FELT bicycles to be sold

[merckxman]

From THE LEADOUT:

"FELT bicycles to be sold due to ‘difficult’ economic environment.
Felt bicycles are set to be sold for the third time in six years due to its parent company looking to focus on its other business interests, particularly on the production of motorcycles and e-bikes."

[hoj]

I've been wondering about what's going on at Felt for some time, so perhaps this news doesn't come as much of a surprise.

5-10 years ago I felt like they had a decent market presence and I saw lots of riders on their bikes. Over the last few years though I don't recall really seeing anyone on their bikes, nor have I seen much if any marketing presence from them online.

Bummer because I feel like they always made decent stuff. Hopefully the new owners are able to turn things around but it feels like really poor timing economy-wise to try and resurrect a brand.

[avalonracing]

They make good bikes and are a decent value. I hope they continue post-sale.

[EB]

Those are pretty good bikes but I felt they could be better.

[ssb94]

I'm excited about this. They were making some of the best road race bikes circa 2012-2016 and the company that bought them absolutely gutted the business. Went from a small company with a heavy focus on R&D and great customer service to a lifeless shell that existed almost entirely on social media. Even long time dealers couldn't get basic replacement parts. Hopefully the new owners will be able to rekindle the old ethos and ramp up production again. Long live Felt!

[prototoast]

My first road bike was a felt, and it served me very poorly. RIP.

[AngryScientist]

Not a surprise I guess. I havent heard a thing about FELT in a long time, it seems. Hopefully they can keep the brand alive as a real brand that continues to innovate and keep up with the competition, rather than a name only as we have seen happen to other brands.

[mhespenheide]

I have a carbon rim-brake FELT and still adore it. It's a great bike.

[texbike]

Agreed! I hope that new ownership is able to breathe new life into them. However, they’ve always been one of those brands that were on the periphery. In a crowded market, I’m not really sure how they stand out at this point…

With that said, the year before last, I picked up a mint Z5 and was blown away by the build/finish quality (MUCH better than a very well known Italian brand) and how well it rode (easily as good as more expensive bikes I’ve had). If it hadn’t been for my dislike of top tubes with a significant slope and tall head tubes, I’d still have it.

Texbike

[bigbill]

This is a "yelling at clouds post." I remember when Jim Felt owned the company in the mid-90s, and his road offerings were super light (at the time) welded aluminum frames. They were Yeti-like in that they offered a great ride until they broke. They lasted several seasons under a 140# rider, but big, aggressive riders had durability problems. I thought Felt had disappeared until the brand reappeared in the early 00s.

[buddybikes]

Just another Asian produced company owned by investors, whatever....

[p nut]

Originally Posted by buddybikes

Just another Asian produced company owned by investors, whatever....

What does it being an Asian company have anything to do with this? I’d imagine you’d not have the majority of your bikes/components if it weren’t for the Asian market.

[ssb94]

Originally Posted by ssb94

I'm excited about this. They were making some of the best road race bikes circa 2012-2016 and the company that bought them absolutely gutted the business. Went from a small company with a heavy focus on R&D and great customer service to a lifeless shell that existed almost entirely on social media. Even long time dealers couldn't get basic replacement parts. Hopefully the new owners will be able to rekindle the old ethos and ramp up production again. Long live Felt!

FWIW when I picked my Felt up from the shop today, they were stoked to talk about the new version of the FR that was announced recently. Time will tell, but the shop (which is a Felt dealer) seems really optimistic about the new ownership!

[5oakterrace]

I do not know much about Felt, but I wonder how any of these small brands "make it" in this new cycling environment. We are seeing these smaller brands go thru big changes: Kona, Pole, Felt. The Treks of the world have the $ for r and d. How does a small brand compete with that, especially when all these brands are having these permanent sales because they are squeezed by low demand and oversupply? Remember Trek is reducing orders by 40 percent. That is huge and reflects their view of future demand in 2 years. Any "re-organizdd" company will have to differentiate itself from the big brands and be price competitive at a time when big brands are all offering big discounts. Rough times.

[slosh415]

It looks like Felt has gotten back into making triathlon-specific bikes without needing to make them UCI-legal for time trials. Not too many companies are doing that, so it could be a niche for Felt to differentiate themselves. Did anyone even notice when they dropped their MTB line?

OT: I do have a cool Felt cx bike with 24" wheels that I got for my daughter, who loved it at first. Then I took her to one race where the promoter decided to put the kids on the course with the Cat 5s. So she was basically trampled by grown men and swore off bike riding.