FELT Virtue, has anybody tried one?

[pbayne]

I'm looking into the FELT virtue series. Their equilink full suspension system seems pretty nice (according to company propaganda). I'd probably just buy the race frame and build it up. Has anyone out there tried one out or raced on the Virtue One or Virtue Two?

[CountZero]

I count twelve small diameter pivots in the linkage. I would not expect those to hold up well in mid-Atlantic conditions.

http://www.feltracing.com/tech/virtue.asp

The design is similar in concept to (though differently executed than) VPP and DW-Link designs.

The equilink bar keeps perpendicularly aligned chain tension forces from actuating the suspension links.

DW does it a little differently. At sag, the lower link pivots are about inline with chain tension, so the chain tension doesn't much actuate the suspension.

VPP actually has a lot of chain tension interaction, as it uses chain tension to pull the suspension into an "optimal" sag point.

All three designs seek to decouple pedaling and suspension performance, the first two more passively than the third.

[eloach]

It's not cheap and it's not THAT light, so why bother? I looked at it and was not impressed with the specs. I didn't find any place that had one to ride at that time, but there may be some at dealers now.

What about an Ellsworth, Titus or some other known entity?

Unless you have a chance to get a great deal on it... why bother?

[eloach]

The weight and spec are about like this Trek

http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1169600&f=12

and so is the price (unfortunately).

Todd at The Bike Lane rides this Trek if you want to take a look. It is nice.

The Trek suspension worked fairly well. It is a very stable AM machine. It better be for that kind of cash. The Fox RP23 is outstanding, as is the Talas.

[Pinoy Rider]

A little different, I wouldn't mind taking a spin on it. :)

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=231252&highlight=virtue