Submitted by
Israel Duran
a Weekend Warrior
from Underwood, WA
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2006
Strengths: Excellent as stock, I-drive works, great value
Weaknesses: Seat, a little heavy
Bottom Line:
This is my first full suspension. I have ridden it for the last 4 years and am very pleased with the performance. I am faster and more confident wherever I ride than I ver was on my first mountain bike. Granted, it was an ooooooold POC that I had ridden into the ground. The only category that this bike does not beat the old bike in is weight. But hey, I have better gearing to deal with it. Great deal for the money.
Similar Products Used: an old and busted Trek Antelope 830
Bike Setup: Mostly stock except seat has been traded out for a WTB laser
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
luke scorer
a Weekend Warrior
from uk
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2005
Strengths: a very good bike with a good range of gears very good suspenshon like evreythink about the bike apart from the standard brakes witch i changed to hope 2 pod hydrolic disks but all in all a very good bike nice 1 gt
Weaknesses: the brakes where the onley let down on the bike but come to think about it they wernt that bad
Bottom Line:
an exelant realyable bike witch is good value for money and a bike i would advise any one to buy
Similar Products Used: carara helcat , gt zaskar and a giant 950 pro the i drive being the best one
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mark granger
a
from long beach, cali, usa
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2005
Strengths: This is a first edition '99 straight from the factory; never sold by a dealer. All around great ride. Smokes up hill as well as xc downhills. Also a great ride in the 'hood when curbs and alleys are present, the hotties at the local seem to get wet over it too. This bike was used by GT as a test mule so it has a few different appendeges attached to its sultry frame. SID ultra lights up front Fox tail, XTR components, Thompson post, light Mavic rollers w/ stock GT fatty hubs. 9 speed cluster. Painted white frame with blue rear triangle, black and red decals(who drew this thing ?!?!?!?!?) Light at <27 lbs.
Weaknesses: Doesnt want to sleep in the same bedroom because its bottom bracket is so noisy.
Bottom Line:
Great top but the bottom needs greased all the time. She doesn't mind being ridden hard at all, in fact, the more sweet talkin', the harder she rides me. The best bike I've ever owned. Since '99.
Similar Products Used: Ex girlfriend, KTM 640 Adventure, Ferrari 430, my best friends home brew.
Bike Setup: Medium rare with a lot of spice. Very light salad fixin's with untasteful dressing, kinda like a Harley.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Toby Tee
a Weekend Warrior
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2003
Strengths: I-drive does what it claims to, keeping the chain tension constant throughout the rear wheel's travel, allowing power to be put down over the bumpy bits. Low centre of gravity due the heavy eccentric bottom bracket.
Weaknesses: Front gear cable routing under bottom bracket attracts grit and knocks from stones. It's not possible to fit the majority of chain devices on the market due to the bottom bracket rotating. My frame, which is a small size, developed several cracks around the seatpost support and is now back at the bikeshop. This is a problem with the small size frames only which have a different style seat support to the medium and large frames (no cut out hole). I only weigh 10stone and have done no drops over 5foot onto a flat landing. The compression adjust/lockout on the 2001 rockshox psylo sl no longer works. The formula b4 hydraulic disc brakes were let down by the flimsy levers, both of which broke.
Bottom Line:
This bike was great until the frame cracked. I may have abused it though as it is really a cross country bike, not a jump or freeride bike. The parts are now all on a new hardtail frame.
Similar Products Used: A friends specialized enduro
Bike Setup: As standard except; Hope mini 165mm front and back, Hope xc rear hub, XT shortcage rear mech, Tioga cube dh stem and bar, Odi ruffian lock-on grips, 24seven 88 saddle, Dmr magnesium V12 pedals, Dmr ring thing bash/rock guard, Panaracer fire xc 2.1 rear and fire freeride 2.4 front tyres.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Sams
a Downhiller
from Sitka, AK, USA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2003
Strengths: Good parts and frame, Light, great climber, works very well in the tight woods of southeast alaska.
Weaknesses: the i-drive will eventually become worn and loose when used excessively and used on drops and jumps. Rims die quickly but would probably be fine if used only for cross country.
Bottom Line:
Awesome bike, I abused the bike soo badly. I took a 15' drop to almost flat several times and quite a few 8' drops to flat those being the harshest, but took constant jumping and very hard trail riding with lots of fast rocky stump laiden stair using trails. The frame eventually broke but i sold all the parts to my friend who put them on his giant XTC. the rear shock was toast by that time, but the psylo is still working good after blowing it out 3 times. All it needed was new seals and back to new everytime. The bike had very comfortable geometry standing or sitting. I cut the bars down to make it more my kind of bike and enjoyed every minute of it. Had as much fun on it as my RM7 and much more than my RM9. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun bike and a great all purpose cross country bike. If your going to treat it like it did it will last a good 4-5 months with everyday use, but id get something a bit heavier.
Submitted by
paul jones
a Weekend Warrior
from lancaster
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2003
Strengths: very good value for money good spec and quite well made.
Weaknesses: standard seatpost creaks if you have the saddle back a bit, it's a bid on the heavy side (then again so am I) formula B4's are ok-ish
Bottom Line:
I think GT should have just stuck to hardtails and BMX's the large frame is a little small for me and i feel cramped on it (if your over 6' i would buy the XL). the i-drive system is great on single track but struggles on climbs due to its weight. MUCH PREFER MY HARDTAIL FOR LONG RIDES!! despite the loss of traction. to be fair the bike is great on downhills. never had any frame or pivot bushes problems it just gets regular services and a good clean
Similar Products Used: I also own a 1999 GT zaskar and have just bought a 2004 enduro expert so I'm selling the i-drive.
Bike Setup: standard except for hope mini's and a raceface XY lay back seatpost (stops the creaking and gives me more room) put some green wildgripper tyres on, it looks the muts nuts.
You can pick up secondhand i-drives very cheaply for a very good reason. Firstly, it has a very high bottom bracket (14") so check you have the right size. Secondly, they have a very short top tube (20") You sit very high on these bikes which means backaches and a trip over the handlebars at the slightest excuse. Personally, I hated mine and don't own it anymore!
Strengths: Plush ride, I-drive design no pedal bob, stock parts.
Weaknesses: Stand over clearance.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike, it's been ridden hard in the worst possible conditions for over one year. Only had to pay for a couple of tune-ups (and three sets of tires). Just got a new '03 1.0 to build my dream bike. Had reason to call GT direct yesterday and was very happy to hear that they are back in full action and eager to see that every one gets the parts needed to keep the I-Drive riding. They provided me with the necessary rear shock bushings, mud flap and cable proctector for under the bottom bracket for my new frame.
Similar Products Used: Trek Y, Old school Mongoose
Bike Setup: 2.0 I-drive stock plus Avid mechanical disc brakes and gore cables.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ian Hamilton
a Weekend Warrior
from Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2002
Strengths: This is an update to my earlier review (see below). My frame is still performing well, and I'm reasonably happy with the custom components I built the bike up with (especially the Hayes Comp brakes and XTR shifters/derailleur). It really is a great trailbike, even moreso now that I've gotten more familiar with how it rides. This is a trail bike, though, definitely not a freeride frame.
I find now that I don't really need a lockout on the rear shock - the bike pedals very well without a lockout.
In terms of pedalling efficiency, it still compares very favourably to everything else out there in its class, and even stacks up well against the newer (2002 model) refined efficiency bikes (e.g. Rocky Mountain ETSX-70) but has more travel than most of the others. From several short tests of the Specialized Enduro models, I found that it rides quite similarly (similar suspension plushness and comparable bobbing efficiency), although it does weigh a bit more.
I am really happy with the 2002 Pyslo SL fork - I did get the stiffer spring upgrade as my body weight seemed to warrant it. Now it feels more like a Marzocchi, and the travel adjustment and compression/rebound damping and lockout work very well.
Weaknesses: A bit of seatpost creak that I can't quite pin down and locate, nor entirely get rid of. No apparent cracks or weld problems with the frame that I can find, however, so I think it's ok.
I would really prefer it if the 2001 i-Drive eccentrics had been designed to be sealed better against mud, water and sand - it is a real chore to have to tear it apart, clean it and re-pack the bearings and other components.
I have had to get the rear (SID) shock serviced, as the negative air chamber began to leak all of its air pressure after about 8 months of use. About 3 weeks turnaround time, and I was back in business for about $75(CDN)including shipping charges. Rock Shox recommends keeping the shock ultra-clean to help prevent this problem. I'll pay more attention to this from now on.
My biggest disappointment has not been with the frame, but with my custom-picked bottom bracket (Race Face Signature XS - ISIS drive). Apparently they had some manufacturing problems with the cups, and the end result was that my BB kept coming loose. Once they were notified about my chronic problem, however, Race Face sent brand new BB cups to me (free of charge and pretty quickly), which seems to have resolved the issue.
Bike Setup: Custom-build - same as my earlier review (see below), except: changed the rear cogset to Shimano XT (11-34 tooth) - the SRAM 9.0 cogs bent when a little twig wrapped around them. I was not impressed. I've also added a Blackspire Big Ring Protector to the big chainring for that extra comfort getting over obstacles.
Submitted by
Dean Merrill
a Racer
from Goffstown, NH, USA
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2002
Strengths: Great frame, no bobing at all, good for some freeriding, best color, looks sweet
Weaknesses: not enough travel in the back or front, im 140 ibs and i bottom both out often, can't take a dual crown fork, frame makes a lot of noise if landing too hard
Bottom Line:
very good bike for price, better for xc then downhill or slalom, but can be used for slalom, get new back shock though RS sid sux, up grade to discs much better
Strengths: Components for the price paid. Psylo is really plush and is nice over small and big hits. SID's dual air lets the rider get that oh-so-perfect ride on the rough stuff. Time pedals, can't be beat.
Weaknesses: Psylo, stiff as a wet noodle. GT hubs, they just sucked. Syncros stem, whenever I crash, it always gets knocked out of place, even when its really cranked down. This gets annoying when racing.
Bottom Line:
Great bike for trail riding and light freeriding, I am considering racing Dual Slalom with it. Not a great bike for XC racing, which I do. Holds up well, but the shock mounts come loose often and the bottom braket and be very difficult when just a little, and continues to get worse as it gets wetter and wetter, not good for races in the rain.
The bike performs great. Came with quality componets. Unfortunately...after about 4 months of use. The welds on the frame below the seat have started to go. The bike is creaking and ready to go anyday now. I luckily found a 3.0 frame which is of the same type.
The bike overall is still a good deal due to most of the componets it came with.
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Pleasanton, CA
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2002
Strengths: Climbs better than my hardtail; Soaks up the rough stuff on the trail; Fits like it was custom built for me.
Weaknesses: A tad on the heavy side; GT isn't really GT anymore (but then again, that's why I got such a great deal on the bike).
Bottom Line:
This bike has made me love mountain biking again. The bike literally climbs better than my hardtail. The active suspension while climbing allows the bike to maintain better traction. All this and no pedal-bob.
I looked at other bikes where you can lock-out the suspension, but that seems idiotic. Why would you want to flip a switch every time you're going up or down a hill? I want the suspension active all the time and the i-Drive makes this possible.
Then there's the other solution for rear suspension which eliminates pedal-bob by simply making the suspesion so stiff that seem to have no suspension at all (Giant, Trek, etc.). The i-Drive is plush all the time and eliminates the wasted energy of the dreaded "bob".
I hope they keep making this bike (in some form) because it really is a great design. If you can find one, buy it!!
Bike Setup: Stock, except for a new Body Geometry saddle
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ian Hamilton
a Weekend Warrior
from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2002
Strengths: Excellent trailbike. Superb handling at high speed and over technical terrain. An instant confidence booster compared with my hardtail, but with a subtlety that takes some time to develop an appreciation for. Climbs very well, and much better than my hardtail, even though it's a heavier bike. GT had a winner with this design and I sincerely hope Pacific Bicycles will not compromise the quality, parts availability and further research and development on the i-Drive concept. With a few improvements, I am confident this design could stay on top of the trailbike/enduro market for a long time.
Weaknesses: #1)GT is not being carried by Norco in Canada this year (2002), because of the recent takeover by Pacific Bicycles. This means that replacement parts - i.e. replacement bushings and bearings for the suspension pivots (including the i-Drive eccentric and dogbone assembly) currently seem to be impossible to get in Canada. If Pacific is now offering replacement parts to their GT customers again, my suggestion is that they put this information on the GT website, along with all required contact information for people to order parts. It is very frustrating that they seem to not be reachable at present.
(#2) Replaceable cartridge bearings (rather than bushings) would have been a better design for the suspension pivots. I would have gladly paid a higher purchase price for those improvements, if they are technically feasible.
(#3) While I have not had any problems at all with the frame to date, having read all the other reviews plus RC's comments on the MBAction.com website, I am somewhat fearful of frame breakage. I feel as though I will have to baby this frame to make it last.
(#4) I would prefer to have the lockout feature on the SID rear shock. On hard climbs over smoother terrain, the suspension bobs enough to be a noticeable detractor from the "feel" of the bike's performance (maybe I'm just too used to hardtails). The lockout feature would fix this problem entirely.
I would like to see GT/Pacific put a technical manual available for download on their website - this would answer a bunch a questions I have about rear suspension/pivot maintenance.
Bottom Line:
I absolutely love this bike. It is a superb ride for people seeking a very efficient but very plush full-suspension trailbike. The cockpit is quite short, which is the way I like it, but it is definitely not a racing setup, nor is it light enough to race - look at the GIANT NRS-1 if that's what you want to do. While I could have built the bike lighter - the overall weight is about 31 lbs with the heaviier rims and tires which I feel are needed for the rocky terrain around Yellowknife - the bike pedals light and feels light, even on hard, long climbs.
With a rear lockout for those long, smoother surface climbs, the rideability of this bike would be as close to perfection as I can imagine. It initially feels very tall when mounting up, but once you get going, the feeling disappears. The standover clearance could use some improvement for riders my height (5' 9"), but it's not a big deal.
I got the frame itself at a very good price, so I give the bike itself 5 flamin' chilis in both value and for the overall rating, even though it could be improved with cartridge bearings on the suspension pivots, and by strengthening the frame at the critical spots, and possibly by exerting better quality control. Maybe Easton's tubing would be better suited for use on this bike?
I just wish GT/Pacific's support would be there for needed replacement parts and potential warranty requirements, and to produce future high quality i-Drive models with the improvements I listed above. If there were a separate rating on this website for product support, I would not be giving Pacific a good rating until I see some proof they'll start supporting GT's past products with replacement parts and technical documentation.
Similar Products Used: Tested the GIANT NRS-1, Rocky Mountain Slayer, Rocky Mountain Edge, Specialized Enduro Pro, Santa Cruz Superlite, Cannondale Jekyl 800, and the Kona Bear. From my perspective, the Giant was the only full-suspension design with superior efficiency while under hard pedalling, but it lacked the plushness of my GT's suspension, for understandable reasons (i.e. the NRS is built primarily as a XC racer, not a trailbike). So from my perspective, the only two bikes that even came close (from a rideability perspective) were the Cannondale and the Specialized. My criteria: I'm not a freerider (too old and fragile), so I am less concerned about having big hit capability and more concerned about pedalling efficiency while still having a decent amount of suspension travel (front and rear) and a decent overall weight. I would love to test the new Rocky Mountain ETS X-70 model to compare, but so far, the GT compares very favourably against everything I've tried.
Bike Setup: Custom build: Medium-size frame, Rockshox Psylo SL(2002 model), Race Face Turbine LP crankset and chainrings, Race Face Signature XS bottom bracket, Shimano XTR chain, SRAM 9.0 cogset (11-34), Shimano XT Disc hubs, XTR shifters, XTR rear derailleur, Hayes Comp hydraulic brakes, Easton EA-50(1 and 1/2") riser bars, Yeti Grips with ODI locking rings, Thomson seatpost (31.6mm), Thomson stem (90mm, 5 degree), Sun Rhynolite welded and machined rims, Panaracer Pyro Suspension XC tires, Specialized Comp saddle, Axiom flat pedals, Lizard Skin forkboots and shockboot, Roach Chainstay guard. The only stock component is the Rockshox SID rear shock (no lockout).
