; a comparatively complex multi-link system that’s designed to maximise pedalling efficiency in longer travel applications. FAST flies in the complete opposite direction, eschewing pivots in favour of minimal weight and simplicity.

FAST utilises a one-piece carbon seat-and-chainstay assembly, so there is no pivot near the rear wheel at all (only the entry-level alloy Edict uses a pivot). Instead, the design relies upon the flex that has been designed into the rear end; that’s the ‘Active Stay’ bit in their acronym.

Simple yet Elaborate

This special stay assembly is actually designed to affect the spring rate, influencing the suspension performance as it cycles through the travel. Think of the stay like a wishbone. Its design is so that when the shock is fitted and inflated, the two ends of the wishbone are actually being pushed together slightly. When the suspension goes deep into its travel – landing from a drop for example – the ends of the wishbone are pulled further apart. Felt suggest that you set the rear suspension with 25% sag; at this point the wishbone is in its neutral state—it’s not being compressed or extended. The theory is that when pedalling, the Active Stay wants to remain in its neutral position (at the sag point), discouraging the shock from moving up or down. The goal of course is to have a snappy pedalling machine; one that really puts the watts down to the back wheel when you unleash your massive power.

It’s an elegant solution and Felt is not the first or last company to go down this path. The Cannondale Scalpel uses a similar arrangement, Trek once used it on their Fuel and both Giant and Yeti have recently added flexing stay models to their 2015 line-ups. With fewer pivots there’s less opportunity for mechanical issues and less maintenance as a result.

Although the idea is simple, the lack of bikes on the market that use the concept tells us that it’s not as simple as it may first seem. In this case the carbon needs to flex up and down but not sideways. The flex is also meant to be spread across the entire length of the seat stays, rather than being concentrated at one point. An assumed benefit would be weight savings, but material also needs to be added at points to achieve the desired qualities. Our large Edict 2 frame weighed 2,420g. While that’s certainly respectable for a 100mm travel 29er, it’s not market leading and there are lighter frames out there that happen to have a full complement of pivots.

To gauge how much the leaf spring effect of the stays influenced the travel, we unbolted the shock whilst it was in the work stand. To begin with, the shock bolt was reluctant to slide out; a sure sign that it was under some load. Letting the air out of the shock and compressing it by 7-8mm freed the bolt, so Felt’s suggestion that the swing arm is ‘neutral’ when the system is setup with 25% sag seems bang-on. However, with the shock removed it was quite easy to cycle the suspension through its full travel range—I could do it with one hand. As a result we wouldn’t expect the built in spring to have a major bearing on the suspension function; it’s a relatively minor force when compared to a 60-90kg rider cranking down on the pedals when climbing a hill.

In essence the Edict is a stripped back single pivot design, with a rocker link driving the shock. The main swing arm pivot is located reasonably low on the frame, only just above the bottom bracket, which typically results in an ‘active’ suspension system that doesn’t stiffen too much under harder pedalling loads. Of course the RockShox Monarch shock plays an equally important role in determining the suspension feel. Felt chooses the general rebound and compression range at the factory, but externally the Monarch offers three compression settings; lockout, pedal and open, as well as the obligatory rebound dial.

The Edict spins along easily but on the blacktop I noticed plenty of weight induced suspension movement if the shock is left in the open setting. This seems to confirm my feeling that the Active Stays play a minimal role in limiting pedalling bob and the main pivot placement doesn’t deliver a lot of anti-squat. Once off-road, the suspension pretty much disappears underneath you and the unwanted movement only really rears its head when accelerating and putting in some heavy pedal strokes. The middle ‘pedal’ setting on the Monarch shock cleans up this movement entirely but also compromises the traction and comfort. As is often the case, the lockout won’t see much use except for on the road.

The Monarch moves comfortably into the first part of its travel, and the Edict shaves the ripples and small bumps off the surface of the trail as you’re whizzing along in the saddle. It’s perfect for eating up hour after hour of rolling trail. As the Monarch dips deeper into the travel, it firms up a touch. You’ll know about it if you take a lazy line and plough the rear wheel into pineapple-sized obstacle at low-to-mid-speed. Once the speed picks up again the Edict will bump the travel indicator ring right off the end of the shock without feeling harsh or overwhelmed.

Enduring Edict

The Edict frame is covered in curves. There are some brief straight sections but the tubes themselves are far from round. Aesthetically the frame rides a nice balance, using creative tube shapes without going overboard and creating a plumber’s nightmare. One thing is for sure; there are some big box sections of carbon around the head tube, bottom bracket and even in the swing arm. These undoubtedly contribute to the stiffness of the frame but the large box sections on the chainstays do limit tyre clearance and restrict the Edict to narrower XC rubber.

At $4,499 the Edict Nine 2 isn’t a top-end pro-level race bike, but it’s certainly not pocket change either. It really is a bike for the ‘privateer racer’. As a result the Edict needs to go the distance and last through several seasons of racing as well as training. With this in mind, the Edict frame features an outer layer of woven 3K carbon. Aside from providing a more consistent finish visually, the outer layer of crosshatched fibres serves as an added protective layer that will bear the brunt of most general knocks and bumps.

A traditional threaded style bottom bracket makes servicing easier in the long-haul and the headset uses bonded in alloy bearing seats with the aim of enhancing durability. It even comes with a thick custom rubber chainstay protector and clear adhesive frame guard on the down tube. It’s admirable that in an era of planned obsolescence and marketing before longevity, Felt has gone to such lengths to protect their customers’ bikes.

Marathon Machine

As a competition focused platform, the Edict needs to be able to climb. Seated climbing is good, and strong riders will be fine with the 2x10 XT drivetrain. The Reba fork has a handlebar mounted remote lockout but firming up the rear shock involves reaching down and fishing for the compression lever on the Monarch; this can prove a little fiddly, especially when you’re using a water bottle. Flip to ‘pedal’ on the rear shock and you’ll have a set and forget mode for shorter XCO style events that involve lots of intense out of the saddle bursts—just lock the fork as required. For longer seated climbs and marathon style events, the Edict offers a nice blend of efficiency, comfort and traction, so you can happily leave the rear shock open and keep your focus on the trail.

Felt’s geometry is fairly conservative, borrowing heavily from the last five-to-eight years of 29er development. The 450mm chainstay measurement is at the longer end of the range these days and while this limits agility, it also places you more evenly between the wheels on steep climbs. This provides dependable traction without needing to perform an ongoing gyration routine on the nose of the saddle. Felt compensates for the slower, long-chainstay handling by employing a steep 71.5-degree head angle. This tucks the front wheel in towards you and further enhances the seated climbing prowess. I won’t boast, as I failed, but the Edict got me within one pedal stroke of clearing one particular technical climb for the first time. It definitely made the task easier than some other machines.

What goes up must come down and the steep head angle could make the Edict a real nail biter, however it avails itself better than expected. The effective and very useable suspension travel helps to keep momentum, while the solid frame keeps the Edict on line. Although the geometry is a little old school, the standover of the Edict is exceptional (and it fits a full size water bottle in the main triangle too) which always boosts confidence. Felt’s in house carbon bar is 720mm wide and complemented by a stubby 80mm stem. The extra leverage is welcome, as once things do start to go wrong, the steep head angle can work against you by making the front wheel turn sideways in the bat of an eyelid.

Felt has stuck with Shimano for the brakes and gears; a reliable choice for what should be a very reliable bike. The front derailleur mounts to the chainstay via a direct mount, so a single ring conversion will look very clean on the Edict frame. The shift cables are routed inside the frame, which complements the sleek and swoopy look. Large removable cable stops make the job of fishing cables through the frame relatively easy. Riders interested in converting to a 1X set-up should also note that the XT rear derailleur is a non-clutch version. On the trail, we’d take a clutch equipped SLX derailleur over and non-clutch XT every time. The Deore level brakes may seem like a clear down-spec on a $4,499 dually but they work just as well as the more glamorous Shimano models.

The Edict is definitely suited to fit riders that get their kicks from endurance riding. Hill repeats should be on the menu, as should lyrca, buff singletrack and transition zones. Challenging technical cross-country terrain is doable if the rider has the skills, but there are definitely bikes in the Felt range that are far better suited to trail riding duties. With its solid climbing performance, especially on long steep drags, as well as the ability to fit a full-sized water bottle, the Edict makes an ideal marathon or stage-racing machine.

Thumbs Up

Mechanical simplicity and durability

Will climb as far as you can pedal it

Excellent standover clearance 

Thumbs Down

No clutch on the rear derailleur

Old-school 29er geometry won’t appeal to some

Limited tyre clearance 

Specifications

Frame: UHC Performance carbon fibre

Shock: RockShox Monarch RT3 100mm Travel

Fork: RockShox Reba RL 100mm Travel

Headset: FSA integrated

Handlebars: Felt Carbon flat 720mm

Stem: Felt 3D forged

Shifters: Shimano XT

Front Derailleur: Shimano XT

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT

Cassette: Shimano, 11/36 10-speed

Chain: Shimano

Cranks: Shimano XT 24/38

Bottom Bracket: Shimano (threaded)

Pedals: N/A

Brakes: Shimano Deore

Wheels: Mavic Crossride

Tyres: Continental X-King Folding 2.2

Saddle: Felt Cro-mo rail

Seatpost: Felt butted alloy

Weight: 12.3kg without pedals (Large frame 2,420g)

Available Sizes: S, M, L (tested) and XL

Price: $4,499

Distributor: Southcotts (03) 9580 7388 / www.feltbicycles.com