Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Perth, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2007
Strengths: STRONG frame, cool colours and the components have worn amazingly well. I replaced the crank with Deore, rear mech and brakes with LX at sale. Since purchase I have replaced chains and cassettes regularly as expected but mechs, brakes, shifters and levers still going. Judy XC was very smooth but just upgraded to 2007 Reba Race. It's also nice to have people in bike stores oogling over 'The last of the old GT's'!
Weaknesses: Rims are hard to keep 100% true but never taco'd. Stock saddle was like a rock.
Bottom Line:
Do your research, perform preventative maintenence and don't huck to flat from 2m!
Respect your bike and respect is what you get back.
Bike Setup: Backwoods frame, Deore/LX drivetrain, 2007 Reba Race, BBB bell
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Wisconsin
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2005
Strengths: If you take the stock bike for what its worth, the only thing thats really worth anything is the frame. It is rock solid.
Weaknesses: Components. Replace them and you have a killer XC bike
Bottom Line:
Indestructable frame. I realize that it would have been more cost effective to just buy a better bike off the bat, but I didnt have the money at the time. I got it used. Slowly upgraded to what it is now and its a great bike. It was abused by my friend whom I bought it from and now I abuse it even more and it is holding up great. Ive taken up to four ft. drops, dirt jumps and it handles them well. If your into XC and want to build up a cheaper bike, get this frame.
Bike Setup: Backwoods frame, syncros riser bar/azonic riser, koski brake levers and rear brake, WTB stem, Deore shifters all around (these need replacing), Formula disc mounted to Real hub (switching to Avid ball bearing disc soon). Mavic 719 in rear and Mavic 329 disc rim in front, Azonic A-frame pedals, TruVativ Crank, Toothferrie bashgaurd, etc etc
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Submitted by
Jon
a Weekend Warrior
from Northants, England
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2003
Strengths: solid frame, some decent components
Weaknesses: Crappy rims, buckled my rear one relatively easily, terrible suntour cranks and rings
Bottom Line:
Quality bike, will take most things you throw at it, the forks are able to take a lot of punishment. At home any where you take it, XC, downhill etc. If your looking for bike on a budget you cant go wrong with the backwoods.
Strengths: Solid ,very rigid, good handmade frame, GET ONE
Weaknesses: cant fit more than a 2.4" tire w/36mm rim
Bottom Line:
If you can get one of these frames DO IT, I have heard that the stock setup kind of sucks but it is a good project bike.The frame is a little heavier than the 2000 outpost but its because the tubing is so much thicker.Buy it.
Purchased At: traded for 2000 timberline and 512MB of PC133
Similar Products Used: GT outpost frame
Bike Setup: 2000 GT Backwoods, Manotou Mars Comp Coil (80mm), Lx crank, Xt disc hubs on WTB laserdisc DH 36mm rims, Xt Derailers and shifters, Avid CPS mech. disc brakes, Panaracer Fire xc pro 2.1, Kore stricktly D bars, Cygo light night rover ni-cad extra, peice of crap seat.
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Submitted by
Bruce
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Albans, WV
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2001
Strengths: Looked cool, was able to resale it.
Weaknesses: Wheels, disk brakes, crank, stem, all of which I had to replace within the 6 months that I had it. I know that I ride hard, but still, the parts should hold up longer than 6 months.
Bottom Line:
Unless you get the bike cheap, and don't mind upgrading soon stay away from this bike. If you already have it, good luck, and I hope that your experience with your bike proves me wrong.
Favorite Trail: Mossy Rock in Kanawha State Forest
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Similar Products Used: I've had a few other bikes, but this one held up worse than any bike I've ever owned. I ended up breaking down and dropping a bunch of cash on my new love, my Gary Fisher Sugar 1. Talk about love at first sight. :)
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Submitted by
Pin Head
a Racer
from San Jose, Ca USA
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2001
Strengths: GREAT BIKE!
Weaknesses: NONE
Bottom Line:
Sounds like another whiner to me! Take the fucking bike back if you don't like it and quit complaining about your stupidity... You Dumb Fuck!
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Oregon
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2001
Strengths: great handling at high speeds, especially downhill
Weaknesses: Frame is too heavy, poorly assembled at factory
Bottom Line:
As with almost all the other reviews I've read, I too had problems with this bike. I had to replace the chain-the wrong size was put on. The wrong sized crank was also put on at the factory, and this ended up causing my rear derailer to break. Also the seat is a piece of junk-Gt replaced it. In fact all the problems I had were taken care of by GT. The dilemma I had with this bike is this- I'm 6'1', 195lbs. and it is nearly impossible to find a bike that fits me. I tried them all and the GT was the only one that was comfortable. What pisses me off is that it was NOT built very well. Apparently Bluto(the 225 pounder) hasn't done any serious enough riding to really test this bike- once you do you will have problems with it. Once you get all the bs worked out though, I think it is a great off-road bike. I also put slicks on it and the thing cruises.
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2001
Strengths: Good Frame, Real & Shimano Hubs/Weinmann wheels, Koski Brakes & Levers. WTB Momentum Headset. Judy XC Suspension fork
Weaknesses: Suntor Crank & Deore drive train. I had a ton of problems with chain suck. Called Gt Tech Support and they admitted they have recieved numerous compliants about it
Bottom Line:
GT no longers makes this model, according the tech rep I spoke with it was because it compeated with a another brand line from a company owned by their parent company.
This is a good starter bike, but you should expect to pay for upgrades if you have one. I put on a complete Shimano XT drive train, Sid XC Fork, Thompson elite neck and seat post, Chris King Headset, RaceFace low Riser bar, & Selle Italia Flite Ti Gel Seat.....now this bike rocks, and I got the weight down closer to 25-lbs. I estimate is is less than 26, but will find out when I use digital scale at work next week. Original weight was 28-lbs, 10-oz...way too much.
I run some hard rock trails here in NM, and have had no trouble with the Weinmann wheelset that others have complained about. I also changed the tire to the IRC Mythos XC, which saved me a ton of weight. Now my front end is really light, and I notice it bigtime on uphills going ovet rocks.
The suntour crank was a mess, and my frame is nicked all to pieces from the chain suck problems. Will still need to change banged up chain, but with this XT setup, I would score this bike close to a 5. Why not a five? cause I did not go XTR. Some folks here rated this bike a 5, but sheesh, do you really think a 650 bike is better than a 2500$ bike? C,mon..be honest.
I rated this bike based on original components. With my upgrades this bike suits my needs now. For a bike this price, you should expect to make some upgrades..and i have no complaints about my purchase.
PS Koski Brake Lite Brake rock...they are lighter than XTR.. Formula MD-1 is a little heavy and will probabaly be replaced with AVID sometime down the road on my bike.
Bike Setup: Had: Suntour crank/Deore drive train; OEM neck, seat post, Syncros low riser bar, Formula MD-1 Disk Brake
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Manchester, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2001
Strengths: Good Bike! I like the nice white/red looks on it! I would have liked the black/blue on better though! Looks nice! Strong Disk brake although it has an annoying sqeak that sounds like a ghost. OK Seat.
Weaknesses: Crappy Suntours! I couldn't believe that this expensive bike had these pieces of garbage! Mine broke already! HAd to change it!
Bottom Line:
Ok, this is not a bad bike, but if you want to spend a little more money, get a ZASKAR! Nice bikes! Good color! I got a great deal! Even brand new, at 850.00 good price for good bike! I took my bike up to Case Mountain, not a problem! Just the disk brake sqeaked loudly! Just change the pads! Nice Judy XC Fork, no problems yet! Good front hub! Downhill design when it comes to the handlebar area, you have to move your arms farther down than a different GT!Very eye-catching, I don't know why some people hate GT, they are a good company! They make nice bikes, the Backwoods is a good example! Try it to see for your self.
Bike Setup: Added 2 drink cages, one Vistalite tail light, and one Vistalite Headlight!
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Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Louis, MO
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2001
Strengths: Frame is rock solid. Judy XC is good unless serious about racing.Syncros riser bar is nice.
Weaknesses: Most everything else on the bike
Bottom Line:
My friends and I all got new bikes at one point or another last year. I got the Cannondale, my girlfriend got the Raleigh and a friend of mine got this GT after being in love with his '96 pantera. From the get go he had problems. I believe the first problem he had was the disk locking up completely, having to be replaced. Spokes then started breaking at an alarming rate. The Middle chain ring on that garbage suntour crank bent so bad that the whole crank needed replacing. Spokes are still breaking and the shop now says he needs a new rear rim after less than a year of primarily urban riding. He basically had to replace over half of the components within the first year, costing him an extra couple hundred that could have easily gone to a Zaskar or any other high end bike initially. He also experienced the chain problems before changing the crank. This is caused by a mismatched drive train consisting of eight speed shifters, cranks, and chain next to nine speed derailers. Everyone else on here seems to think this is a great bike and it probably is because GT usually has a high level of quality, but my friend's experience should be taken into consideration when shopping. Value is Two and would get more if constant breaking didn't occur. The frame and fork are great, though. One overall for obvious reasons.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale F400, Gary Fisher Tassajara, Raleigh M80
Bike Setup: Deore drivetrain, Continental town &country, Deore front v-brake
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Submitted by
Randall Pogue
a Weekend Warrior
from Perryton, TX
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2001
Strengths: Solid, reliable, dependable and smooth. I had to replace the Suntour cranks after about 300 miles, but other than that, this bike has unquestionable fortitude.
Weaknesses: Only the Suntour cranks have given me any problems.
Bottom Line:
I just got back from Moab yesterday, and I rode most of the major trails. I weigh 225. I had exactly ZERO mechanical problems with this bike. Randy from wisconsin, perhaps you should get a HUFFY, or maybe badminton would be a sport more suited to you. If anyone is having trouble with this bike, either they worked on it themselves thinking they were mechanics, or the bike shop they got it from assembled it wrong. I will admit the disk takes some break in and adjustment from time to time, but nothing to cry about. If you can find one of these baby's, jump on it!
Purchased At: Southwest Bicycle Center, Liberal, KS
Similar Products Used: Trek 7000, Gt Outpost
Bike Setup: Stock except:Deore crankset, Rockshox seatpost, and Azonic stem.
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Submitted by
Chris Ward
a Cross Country Rider
from Rotherham,S.Yorks, England
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2001
Strengths: Its got a very nice light,strong frame with a gusset which makes it strong. Disc brake mounts. The fork is a good choice for this bike, its very responsive. It has good kit on for the money with no bad parts.(£700)
Weaknesses: none so far...oh!crank could be lighter
Bottom Line:
I got this bike on insurance and i am really pleased with it. It has lived up to expectations so far with no complaints. It's smooth and responsive, the best bike ive had so far!!!
