Felt Compulsion 2 vs Merida One Five O 3000D

[dunndog]

So crew, looking at these 2 for an AM rig. From what I've read they both seem quite capable, the Felt built a bit lighter than the Merida, but the Merida gets the travel adjustable forks for ascending, although it's a more descending oriented bike so it's a bit of a trade off there maybe.. I mostly ride dh, and my AM outings will sometimes be for the k's and sometimes be for the thrills. Any opinions on either of these bikes would be greatly appreciated- how do they go up, down and punching k's on flat? Cheers peeps!
*EDIT* I should point out I have a very sexy DH rig, so the AM will not be used for any super burly descending, but saying that I do want To be able to descend aggressively and be able to ride flat and uphill at my own pace-which isn't mind altering but will no doubt improve...

 

[swatto90]

redemption

mate never ridden either but i have a felt redemption 2 and it was an amzaing bike it decends so well acending is a little bit slower but that could just be me. just be careful, i snapped myn it was 3 years old they have covered it under warrenty. i hadnt heard of any other felt redemptions snapping before but.

 

[trail muncher]

I can't say what the felt is like nor exactly the one five but i have the one forty.
Good is components for the coin. I completed the jetblack 6 plus 6 and still ride downhill and all mountain on it. Shocks are a big bonus.
Bad is wheels and i feel it relies on pro pedal for stopping bob up hills.
For the coin, consider the Norco Range 2. Bit better than the merida i think.

 

[Fifteen.Hundred]

Go the Felt, very under rated bike. if it's the bronze/white one i'm thinking of, looks unreal in the flesh!

I've got a mate that rides one, when he's not on his downhill bike. FWIW i've seen him take it down Bandages or Glory at the Youies numerous times without any issues. Peddles back up to do it all again.

I ride a Virtue and can vouch for the Equilink system too, it lives up and deliveres on the hype.

 

[harmonix1234]

Have you thought about a Jeckyll?

$3K US gets you the aluminium version.
1.5" headtube, adjustable rock shox seatpost standard, fox fork 120mm-150mm adjustable, fox shock 90mm-150mm adjustable.
Is aimed at the AM market that don't mid climbing. Hence the marketing dep's wanky tag of 'OM' (over mountain).

Getting this info from the latest AMB but it looks the goods for what you have described.

(But if it were between the merida and the felt I'd go the felt. Purely based on their R&D)

There's 6 versions so there should be one to suit your budget.

http://www.cannondale.com/aus/bikes/mountain/over-mountain/jekyll

(Models below in descending order from Jeckyll ultimate, carbon, down to Jeckyll 5)

 

[Storm999]

I recently (as in last week) bought a 2010 Felt Compulsion 2 (I was looking to get a 2011 Compulsion 3, but no larges in the country. Forced upgrades, best upgrades).

The reasons I went with the Felt over every other bike I looked at (Giant, Scott, 2nd hand Yeti were the main contenders) were:

1) The rear suspension (Equilink)

Stupid name and apparently ripped off from an old design, however its designed the way I would design a suspension linkage, i.e. set the parameters you want, then fool with the linkage until it fits the origional spec. The parameters Felt set were no pedal bob, no pedal kick back/chain growth, no brake jack and using a standard sized shock. Pretty much they succeeded.

2) The geometry.

The Felt just felt right. Slack enough, tall enough.

3) Value

Because Felt isn't really known in the world of MTBing (yet...) their MTB bikes are good value compared to the larger brands (also helps that I got a killer deal on my bike)

From my experience on this bike (obligatory grain of salt warning:first dualie, recently purchaced, only 3 rides so far, all at Stromlo, coming off a steep, cheap, "recreational" MTB hardtail), its confidence inspiring.

I'm blasting down lines and over things that would have given me kittens until now. The suspension does what it says on the box (still playing with air pressures mind you), the geo still feels right and seems to be a good middle ground between a slack going down bike and a steep going up bike (first slack bike ever mind you), and the component spec feels awsome to me (full SLX gruppo and Fox shock + fork).

If you have any specific questions, or if you want to meet at Stromlo to do a bike swap for a ride, let me know (drop me a PM).

 

[Wellsey]

Just a note on travel adjustable forks. I have 140mm Fox Talas on both my bikes and never use the travel adjust.

Some people might, but with the stem low and low rise bars, I never feel the need to. I would go Floats in the future, just to save a few bucks and some weight.

 

[dunndog]

Cheers for the feedback guys, keep it coming! I'm leaning pretty heavily to the compulsion, seems to fit just what I want and at an excellent price. Felt bikes do seem very competitively priced, so a discounted one seems like a steal! Wellsy, I'm glad you put that in about adjustable forks. Been wondering about that. I won't be doing any super steep climbing (yet) and if I'm planning mega k's on flat I'll just up the seat if need be. For those that have one, I'm about 5'11", would you go medium or large?

 

[Storm999]

I'm 6'2", large felt perfect for me, so I stopped looking. I noticed that on all my oher bikes I ended up with a 70cm saddle to handle bar distance, so I started there.

If you're used to shorter, more aggressive bikes (like DH bikes) the Med might be the go.

In the end, ride the size you'll get before you buy, if you can.