29'ers: Felt Pro versus GF Paragon, thoughts?

[rsosborn]

The Felts seem pretty well spec'ed out, and fit a little larger. I haven't ridden a Felt on the dirt though, only on street test ride. Has anyone ridden either on the trail, and can comment on differences in handling?

[Dirt]

I know nothing about the Felt, but I know a few things about the GF bikes... some good and some bad.

The Good: I'm a big fan of the Genesis geometry. Their bikes fit me and feel really good on the trail. You'll need to demo them to see if you agree.

The bad: This is my impression and doesn't have any statistical backing what-so-ever. Spend enough time on any forum (especially MTBR) and you're gonna find people who are breaking their frames. Our very own littletommy has broken one or two if I recall correctly.

I honestly don't know if they are any more prone to breaking than other 29ers or if there are just so many of them out on the trails that the reports of them breaking is amplified by sheer numbers.

I know many people who have ridden GF 29er frames and had great luck with them and no need to use their frame warranty. I know a few and have read about many more that have had problems. From everything I've heard, GF takes care of the problems.

Other than that, a test ride or demo day will answer tons of your questions.

Pete

[Jackson]

Spend enough time on any forum (especially MTBR) and you're gonna find people who are breaking their frames.

From everything I've heard, GF takes care of the problems.



Pete


Put me in the broken GF category. I love the bike - it rides well and fits me. I've been happy with the stock componetry thought I've swapped out the big ring for a bashguard and upgraded the tires.

My frame cracked under the bottom bracket. I don't know what specifically caused it. GF gave me a new frame pretty quickly. I used a shop demo bike in the interim.

I don't know anything about the other frame, but I'd recommend checking out the Paragon.

- Tom

[eloach]

The 2006 and earlier had issues with the frame that were supposedly fixed in the 2007 model. I have not broken mine yet. Little Tommy is huge and strong. The rear triangle of the Paragon is not strong enough for him. He broke it out at Wolf Gap I think, which is pretty technical.

I love the way my Paragon rides. I have not tried a bunch of other 29ers, but I am pleased with the Paragon. The bike has a nice spec for the price you can find it at.

Felt make nice road rides, but their MTBs have been known to have longevity issues. I would say read everything you can on MTBR.com, ride them both and maybe some others as well. I don't know how much you are looking to spend, but you might want to sample some other bikes because it is my belief that there are better hard tail 29ers out there than either the Paragon or the Felt. Steel might be an option to consider. I also met a guy on an Orbea one day out at EF, and it was a very nice 22 poundish CF 29er... which I would have been to scared to ride down BW because of it's price/CF, but he had no issues with it.

I have taken my Paragon down Bear Wallow several times without any issues, but I am also a fairly careful rider. I probably would not use the Paragon for a speed run down Bear Wallow but would opt for a dually.