Submitted by
JackC
a Cross Country Rider
from Massachusetts
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2011
Strengths: Strong frame, don't see why people complain about crap rear triangles. Very nimble. Good value, even when new. Boxxer fork can take some serious abuse.
Weaknesses: Broke 2 shock linkage bolts with a 5 ft drop onto a flat landing. On the heavier side, but what do you expect from a dh bike? Also blew seals in the stock Vanilla RC from a 3 foot stairs drop. Hayes brakes were a tad leaky.
Bottom Line:
Until last month, I've only ridden GT bikes, and never been disappointed. This was a steal for the price, but the last time I buy a bike on eBay. Basically, brand new this bike ran for about $3k, not too bad for what you get. It will last you a while if you keep up on maintenance. Also, take it downhilling and get ready for the RIDE OF YOUR LIFE! It's super impressive and nimble for a heavier bike. I can only give 4 chilis because of the blown shock and snapped linkage bolts, but that was probably my fault.
Bike Setup: GT Dhi Race: All stock except for Swinger 4x coil shock.
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Submitted by
haskell95
a Downhiller
from jaffrey, nh, usa
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2008
Strengths: very smooth handling, a nimble bike, point and go. not bad weight wise. my med. is 45lbs, but i have a heavy fork. i plan on getting it down under 40. i bought it as a frame & shock then built it up myself. so far i have been able to climb stairs that i could not on my big hit,& slower too boot. descends very well nice over the center feel to the bike. i can also carve corners much better on it. the bike feels like a part of me and i am not fighting on where i want to go and where i am going.
Weaknesses: i would think the i-drive has some weakness because of parts that are slightly exposed. no iscg05 mount so you need an adapter(e-thirteen Lg1 fits though), be a good idea to grease moving parts often(more work time)not a common bike in my area so service could be a problem.
Bottom Line:
love the bike, pricey brand new, but they all are.!
i greased everything when i got it and plan to do it often.
bottom line? if you don't like working on bikes, well maybe this should get the pass, however, if you don't mind, and you have a comparable price to any other bike, i feel this is a solid bike, and worth a solid look.
Similar Products Used: iron horse yakuza
'02 & '04 big hits
Bike Setup: 2007 team edition.
shiver fork, roco world shock, huzzefeller bb & cranks, A.D.D. rims, big earl stem & bars, hayes stroker brakes
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Submitted by
james roberts
a Downhiller
from whitby, north yorkshire, england
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2007
Strengths: Nice ride, good spec once you get rid of the rims, nothing can fault this bike apart from the below
Weaknesses: limited choice in chaing guides, mrp takes some setting up, bar and stem are not really my cup of tea
Bottom Line:
This is a brilliant race bike, i love it, it seems suited to UK course and doesnt get nervous at speed, its also a great bike to chuck around in the air, although looking after the i-drive takes some doing, so not really a good bike for a beginner, but well worth the money for a seasoned racer
Strengths: Very good stock parts for the most part, price, super stiff rear end, easy to handle, extremely quiet, quite smooth, nothing has broken so far, Hadley rear hub, Fox DHX 5.0
Weaknesses: Handle bar stem combo is aweful, 44 tooth ring is too big, GT name gets no love, hard to find someone to work on the I-drive (ended up doing it myself), getting replacement parts could be tricky, MRP took some setting up: Swap the rollers so the smooth roller is on top. Stock tires pinch easily, stock grips suck, 6" rear rotor squeals (replace with Hayes)
Bottom Line:
Quite a deal for the money $2000. I have had to replace a few parts, but I have kept most of the stock setup. I have DHed about 20 days on it so far and it rides almost like day 1. It is very smooth and quiet over even the ruffest courses. The only problem is that the Idrive has the potential to become a problem if not maintained, but to be honest it really isn't that hard. Your friends will ask you why you bought a GT. Just let them ride it for a couple runs and ask them why they paid $2000 more for a bike that may not even be as good.
Strengths: this is a durable bike! I've been freeriding/downhilling this thing since 2001 and the frame is still going strong. It also pedals extremely well, not just for a DH rig, but any dual suspension.
Weaknesses: Factory setup a little weak, I've replaced almost everything on this bike.
Bottom Line:
If you want a bike that can pedal over anything, this is it. the pedal force never disturbs the suspension's ability to soak up the hits thanks in on small part to the idrive. There is some brake jack, but that seems to plague all single pivot systems. This bike is also as fast as you want it to be on the open trails, but the short cockpit makes it easy to manuver in tight spots, plus, with a low standover height, it's easy to throw a foot down if need be. On a note about getting parts, which has nothing to do with how i'd rate the bike, plan ahead, because pacific takes their time when delivering parts (and the lower shock mount bolt tends to go once every years or so, but it's just a $16 part, so get 2).
Similar Products Used: RM7, RM9, bullit, various other long travel bikes
Bike Setup: Mavic 321 rims, Azonic hammer stem, easton EA50 bars, Monster T, Chris King headset, Hadley rear hub
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Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from Sachse Texas
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2006
Strengths: Very nice parts but changed the stem and handle bar. Very stiff rear end no flex at all. Peddles as well or better than any bike I have ever owned and I have had many.
Weaknesses: None really maybe the handle bar stem combo. I would liked to have a powder coat paint job for durabilty but paint job looks good as is.
Bottom Line:
Very pleased with bike so far. It is very stiff and floats over stuff like no other. I was very surprized how well it climbs and how smooth it was over ruff stuff. I am very picky about my bikes I change frames and bikes out alot. I think I will hold on to this one for a while as it seems to fit every asspect I was looking for.
Strengths: Great parts for the price! The i-drive seems to work very good.
Weaknesses: The GT name IMO, I never thought GT when I was looking for a bike. But it's working out! The MRP i-drive specific guide isnt cool, it works but I like my E-13. The stem sucks, a 25mm flat bar for a dh bike?? I changed that as soon as I got it. I really dont like the XTR, but as soon as it fails, breaks get some SRAM on there.the grips were a joke, those got switched out with a quickness too.
Bottom Line:
Great value, check eBay for that seller. He sell alot of bikes, very helpful and they know bikes. So it isnt some part time seller.
Strengths: -Good geometry -Excellent suspension action. -Great overall value
Weaknesses: -Rides a bit high -If something breaks, difficult to get replacement parts
Bottom Line:
This is by far the most underated downhill bike produced. The suspension action is on par with the best. There is no pedal or brake interferance what so ever. This is trully a fully active bike with race oriented geometry. Unfortunately it has a generic, no-frills stigma. As long as you don't give a f%ck, you will not be disappointed with the way this bike rides.
Similar Products Used: Santa Cruz Super 8 Intense M1
Bike Setup: Stock w/ Shimano DX platform pedals
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Submitted by
Craig
a Weekend Warrior
from BC Canada
Date Reviewed: January 11, 2006
Strengths: Light, Pedals Well, 9" of travel that you can ride uphill. This bike is a serious confidence booster, and it can help any non-professional rider become better!
Weaknesses: Swingarms break, or so I am told? I have'nt broken one yet. It's hard to find a Non - MRP chainguide for this bike. I could'nt imagine servicing the I-drive. it's going to be a nightmare
Bottom Line:
It's a good bike and I do like it. I don't like the reputation it has for being a terrible bike. It's great if you use it for it's intended purpose. It is not a huge HIT bike, and it is not a dirtjumper. It's not made to be hucked off 30 ft cliffs either. It's made to Lift ride your local Ski-hill. It's a downhill racer that inspries even the weakest of riders and you can pedal it uphill if you need-to aswell.
Similar Products Used: Big hit DH, Stab Primo, Balfa 2 step
Bike Setup: boxxers, Sunn Double Tracks, Hadley Hubs, azonic stem, all xtr components. Swapped to a MUCH smaller front ring with inner and outer bashguards and ditched the mrp setup. I ride uphills aswell!
Strengths: Rides sweet, pedals like nothing else I've ridden! Is a nice (fairly) light and un complicated race bike with a good spec list.
Weaknesses: er..... SWINGARM!!!!
Bottom Line:
The swingarms all snap, we all know it! I've also had a hard time trying to get a swingarm cause I bought it 2nd hand. Seems they cant make em fast enough and all the spares are going to warranty cases! Also makes this bike very hard to sell. Its a really nice race bike, definately not a hucker though...(unless of course you bought your new and dont mind waiting for a waranty swingarm...
Strengths: Solid, your could drop this bike off a cliff and it would still ride like it was brand new. Pedals like an idrive with fox propedal should. stock xtr parts, idrive specific crxtr crankset, stock bashgaurd.
Weaknesses: none that i've come accross
Bottom Line:
This bike is awesome, yes of course it is too heavy for trail riding but you have got to be dumb to wastethis bike on the trail. it flies down hills and takes any drop you throw at it.great bike
Similar Products Used: gt i-drive 4.0, kona stinky dee-lux
Bike Setup: sherman slider triple, primo supertenderizers, xtr components, chris king headset, michelin tires, hadely hubs, hayes 8" front and back.
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Submitted by
ash sinden
a Downhiller
from swindon,wilts england
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2005
Strengths: super adjustability, soaks up anything you put in front of it, high end spec, bolt through rear axle
Weaknesses: limited seatpost length. Inability to change the chain device
Bottom Line:
After destroying 2 so called high end bikes already this year this is like a breath of fresh air. Extremely stable at high and low speeds, awesome in the air and ultra reliable. The storys of weak rear triangles sounds far feched as I have been doing 15ft+ drops and 40ft doubles on my DHI and is still as strong as it was when purchased
Strengths: Parts Solid build all high quality parts
Weaknesses: Chain device rattled but sorted with some washers no problem really.
Bottom Line:
Great bike rides really well soaks up everything in its path and light weight compared to other dh bikes ive tried. May think its pricey but you do get top quality parts as stock. If you want a quality downhill bike without the hassle of building one up the dhi is for you as has highly rated parts which perform well for there intended purposes.
Similar Products Used: Scott High Octane, Kona Stab, Devinchi Wilson
Bike Setup: 888's, hadley, Easton, Fox dhx 5.0, xtr
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Submitted by
julian cristiano
a Downhiller
from sydney, australia
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2005
Strengths: pedals like no other bike ive ridden before, 888s are awesome. goods specs compard to others
Weaknesses: the stem is a bit too long for downhill, other than that its an unbeatable bike
Bottom Line:
buy one, probably the best value bike i've ridden in a long time, i did 35 ft tabletops on it with no problems as the bike handled perfectly over everything i could throw at it.
Similar Products Used: giant dh team, ironhorse sunday team
Bike Setup: stock 05 setup, 888s, fox,dhx,xtr gear etc.
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Submitted by
Adam Calford
a Downhiller
from Bridgend s,wales
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2005
Strengths: handles great, pedals amazingly, takes the big hits great and jumps awsome
Weaknesses: pro pedal on the fox. . . . there's no need.
Bottom Line:
this bike rules, ok it struggles on the smaller hits but gt's now changed over to the fox dhx5, so you can sort out those problems,it's a great race bike and i've had no problems with it, i did a reccent service on the concsentric bottom bracket and the seals hadn't let any crud in. those two guys further down the page who have given the bike a bad ratingm, clearly they are a little confused to say the least, for one i know this bike pedals great but it aint no cross country bike, and two if you keep breaking this then maybe you should try riding a little smoother. so all in all this bike rules it beats the crap outta the competition, now i just wish i could
