Submitted by
nailr65
a All Mountain Rider
from Albany, New York
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2012
Strengths: Super reliable, love its response in the trails
Weaknesses: All pivots specifically the hat washers or bushings if you will on at the rear suspension. Replaced them twice. At this point impossible to find replacement parts. May need to have them made.
Bottom Line:
Love this bike from the first time I saw it. The design was simple yet effective. I sold my truck back in 1994 to buy it. When I'm riding it feels like we are one. I have been riding it for 17+ years and I have been all over the country with it. I am writing this review in order to source parts. Is there anyone out there or anyone you know who may have parts for the rear suspension please help keep this awesome, awesome bike on the trails. Thanks Dave from upstate New York email: (ridegtrts2@aol.com)
Bike Setup: Shimano XTR Components-Crank, bottom bracket, rear derailleur, rear cassette. Shimano XT front derailleur. Attack 8 speed grip shift. Magura Move hydraulic rim brakes with brake stiffeners. Crane Creek headset. Club Roost handle bars. Selle Italia saddle. Shimano DX hybrid peddles. Spin Carbon rims. Bontrager all terrain tires
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Submitted by
cannetta
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2011
Strengths: Someone stole my GT RTS-2. Can anyone help on how to get it back?! Special gift from my dad before he died. Plus, I loved, loved riding this bike. I cried all day yesterday. Doubt I'll find the same one to replace it
Bottom Line:
Willing to buy your GT RTS-2 bike with the original parts and if it's not overly used or in pristine condition.
Submitted by
florel
a Cross Country Rider
from san jose cali U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2011
Strengths: strong sturdy bike, smooth handling ,good climber,classic look and ride feel. cannot be beat i tried riding several newer bikes none feels and ride this old classic.
my bike is bare alum no paint and you can see the awesome welding job.
Weaknesses: more on the heavy side, but the looks sure makes up for it.
Bottom Line:
great awesome bike, i would keep riding this baby and upgrade the components when needed. happy trails ! keep on riding......
Similar Products Used: cannondale/ santa cruz/ giant/
Bike Setup: stock frame with noleen rear shock.ft. shocks are now marzzoci which is handles great on rough downhills, match made in heaven with this frame.
Strengths: Great bike! This bike is in mint condition still after 10 years of me riding my herat out. I have only replaced the stickers and have gotten the front and rear shock serviced.
Weaknesses: Non
Bottom Line:
The best bike of it its time an still kicking A**!
Strengths: Bought an RTS-3 when I was 18, (9 years ago) and loved it. Completely solid bike for the money, & best softail of it's time.
Weaknesses: The seat stays broke twice over the course of 6 years. Second time round, GT refused to replace the part. I've got an RTS-2 frame off Ebay, and hoping to repair using swapped parts. Very hard to source parts.
Bottom Line:
I really missed riding this frame, so felt I must get it fixed / replaced. Found one on Ebay, and the hope of restoring a classic bike to it's former glory makes me cream my pants. Look forward to riding it more than anything. Get them while they're still working, & look after it!
Similar Products Used: Carrera Kraken frame. LTS-3
Bike Setup: Carrera Kraken (soon to be back to my ol' RTS-2/3), Vuelta Airline 1, Judy T2, Panaracers, stock RTS-3 parts.
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Submitted by
David Evans
a Weekend Warrior
from Kent
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2004
Strengths: Tis still the business. Well I think anyway.
Weaknesses: The bushes on the base of the shock, where it meets the rocker unit, are prone to rapid wear. This has been sorted out on my bike by cutting off the base of the shock rod and cutting a thread into it. Into this a universal joint has been put, and with some custom spacers, tis running like a dream and needs far less servicing. This job was done for me by CVI in England. Well worth it.
Bottom Line:
Who knows whether its worth keeping an RTS on the road, but I still love the damn bike, and via CVI's work that is now alot less effort. These days they are like a vintage car and I always get riders coming up and drooling over it, even though they are riding santa cruz etc. This perhaps says far more than I ever could. Safe riding. Mal
Similar Products Used: Ridden loads of GT mountain bikes.
Bike Setup: Tis a workhorse rather than a trick machine. In the past has had amazing stuff on it including XTR and cook bros, but these days I am running a mainly deore based gruppo.
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Submitted by
Mike Dold
a Weekend Warrior
from Kansas City
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2004
Strengths: Good solid frame, nice tig welds and gusseting. Ridden this bike 10 years with no probs at all.
Weaknesses: A lot of pivots, but they hold up well. Hoping I can get new bushings when the time comes. Funky routing for rear brake cable if you use cantilevers.
Bottom Line:
The bike is a little hefty, but is rock solid and has not missed a beat in over 10 years! This is not an active full suspension; the rear only works on the harder hits. This works out well, as this is not a comfort bike and is built for business. It ticks me off that GT was sold, and soon you'll probably see GT's at Wal-Mart.
Bike Setup: Built myself from scratch. Rock Shox Judy XC, mostly LX components. Avid Tri-Align brakes, adjustable pivot levers. [reccomended] Grip Shift Xray, 24 speed.
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Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Reno, NV
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2003
Strengths: I bought this bike about ten years ago and it is still kickin ass. Very strong frame and component setup.
Weaknesses: The noleen shock loses oil but still works good.
Bottom Line:
As soon as this thing gives up I will get a new bike. I ride very hard and this thing takes the punishment. People talk about weight being a factor and spend thousands saving a couple of pounds. Yeah, this bike is heavy but I still smoke em going up hill and it gives me more momentum going downhill!!! The cheapest way to save weight is to go on a diet.
Bike Setup: Still running stock except for the front shock. Replaced the rockshock quad 10 after 8 years because it was worn out.
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Submitted by
Craig
a Downhiller
from Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2003
Strengths: Still great looks even though 9 years old! Frame still holding up. Parts holding up.
Weaknesses: Getting frame or parts now limited to lucky finds on Ebay or similar auctions. Rear end stiff as Noleen shock dies. You have to cranck the spring rate way high to compensate for nitrogen loss.
Bottom Line:
Reviewed a couple of years ago (05/29/01). Recently moved on to a real downhill bike (Santa Cruz Super 8). Still ride the GT on local X-country and downhills. Still a sweet bike that gets the looks and hammers the drops. I'm taking it real easy on this baby and will soon hang on the wall. What a classic. Really can't say anything bad about this bike. A true classic.
Bike Setup: XT/XTR, Club Roost, Ritchey, Maxxis MoFo, RST Delta HL, Noleen with piggy-back reservoir.
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Submitted by
Ralph
a Weekend Warrior
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: January 8, 2003
Strengths: No biopacing, good uphill climber, well balanced, smooth handling, great classic looks,
Weaknesses: Squeaking, some noise during downhill, chain slap, a bit heavy,
Bottom Line:
Very reliable, a great bike for really tough off-road use. I've used it in very diverse terrain and it has never failed me.
From very dry to really wet tropic conditions, my GT Team RTS is really a reliable companion. I have traversed very muddy and dusty areas and have not encountered any problem.
Am a bit concerned that I might have a hard time looking for a replacement for the Noleen rear shock though it has never given me any problems (it seems to be bulletproof). A great bike to own.
Bike Setup: Shimano XTR front and rear derailleurs, XT V brakes front and rear, and Deore shifters, pedals, hubs; Panaracer tires, Serfas RX seat, Rockshox Judy SL Front shocks, Kore, Titec, parts
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Submitted by
Nick Swift
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2002
Strengths: Excellent durable solid aluminium frame/good climber and likes fast rocky descents/takes some stick but only wants for more/I believe that I cannot use it its full potential
Weaknesses: heavy, flanges give out all too soon in bottom bracket, (Luckily a neighbour mate is an engineer who makes them for me from scratch)
Bottom Line:
Brilliant bike/worth £4700 new!! I bought it for £800, only a year old! VFM+++ Pity about the weight and difficulty accessing spare parts. I hope my mate doesn't retire.
Bike Setup: XTR, Pace Racing forks, hydraulic discs front and rear, Hope hubs
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Submitted by
Andy Moore
a Weekend Warrior
from York, UK
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2002
Strengths: Strength of the frame is the best. The build quality is superb. Suspension ois a must for all weekend warriors to save the pounding on trails thoroughout forests and on the Moorlands.
Weaknesses: Parts are now hard to get hold off and are pricy. Main GT dealer in York is now HALFORDS (what is this world coming too). Sometimes noisy when downhilling! Eats tryes!
Bottom Line:
Fantastic. I can not see myself partying from that quickly made friend in the near future.
Bike Setup: As standard except xtr v-brakes and panaracer tyres.
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Submitted by
Rob Gibson
a Weekend Warrior
from Lincoln
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2002
Strengths: The suspension exhibits the best of both worlds, not so soft that it hinders hammer time, yet it does absorb much of the large hits you can find around my neck of the woods.
Weaknesses: The bike is heavy. Even with a custom build up like I did, it still wieghs 25+ pounds for the 16" frame.
Bottom Line:
This is great looking and riding bike. I have the chrome looking Team RTS, and it still looks like new after almost ten years. Yes, that is right. I bought the frame in 1993 and built it from scratch that year. I was planning to buy a new bike this year, but after a trip to a few of my local shops I think I will continue to ride this for a while longer. There just doesn't seem to be a better compromise out theer that looks like the RTS does. Too bad about GT Bicycles.
Strengths: semi-active suspension locks out under pedaling force eliminating need for lockout shock. great handling
Weaknesses: non so far
Bottom Line:
since the demise of noleen I had replaced the rear shock with a risse genesisse and set this bike up as my light weight xc bike and used the lts as my abuse bike. risse makes 3 shocks that fit the rts. the genny is air pressured with no external damping adjustments. when you order a shock from them tell them your weight and they custom damp each shock. the air shock mates well with this design, set your air pressure so you have little or no sag. as xc bikes have gone full circle from short travel to long travel and back again,(trek fuel, fisher sugar ect.) now this bike is up to date again. if you have one collecting dust as i did because of the shock call risse and bring it back to life. englund air cartridges mate very well with the risse in the back. by the way i'm a 6'2" clydesdale at about 250 and have had no problems with either the risse or the england air shocks. overall a fine handling bike. also if you need to replace the pivot bearings take them to an industrial bearing supply house and they can get suitable replacements
Similar Products Used: gt lts, I-drive, crack n fail stupid v, trek i dont know y
Bike Setup: judy sl with englund cartridges, risse genesisse air shock, sun rims with xtr hubs, suntour thumbshifters, i use thumbies on all my bikes
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Submitted by
Judson Miller
a Cross Country Rider
from Leadville, Co , USA
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2001
Strengths: Ive had this frame for 5 years and have riden it hard and long. It just seems to get sweeter with time.
Weaknesses: Any time you ride a bike for so long, things are bound to wear out. Finding replacement parts has been a task lately. Anybody know what to replace the Noleen coil shock in the rear with?
Bottom Line:
This is one sweet bike that I just cant seem to part with. Its been a real hassle to get things upgraded, and it would have been easier to build up something newer, but it's worth it. Ive put so many miles on my RTS-2 that I feel naked riding anything else. I dont know what im going to do when this era comes to an end.
