Submitted by
Echo
a Cross Country Rider
from Redmond, WA
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2006
Strengths: I LOVE this bike. I had admired it for years from a design element as it is one of the nicest looking bikes ever made. It performs equally as well. You can land this bike from 3 foot drops, the bike sticks and you continue riding. It by far handles nicer than any bike I have ridden. It's too pretty to abuse and thrash around... buy a cheaper bike to malest if that is your intention. For some nice trail riding and cross-country I have nothing but a wonderful experience with this bike. It's relatively light and strong, and excellent control. Bumps are dampened by the thermoplastic design.
Weaknesses: I personally wouldn't purchase a bike this nice if you are going to purposely trash it on the trails. Some of the people who submit these reviews are ape nuts and dish out some major hurt on their bikes. I have ridden this aggressively, and it still outshines any bike I have ridden.
Bottom Line:
This is the bike by which all should be judged. It's gorgeous and rides equally as well. If you are looking to purposely trash a bike, this is too nice for you.
Bike Setup: Easton MG60 Stem, EC70 riser bar, EC70 seatpost, XTR on nearly everything else.
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Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Dillon, MT, USA
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2004
Strengths: Beautiful bike, suspension works great for all around biking. I'm light but ride agressivly and have broken no shock or had any problems with the frame or i-drive
Weaknesses: Somewhat heavy with the i-drive system, top tube seems a little short. Original price was crazy
Bottom Line:
This is a great all around bike, pobably a little heavy for x- and a bit too much rear travel too. If the shock is setup correctly there isn't too much rear suspension bob. Over all I love this bike, trying to lighten it up though.
Bike Setup: White bros fork, sid rear shock, xtr/xt drive train, billet ders., sram brakes
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Submitted by
gogo Baby
a Cross Country Rider
from Redmond
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2003
Strengths: Beautifully designed bike. I purchased it slightly used from a dealer in Canada. Frame is totally comfortable as it used the Thermoplastic, aluminum and dual suspension.
I absolutely love this MTB. I weigh 210 lbs and have no trouble with the frame at all.
Weaknesses: Disc Brakes are making some funny noises... for being slightly used I wouldn't expect them to have trouble, but I had heard that formular brakes have some issues. They still work fine, but are not smooth as you would expect... may just need some maintanence.
Bottom Line:
I really love this bike. I don't do the harcore riding I used to, but this thing is comfortable, and great control.
If you can afford this bike, maybe even slightly used as I purchased mine, it is a dream to ride. Definitely not a bike that you want to trash. I would be careful of impacting the frame against rocks or logs, simply because of the nature of the thermoplastic... but supposidly it is really strong... seems so to me. I feel much better on it than my Cannondale.
I have wanted this bike for a long time, and it exceeded every expectation I have had. A+
Similar Products Used: Test ridden numerous mountain bikes of all brands.
Bike Setup: Pretty much all XTR and high end. Built for Race.
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Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Gold Canyon, Arizona
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2002
Strengths: The I-drive has worked great with almost no maintenance on the RockShox SID for 1 1/2 years (surprisingly!). She's a great climber and descender. Incredibly forgiving on just about any line taken going down hill. Great FS balance between the SID Dual Air rear and SID SL 100 fork!
Weaknesses: Obviously, as the other reviewers have mentioned... GT has gone over to the dark side and sold out to Pacific following their bankruptcy. I fear for the eventual warranty related issues. So far, the bike shop has been great handling the little things.
This bike is more suited to Trail Riding and light Freeride rather than racing duties as the suspension length makes for a high center of gravity. But that is more of an observation than a weakness as the high chainrings clear most obstacles!
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. Fortunately, I haven't had the suspension or frame problems of the other reviewers. But I'm probably lighter at 160 lbs. -- putting less stress on the frame.
The GT STS 1000 is the perfect balance of light weight frame and sturdy, mid-size suspension. With the 5" (front) and 4.5" (rear) suspension, this bike fits nicely between an XC racer and a Freeride, which is perfect for how I ride. I've raced it. Taken it on all day epic rides on Colorado mountain passes, and surfed down some pretty hairy drop-offs on the National and Hawes trails in the Phoenix/Mesa area. I'm just holding my breath on "what if the frame breaks" issue...
Because I paid half-price, as it was slightly used when I bought it, I can justify the high value rating.
Favorite Trail: National Trail at South Mountain in Phoenix
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Purchased At: Slightly used... and paid Cash at undisclosed bike shop.
Similar Products Used: I tested these before buying... Santa Cruz Superlite, Gary Fisher Sugar, Cannondale Jekyl, Schwinn Rocket 88.
Bike Setup: Cane Creek Wheels/Hubs, Easton MonkeyLite carbon riser bar, WTB saddle, SRAM 9.0 Shifters, XTR cranks and front derailer, SRAM 9.0SL rear derailer, SID SL100 fork, Kore stem.
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Submitted by
J Lanham
a Cross Country Rider
from Orange Park, FL
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2001
Strengths: GT's I-drive suspension system.
Weaknesses: The biggest weaknesses are the criminals at GT (or Pacific or whoever the hell they are now) that will not return my phone calls, emails, or letters concerning my warranty issue that has been outstanding since July 2001. This frame has a number of weaknesses which includes the seatpost boom (broken two), the top tube bolt (broken four), the top tube bushing (broken once), and the rectangular plug in the bottom of the frame does not snap into place, but, is glued in place (lost one).
Bottom Line:
The good news is that GT is bankrupt, because no one should be allowed to sell this kind of crap and offer such pitiful customer service. The bad news is that all of us that have GT warranty issues are SOL. Perhaps a class action law suit would help.
Similar Products Used: GT RTS (frame cracked at weld near seat tube and top tube); GT XCR1000 I-drive (again, frame cracked at weld near seat tube and top tube); GT XCR3000 I-drive (this is my wife's bike which I am riding while my STS 1000 I-drive is down)
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z1 X-fly; XT disc brakes, hubs, derailleurs; XTR shifters; Chris King headset; Race Face cranks, chainrings, riser bar, stem, seat post; Sunn disc rims.
Strengths: CF frame absorbes a lot of small hits, great on any terrain--up or down, I-drive system, seems built to last
Weaknesses: weird frame creaks and moans. If it's worth it, the decals scratch off very easily.
Bottom Line:
No holds--or trails--barred! This bike is a go-everywhere, do-anything ride. The bike screams smoothly downhill and floats seemlessly uphill.
This is my first FS and I've only ridden it for 3 months so I don't have much experience to call upon. I can say that I have no complaints, only praises for the bike. If you can find one and afford it, buy it!
Bike Setup: Full XTR, KORE Elite stem and post, Hellbent bars, King headset, mavic 517 wheels, Fire XC Pro F/R
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Submitted by
Steve Gensler
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco, Ca. USA
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2001
Strengths: Sweet ride when it's running, unfortunately, it breaks down approximately every 4 rides.
Weaknesses: Everything. Especially the manufacturer. Never buy GT!
Bottom Line:
This bike runs like diarea. It requires more maintanence than my girl friend. Where to start........Let me start with the frame. The frame design itself has a major flaw. The bolt that connects the frame to the rear shock is prone to break at the worst opportunity. I have snapped 5 of these bolts in the past 16 months and have to carry extra bolts with me at all times. Now the frame squeaks all the time, it's the noisiest bike I've ever heard. What the F*&@! is this all about. The formula brakes is the next problem. GT discontinued the formula brakes about 6 months after I bought the bike. I've had several problems with this, everything from the disc warping to the reservoir leaking fluid. The real problem is that Formula has no one to represent them in the US so if you have a brake problem expect a 2-3 week wait AND GT WILL NOT HELP WITH THIS ISSUE. As a matter of fact every issue I have with this bike takes 2-3 weeks to fix or replace. (I've had the bike for 16 months and it has been in the shop for 3 MONTHS waiting for replacement parts.) I recently asked GT to replace my disc brakes with the disc brakes they are currently using and they told me they would credit me $40 for the formula brakes and I could buy my own disc brakes. THIS IS GT'S MOST EXPENSIVE BIKE AND THEY ARE TELLING ME THAT $40 IS WHAT THE FORMULA BRAKES ARE WORTH! Let's do some math $3600 minus $40=$3560 (Where the hell did they come up with the price for this bike?) What kind of S&*% are they putting on this bike? A few weeks ago GT finally caved in and told me they would credit me a few dollars for my frame, but never told me how much they would give me and with in 4 days they declared bankruptcy. Here's the bottom line....You don't see many GT STS-1000's for a reason, not because they're too expensive...It's because they SUCK and do not support they're product. I've owed a GT for 10 yrs and will NEVER buy another one. Fortunately, I don't have to since they've gone bankrupt.
Similar Products Used: Ventana, Klein, Mountain Cycle
Bike Setup: Carbon Fiber frame, Marzocchi x-fly, formula disc brakes.
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Submitted by
Andy Orr
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Collins,CO
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2001
Strengths: Straight walled thermoplastic tubes and 4.5 inches of rear travel is like riding in a big old Caddy. The frame and pivots have held up nicely over two years of Moab, Fruita, Winter Park and all the local trails. It's.... almost decadent. The WTB wheelset seems to be bombproof - I still haven't had to true a wheel. Formula Evoluzione disc brakes work great if you can endure the learning curve. XTR drivetrain works very well. I-Drive is the most versatile and inovative FS design on the market.
Weaknesses: This is very nitpicky- The stock SID SL was nice and light but very flexy for me (210 lbs). Swapped it right away. The Syncros stem and seatpost didn't seem worthy... SDG saddle didn't fit me well. It was originally built up as an XC racer - not my style.
Bottom Line:
A recent commment in Mountain Bike magazine kind of flamed this frame because one of those guys felt there was no reason to build a more expensive, heavier version of the XCR / LTS frame just for the sake of using carbon. I disagree. This frame sucks up all of the little stutters and bumps on the trail. In comparison, most aluminum FS bikes feel primitive. Hardtails are downright abusive after riding this frame.
Although it was once super-expensive you can now find these frames (rarely) for around $600 - $800. I would highly recommend that if you ever have the opportunity to pick up one of these now discontinued frames - do it.
I am deducting one chili on value because any bike at this price point - sold in any LBS - should allow customization of parts to allow for custom fit and riding style. $3500.00 is alot of money to pay for a bike that isn't just right.
