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Submitted by
Jeff Juntilla
a Cross Country Rider
from Hon, Hi
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | kahuku | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikefactory | | Strengths: | 4 bar linkage
Adjstable travel
Adjustable head and seat tube angle
ball bearing kit upgrade in rear link
adjustable rebound and compression shocks
| | Weaknesses: | 6 lbs frame is porky
friends tell me the frame will explode
Bad rap from early model sts.
No crotch clearence unless your pushing 5'9" | | Similar Products Used: | XCR 1000
STS 1500
Gt zaskar LE
I-drive | | Bike Setup: | Yeti bars
xtr brk/shftr
Race face stem
Judy 100 forks
Avid disc
SLR seat
isis BB
Race face crank
XTR frt and RR derailur
mavic 317 rim frt.
Mavic 517 rear.
White industries rear hub
XT disc hub front. | | Bottom Line: | Great XC bike
Strong on the down hill.
Most people don't know to use the lock out in the rear shocks for climbing.
It'll make going up hill more bareable
The tunable head and seat tube angle is great for stabalizing the bike on the fast stuff.
Or making it more quick in the handling in the single track.
I have been riding it since 99.
I can't find a bike that has a personality like it.
This bike I would recommend for XC riders and weekend warriors.
The big hit guys would be better off with some 6" travel
bikes.
verticaly challenged people stay well away.
Your twig and berries will pay in spades!
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug Strand
a Racer
from Olympia Wa. USA
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | my own secret trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | Wheel World | | Strengths: | I love it. She loves the hard stuff, travels well on flat and down hill. True, she climbs like a beast. Holds well in the tights, recovers well, crashes well, and most important the GT STS likes to stay upright. I've had some scary close calls but somehow, she got me through them. The secret is holding on, getting OTB and not braking! | | Weaknesses: | Its a fat beast (affectionately said - just incase she reads this). First set of decals were junk but new ones are vinyl and have been holding up well. | | Similar Products Used: | Super V, Killer V, Scalpel | | Bike Setup: | Mavic 519s over Nuke Proof hubs, XTR Ds f&r and 9 spd cassette, SRAM PC59 chain (QuikLink rules!). XTR V-brakes with Kooka levers, SRAM Rocket Shorties on Azonic riser bar on a Synchros Hinged stem. Rock Shox Julie XL triple crown, RaceFace Next cranks, RaceFace chromoly BB, Thompson seatpost and WTB SST'98. Presently running IRC Trail Bears with much satisfaction and Time Atac pedals. Oh yeah, Vetta 100 computor with HRM (so I can tell how scared I really was because I'll never admit it!) | | Bottom Line: | I hear a lot of people braking their STSs especially back there over the rear shock. I've had some pretty good wrecks and she's holding up great (knock on wood). True, I'm not a big air fan outside of what I get while I'm racing. My wrecks have all been at speed on muddy downhills. There is a race series out here in Olympia called the Peak to Creek. They bus you up to the top of the mountain and launch riders in 30 second intervals. Course is rough, steep, muddy and long 14-22.5 miles. Even has between 2 and 4 miles of evil uphill. With my STS, I've won money in 3 of 6 races. No, she's not a XC racer or a full out downhill rig but she's fun and great if you've got what we call gravity assisted cross country. What the heck, $600 for the frame and 2K in components that can be put on another bike when my STS finally goes to that great bike rack in the sky. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tung Hsieh
a Weekend Warrior
from Pasadena
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Box | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | Wheel World | | Strengths: | Strong frame, beautiful CNC parts, plush suspension, great 4 bar linkage design-- one of the best suspension design which really works in the 90's | | Weaknesses: | Noisy nylon bushing & Noisy rear shock, way too heavy | | Similar Products Used: | 1997 GT LTS-2 | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Manitou Xvert Super, Shimano XTR's, Mavic Crosslink, Tioga XC 2.1 tires, Easton CT2 riser bar, Race Face SYstem & XY seatpost, SDG Bel Air saddle (Ti rails) | | Bottom Line: | It's a great trail bike and also a part time downhiller with its 5" plush travel. With its 9 lb frame, it's kind of tough to climb with it. Once you're done with climbing part, It's where all the fun begins. The handling is quite predictable, the shock swallows all kinds of bumps. I've tried 3 different kind of forks on this frame- 99 Judy SL, 98 Xvert-R, 00 Xvert super. Overall, I'll suggest put the single crown Xvert super on this bike to keep the weight light, and the 4" plush travel matches the rear end quite well. I've also tried Fox Vanilla air shock in the rear..... to shave some weight. But, it was such a dispointment. It feels mushy and it LEAKS air, end of story! | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JM
a Cross Country Rider
from So. Cal
Date Reviewed: January 15, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | no of yer business | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Wheel World | | Strengths: | Looks cool.
Plush suspension.
Can be built relatively light. | | Weaknesses: | Extremely POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Link arm weak/crack/break. Broke 2 in 2 weeks.
Rear spring toooo soft.
P.O.S. decals flake off.
Water bottle mounts strip of our frame. | | Similar Products Used: | GT Avalanche LE
GT Zaskar LE
GT Xizang
GT STS1500DS
Klein Mantra Race
Specialized Enduro Expert
Santa Cruz Bullit
LTS 1000DS
Specialized M4 XC
GT XCR1000 | | Bike Setup: | '98.5 STS 1000DS w/link arm & bearing kit
'00 Marzocchi Z1-CR 5"
Hayes Discs
Hadley/Mavic 317
Full XTR
| | Bottom Line: | UPDATE TO A PREVIOUS REVIEW
This bike was great at the beginning.
Got the link arm and bearing kit. Broke the link arm after 2 months. Broke the replacement link arm witin 10 miles of first ride.
Striped out the water bottle mounts completely out of the frame.
GT warranty dept. bascially said I was screwed.
Customer service sucks.
Sold that P.O.S.
Will never buy a GT product again.
Too bad I have to give it at least one flaming turd. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eddie-Edd
a Cross Country Rider
from littleton, co usa
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Stiffness of the frame, quality of travel... buttah!! | | Weaknesses: | Too soon to tell | | Similar Products Used: | Trek Y-22 | | Bike Setup: | Rock Shox Super Deluxe rear; Marzocchi Z-1 Alloy front; full XTR. | | Bottom Line: | I haven't owned this bike long, but it's nothin' but buttah so far. Compared to my Trek, this thing is a couch! 4 inches of travel from the 'Zoke up front is a nice balance to the 4.5 inches of travel in back. I've hammered through things while seated I never would have dreamed of on the Y bike. Looking forward to putting this machine through the paces on some of the gnarlier local trails soon. I'd recommend the STS to anyone who wants something more plush than a CC bike, but not willing to go full-tilt with a DH rig. I hate the term "free-ride", but I guess that's what I'm describing here. Anyhow, I'll post a follow-up a couple months down the road. Gotta give it 5 chilis for now though! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Christian
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt. Bromont, Que. Canada | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Excellent suspension - feels like more than just 5 inches in the rear. In the 1 1/2 years that I have owned this bike, I've never tried out the 3.5" setting. The 5 inch just feels so good!
The adjustability of the ride - there are so many variables you can adjust to change the handling of the bike. Its definetly a dream for those people who like to play around with their bike's setup.
The frame's damping characteristics. No kidding, This frame is stiff. No flex detectable anywhere, and I am not a light guy @ 190 lbs. | | Weaknesses: | GT Decals come off easily. They've started to "flake" off in little parts on my frame.
The aluminium lugs and other parts of the frame used to be shiny when new - it starts to tarnish quickly. Anyone know of a good (safe & non-abrasive) polish?.
After a few rides in the wet, when the suspension compresses, an annoying squeaking sound comes from the pivots. This problem can be solved temporarily by spraying a little lube and letting it penetrate into the pivots. | | Similar Products Used: | GT Thermoplastic LTS. (owned the first model made in 1996) | | Bike Setup: | Marzocchi Jr. T. fork, Magura Gustav M disc brakes front & rear, XTR/XT mix, Azonic riser bars, Various Kore parts, SDG saddle | | Bottom Line: | I had one of the first Thermoplastic LTS's on the market in 1996. This bike served me well for 2 years, but I discovered a crack in the top tube near the headset soon after. GT was kind enough to replace my frame, although I had to pay $400 for the airfreight to Singapore (after waiting almost 2 months for the whole problem to be processed and solved!!!), and the importer here was being difficult.
But the new STS-1000-DS is a great bike. It's certainly a lot more beefier and stronger than the old Thermo-Lts that I had, and the build quality is much better. Not to mention that the travel increase from 3 inches to 5 inches was quite noticeable. A shame that GT is not making these bikes anymore, because the LTS design is still a lot better than the I-drive they are promoting now.
If you can still get one of these bikes, do so. Its one of the very few bikes that you can use for XC, and also for amateur DH. That was one of the primary factors I took into consideration when deciding on this bike. E-mail me if you want more detailed information. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Taeo Haas
a cross-country rider
from Reston, Virginia
Date Reviewed: May 1, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
First of all, this isn't the standard out-of-the-box STS1000. It's set-up with
a Marzocchi Bomber Z-1 bam, XT/XTR drivetrain, and V-brakes. Some parts are
better than the stock bike and others aren't. All that aside, I've been
riding it for about 2 months. Coming over from a Trek Y-11, the suspension
is definately in a different league. This bike is like a Cadillac, in that
it's lethargic to accelerate, but at speed it just hauls ass. Point and shoot
is a good discription. Confidence inspiring, this bike soaks up almost
everything I can throw at it. The suspension is plush, plusher than any non-
DH bike I've ever thrown a leg over. Every time I try a buddie's FS bike, I think to myself, man--where's your suspension? I'm sure my friends would
rebut, butthis is only my opinion. As a climber, it's pretty able. You have to
keep a steady pedal cadence, if you torque out in a high gear you will cause
suspension feedback. This is not an issue for me most of the time, because
my shifting skill usually (but not always) leaves me in the right gear for the
situation. The bike weighs 27lbs, which is okay. Negatives: maintainance, the rear end squeals from time to time and requires
routine attention. If you aren't into working on your bike, I would say be
cautious. GT has a cartridge bearing aftermarket kit, but it adds weight and
cost and is apparently very difficult to install. I'm going to try a different
bushing set promised to me by a GT rep. If all else fails, I'm going to buy
the cartridge bearing set (for an expensive $120). Carrying a tiny can of
WD-40 has helped me quiet the suspension during rides. Even though the folks
in warranty at GT swear the squeeks come from the pivots, I have found the
biggest culprit to be the travel chips. I understand that they are not
moving parts, but a little WD-40 stops the squeals. The Rock Shox Super Deluxe fell apart in my hands 2 days after purchase, this
is NOT comforting. Also, after reading reviews on it, I'm paranoid mine is
going to explode half way down a mountain side. Marzocchi is making a shock
I hear, put me on the must-have-it-now list.All things considered, this bike is the most fun I've ever owned. I'm the
tinkering type, so I don't mind maintainance. Swap out the Rock Shit
Super Deluxe and I'm totally stoked. For comfort and fun factor, I give the
bike a 5. For maintainance a 4 and for Rock Shox's supposed industry leading
technology a mediocre 3. Overall=4. | | Overall Rating: |
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