Strengths: Great plush ride, iDrive system is rad.
Weaknesses: THE SWINGARM WILL SNAP!!! It's not a question of if, it's a matter of when. I bought this as my first DH bike, and after two months, I snapped the frame.
Bottom Line:
If you find this bike anywhere, it'll be an amazing bike while you ride it, but don't get too attached, the swingarm WILL break, and there is no support from GT for a frame this old.
Favorite Trail: haskall canyon and san franciscito canyon
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At: ebay.com
Similar Products Used: K-mart bike...a mongoose...=(
Bike Setup: Boxxer fork, 2004 rock shox pro-deluxe in the rear, race face everything, hayes 8", intense 2.7 in front, 2.6 in rear,hadley hubs, mavic rims...nice
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Pete Davis
a Downhiller
from Atlanta,Ga (College in the rockies)
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2004
Strengths: Pedals great. Very confident ride. I really like the way the bike responds to drops, corners and rocky terrain. You can even adjust the wheel-base of the bike easily which allows you to have greater stability at for those high speed courses or adjust it to a smaller wheel-base for those tight corner twisty courses.
Weaknesses: Chain gets stuck sometimes. i-drive loosens up and makes a clicking sound
Bottom Line:
Buy the bike. I am known for destroying what I ride and this bike will take a beating like no other. Great for all types of riders. Pedals better than ANY other DH bike.The greatest feature this bike has is its versitillity.
Similar Products Used: tried many other DH bikes at local races
Bike Setup: Stock 2001 setup minus the azonic loveseat and Gazzaloddi tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
gabriel gallego
a Downhiller
from saugus, ca, US
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2004
Strengths: i think this frame is crazy...really strong, a lil heavy, but the strength makes up for it. the i-drive i think is amazing, there is such a big difference in peddling around in the mountains.also the fork is great, very strong, not too heavy (boxxer team)
Weaknesses: umm...none other then when i was being stupid, and showing off, and i tried a front wheel manual, pulled it too far over, and landed on the derailluer hanger which is anodized aluminum and just snapped right off...since the company went under and straight to pacific, i still have not recieved the part, only set back is the service, because there really is no more GT...*tear*
Bottom Line:
its an awsome bike...the crap ive put it through should have destroyed it by now..but it keeps on peddling. it would be the perfect bike only if the company was still alive, then it would be easier to get parts. but its still well worth it to search for the part and to keep this beautiful bike.
Similar Products Used: ...a wal-mart bike..mongoose xc-100!! i got it for 100 bucks i think. i just bought a new iron horse sgs team tho, looking forward to that =)
Bike Setup: all stock except for the gear shifter, switched to a sram, and the grips which are snafu ultra tacky, and changed the intense tire to a maxxis mobster..thats it
well it's been a year and the bikes still in 1 piece.
just a quick note to say that when i striped the bike i messured the amount of travel it is not 9 inchs more like 71/2 - 8 inches @ the most. I was slightly anyonyed about this discovery @ 1st but i realised that it don't mater how much travel the bike physically has it's what it rides like. which is perfect as many of the riders below me have testified. i have riden quite a few true nich bikes and to be honest most of them felt a bit wallowing and slow. if u can find 1, new or second hand, buy it u won't reget it. i
Das l-Drive System bleibt aktiv beim Bremsen. Bei anderen Multi-Gelenk Systemen schaukelt das Bike bei Bremsmanövern leicht auf - die Federaktivität reduziert sich dadurch deutlich. Beim I-Drive taucht der Hinterbau im Gegenteil leicht ein und bleibt auch bei harten Bremsmanövern voll aktiv.
I had the chance to try my friend's DHI. I was thinking about making one dh track and then go back on my 2001 stab primo. Finally, I rode the GT all day because I had never felt so comfortable on a bike. I exchanged the bike again for a 2002 bb7, and I disliked it so I asked for the gt again. I was riding faster then usual, releasing the brakes earlier in curves and I was jumping over roots and rocks most of the time. I was getting a better line (...higher in the curve and off the brakes) then what I usually do. Even better, I wasn't pushing, I was relaxed. After that we went for steep, difficult drops wuthout any trouble handling it. The bb is a bit low so I would put a small mrp rather than the big one to clear beneath and it would be a perfect dh bike. I had a great time riding it!
Weaknesses: No support from GT/Pacific. My friend's DHi Race has cracked the rear swing arm assembly twice this season. Mine has suffered no such problems.
Bottom Line:
Awesome, Awesome bike. If you are willing to risk owning an expensive bike that may not have a warranty, Go for it. This thing is plush and responsive. I wouldn't think twice about buying another.
Strengths: Drivetrain, Fork, Shock...its all SWEET
Weaknesses: Handlebar too narrow, grips too skiny
Bottom Line:
Stock spring seems to be way too soft for my weight ..215 lbs. Unfortunately have only pedaled around the neighbhor hood. At this point I am apprehensive about any hard riding until I get the proper spring. Will post future feedback after my first race next week at Hobby Park in Winston Salem NC.
Submitted by
Jake
a Downhiller
from Montesano, Wa. USA
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2002
Strengths: bullet proof monster T and fox vanilla RC. pedals like an xc bike and sucks up the biggest drops. ride urban at the WSU pullman campus. tioga wheels indestructible
Weaknesses: Stock tires sucked. metal bead actually pulled through the casing and xc tubes were too lite. front end is heavy with the monster T but thats the trade off for a bullet proof fork
Bottom Line:
Buy this bike if you can find it. its a dream come true for racing and freeriding. I ride 4 miles on logging roads to get to the dh course during the summer months and it rides like a xc bike on the way out.
Similar Products Used: Kona Stab Primo w/monster T, Yeti DH9 with boxxer
Bike Setup: headtube as slack as possible. 5 clicks compression 8 clicks rebound. no preload on monster T with custom eibach progressive wound springs. 7.5wt PJ1 fork oil. azonic PDW bars and odi lock on grips. wtb saddle
Strengths: Race proven frame, pedals like mad (i-Drive rocks) 9 inches of travel, light enough to race, Hayes 8 inch, smashing price, 12mm axel, ajustible wheel base hadley hub enough XTR to make a XC guy want the bike.
Weaknesses: Monster-T, handle bar is way to narrow, HA is 1 degree too slack for my liking (easy fix, weak tires tubes, very limited rear tire space makes haveing the short wheelbase setting rather pointless.
Bottom Line:
Too bad they went under. this GT sets a whole new standard for DH bikes
Bike Setup: Boxxer (big improvement) michlen 2.5 tires, lots of XTR. Dura ace casstte and rear derailer
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Robert Cavaleri
a Weekend Warrior
from Milford, Ct US
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2002
Strengths: Built like a tank. Kicks serious arse on any drop you throw at it. Bike feels brand new after other guy's bikes fall apart. Excellent component spec. Best buy on the web if you can get one. Monster T fork!
Weaknesses: A tad on the heavy side, which is fine for freeride or DH. (You want the weight in those cases). Pedaling around with XC friends gives me more of a workout than they get but can be done. Stock tires are too skinny for anything bug XC
Bottom Line:
Fantastic bike for 2000! The fork alone is worth a grand. The nine inches of plush travel in rear makes you want to do things you probably shouldn't do. Bike is ROCK solid compared with other free-ride only type bikes. Can be DH'ed with better tires right out of the box. I-Drive works great, hope I never break it cuz I don't know what's up with the warranty situation, but most people I know who have a history w/ GT's say they don't break. After what I've been doing on this bike, I believe it.
I have an IMPORTANT QUESTION that I was hoping somebody could respond to. I would very much like to try to mount a 24" Rear wheel on this bike for the type of riding I do, but have no idea what would happen to the handling, ground clearance, pedaling action, etc. If I went in this direction. Have any of you chongos' ever tried this? Heard of anyone else trying it? I know it's not designed for it per say, but if it is possible to do so without bottoming it out on the ground every time I take drops, I might want to consider it. Many thanks in advance for any advice you may have.
