FELT BREED 20
£2159 Lightweight aluminium meets dirt-conquering capability
The Felt is a ‘breed’ apart here, using lightweight aluminium instead of heavier but more compliant steel. It results in a bike that’s nearly a kilo-and-a-half lighter than the Vitus and Ragley, and two-anda-half kilos less than the all-steel BiviBIKE.
While it is significantly more expensive it’d be hard to find a bike for this kind of money equipped with a full carbon fork, carbon seatpost, titanium-railed saddle, carbon cranks, tubeless-ready wheels and quality tubeless tyres. That’s before we mention the SRAM Force drivetrain and brakes.
The Breed’s geometry is well thought-out, with a relaxed 71-degree head angle and road-like 73-degree at the seat. Throw in a 50mm fork offset and 38c tyres for a trail of 69mm. On the road and dirt, that means a bike that’s easy to manoeuvre and effortlessly copes with rough and random surfaces.
The 1035mm wheelbase cranks up stability while the cleverly kinked seat tube (1) means the bike’s rear end, with its 420mm chainstays, delivers a nimble edge. The Breed has plenty of tyre clearance, taking up to 45mm wide tyres in 700c and huge 2.1-inch tyres in 650b. The frame’s well-appointed with fixtures and fittings for three cages, internal routing for 1x and 2x drivetrains, a mount on the top tube for a bag, rack mounts and proper mudguard mounts with a bridge on the rear stays.
The Breed excels on fast hardpacked surfaces, and it’s the best bike here when it comes to tarmac between trail sections. Some of that’s down to the geometry and the use of 700c wheels; some of it’s down to the excellent graphene-infused Vittoria Terrano tyres (2). Their textured centre strip rolls fast on the hard stuff with its straightline speed not far off a road tyre. They’ve just enough shoulder
tread to bite on dirt corners but, as these are the ‘dry’ version of the tyre they don’t fair so well when the gravel’s wet and mud-laden. In adverse conditions the rear tyre breaks traction all too easily and we struggled to keep the front tracking true. I have used the ‘wet’ version of the tyre, however, and it’s impressive in the mud.
The gearing’s classic 1x gravel stuff, thanks to its 40-tooth chainring and 11-42 cassette, shifted using SRAM’s premium Force mech. The shifting’s crisp, while a chain-tensioning clutch on the mech ensured I didn’t drop the chain even on some seriously rocky descents. Felt’s choice of using a Praxis 1x specific carbon chainset (3) is a good one, I’ve always been impressed with the quality of Praxis components and the cranks here combine lightness with stiffness superbly and the tooth profiling of the chainring is as good for smooth operation and chain retention as SRAM’s own models. The Force brakes offer plenty of tactile feel that’s backed up with heaps of power.
The Breed’s finishing kit is from in-house brand Devox and it’s good. The Devox stem has weight-saving cut-outs at the clamp and it holds the brilliantly shaped Devox bar. With its compact drop, subtle flare and back-sweep, it’s superbly ergonomic and is comfortable down in the drops and on the hoods. The back sweep on the tops also gives a great cruising position.
Alexrims wheels feature a 21mm internal rim that’s built for tubeless tyres. The hubs spin smoothly on cartridge bearings, though took about 10 hours to bed in properly. The Breed’s running gear didn’t settle down quite as swiftly. The tubeless valves didn’t fit the rims as they should. Akin to the hubs, they soon settled down, but then both front and rear developed significant leaks, losing pressure as I rode. I switched the valve retaining nuts for ones with better rubber seals. It cured the problem and I’d like to see Felt do the same.
The Breed’s a truly superb bike – it’s great value, has wonderful on- and off-road manners and it has real spark when it comes to both acceleration and handling. If Felt can cure the pressure problems with the wheel set-up, I’d love the Breed’s charms even more.
The Breed’s a truly superb bike – it’s great value, has wonderful onand off-road manners and is sparky when accelerating