The Felt DUAL-e (dual suspension) electric bike reaches the pinnacle of performance for off road eMountain riding. It’s incredibly stiff and light weight for an electric bike and with four frame sizes it delivers an excellent fit for a broad range of rider body types. The Bosch centerdrive is incredibly effective when climbing even the steepest sections and the 27.5″ wheels provide excellent traction and momentum without losing too much agility on technical sections. I found that the seat post drop with remote activation came in handy for seamless transition to descents and the remote button pad for the Bosch Intuivia computer display became second nature after ten minutes of use. You get a tactile “click” when switching pedal assist modes so you don’t even have to look down to adjust the drive settings. Between the premium Shimano Shadow XT Plus 10 speed cassette and RockShox suspension with custom tune, this ebike is precision-tuff.
The motor assisting you is a 350 watt geared mid-drive design from Bosch built right into the bottom bracket. Weighing in at ~6 pounds and operating with a sort of electronic whir, this thing is very powerful and in Turbo Mode (the highest drive setting) will take you up the steepest hills you can find. In my experience, the rear wheel will begin to slip before the motor even gets close to giving up (as long as you’re pedaling along). The centerdrive mounting position of this thing keeps weight low and center but might expose the casing to more trauma on rocky or wooded trails. The plastic casing is designed to protect the system and the two year electronics warranty adds peace of mind. So it’s powerful and durable but most importantly… it’s responsive. With two sensors embedded in the motor and one at the rear wheel this bike is constantly measuring your pedal force, cadence and bike speed for instantaneous activation and deactivation. This is especially important for technical riding conditions.
Powering the motor is a 400 watt hour Lithium-ion battery pack with premium Samsung cells. It offers 36 volts of power and 11 amp hours of capacity which is a bit above average and it’s very well spent with the efficient motor. The pack mounts directly to the downtube and stays completely out of the way of your legs and feet when pedaling; it’s nearly the same form factor as a water bottle. That said, given the battery and rear suspension configuration on this bike, there aren’t any water bottle cage mounting points. Along these same lines, given the crowded triangle area of the frame, you may need a rack adapter for hanging style bike racks or just go for a tray-style rack for your car. Given the 8.8 lb weight of the removable pack you can get this thing down to ~34 lbs for transport and that’s important if you’re working with a weight limit.
To activate this bike you simply connect a charged battery and then press the power button at the lower left corner of the LCD display unit. The large backlit console is mounted front and center for easy viewing and offers several readouts with a constant show of speed, battery and assist level. The display is removable but also comes with a set screw for securing it more permanently. To cycle through menus there’s a button at the top right of the display marked with an i and this is duplicated on the remote button pad at the left grip for easy access. The information button lets you cycle through overall distance, trip distance, max speed, average speed, estimated range, and time. My favorite readout is range because it dynamically adjusts as you arrow between four levels of assist and factors in remaining battery capacity. With the range estimator you can plan rides on the fly and avoid getting stuck far, far from the parking lot. You can expect to get great range however, up to 65 miles in the lowest level of assist on flats, and that’s not an exaggeration. Cycling through assist levels is very easy using the button pad and you can literally click through without taking your hand off the grip and without even looking down as mentioned earlier. It’s a great design that lets you focus on riding the bike vs. interpreting menus and it’s native to all Bosch Gen2 systems. In my time riding off-road I tend to stay in Eco mode and then click the system off if I’m passing pedestrians (to eliminate motor noise and avoid questions or concern from them) and then when I’m climbing steep stuff I’ll arrow up to Normal mode and be able to climb without leaving the saddle. This tactic has worked with even the steepest terrain I’ve encountered.
I’m sure technology will get better and better but for 2015 this is the clear winner for full suspension electric bikes available in the United States. Felt has drawn from their rich racing heritage and partnered with a leading drive system manufacturer. Even though there’s some controversy about allowing ebikes on mountain trails, in my experience onlookers have been extremely interested and floored to get their after doing a test ride. This thing doesn’t spin out, won’t assist over 20 mph and isn’t loud enough to hear over the sounds of gravel and rocks below your tires. It’s a beautiful expression of the latest design and technology features available in the bicycle space and the price tag isn’t much different than a premium non-electric full suspension bike. For people with knee injuries, limited endurance or the simply the desire to go further and climb more efficiently this thing is a masterpiece. It’s awesome to see a well respected company like Felt acknowledging the ebike space and doing it right.
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CESAR
10 years agoLlevo ya un tiempo mirando esta bicicleta,me parece su explicación muy buena, pero yo con mis dudas tambien he mirado otras opciones , y quisiera su opinion sobre la Scott E Spark 720,y de la cube stereo hybrid entre otras,y si me merece invertir en la Felt dual e 10 .Otra pregunta es el motor que aqui pone de350 w,y yo pensaba que era de 250 w.Espero su respuesta reciba un cordial saludo, Cesar
ReplyCourt Rye
10 years agoHola Cesar, yo era dueño de una bicicleta de montaña Scott y realmente me encantó. Aunque no he probado su chispa E 720 Apuesto a que es bastante bueno teniendo en cuenta el uso del sistema de Bosch. Si usted vive en Europa, es probable que todos estos modelos ofrecen 250 vatios contra 350 porque las regulaciones son más estrictas (también, usted tiene un límite de velocidad de 15,5 mph, mientras que los EE.UU. tienen 20 mph). Espero que esto ayude, todas estas bicicletas son de alta calidad por lo que podría bajar a su presupuesto o preferencia de estilo. Creo que el Daule fieltro es uno de los más ligeros de peso diseña por ahí para la suspensión total de estilo de montaña.
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