All-new GT 6061 monocoque full suspension frame with 6” rear travel, sealed main & BB pivot bearings, forged i-Link, and modular rear dropouts with 12 mm rear maxle
Submitted by
bikerboy84
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand Date Reviewed: November 22, 2009
Favorite Trail:
anyting rough
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
second hand
Strengths:
climbing, downhill and everything in between.
Weaknesses:
all my mates want to ride it
Similar Products Used:
have owned and ridden lots of bikes; currently have eight in the garage
Bike Setup:
santcion frame with dhx coil.
lyric fork.
kind shox dropper seat post.
stans flow rims with pro2 hubs(the best ever)
saint cranks.
ck headset.
raceface bb.
code 7 brakes with straitline levers.
kore bars and stem.
xtr derallieurs and shifters.
geax sturdy tires.
Bottom Line:
I bought the frame with air shock and changed that after a few ride to coil to try it out and think that it has a better feel in the rough stuff.
Overall it is the best all mountain/freeride setup i have had the pleasure to ride so far.
I've set it up for the downhill but it still rides beautifully uphill.
If you like the rough technical style terrain then this bike will double your confidence while still being a very capable uphill bike
do try it!!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brydon
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealand Date Reviewed: November 17, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Flying Nun
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Cost, 6inch rear travel, nice looking bike, good all rounder.Purchased frame and shock only.
Weaknesses:
single pivot brake issues, fixed with a floating brake.
Similar Products Used:
Mongoose teocoli.
Bike Setup:
Rockshock 318 8inch up front, fox air rear,wider rims for bigger tyres.
Bottom Line:
Like going down more than up, so set it up with some bigger forks up front, wider rims, two chain rings and bash plate oh yeah just made a nice floating rear brake that changes the way it feels coming into corners fells so smooth in the rear now, perfect set up.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
hitechredneck
a Weekend Warrior
from colorado Date Reviewed: October 24, 2009
Favorite Trail:
secrets
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
local
Strengths:
tough, take take a beating, i have a few hard crashes and bail outs and few broken parts but the frame can take a pretty good beating.
I really like this bike. i had been out of biking for a few years and i walked into the local shop and starting looking at bikes. After chatting with the sales fella for a while i endend up on this bike. I like it after a few upgrades to make it a little more solid with maximus freeride bars and 70mm stem, wheels and a dhx 5.0 in the back to adjust ramp up for bottom out. At first i thought i bought to much bike cause i was dieing trying to move this bike around being a 33 lb build. After having the bike whip me back in shape, I was shocked how well it climbed with the idrive and NO pro pedal. then i pointed it down hill and wow what a blast!!! this thing feels at home going down it had more guts then me on the downhill takes everything i can throw at it from trestle bike park, to 15 mile climbs to ladders and skinnys and drops and the local jump/pump track. this bike is a for real do it all bike. I went and demoed the "god" of all mountain bikes the SC Nomad and was shocked that it felt alot like my GT only was twice as much and i had to use a propedal shock to climb it. Glad i demoed and did not fall for the hype, I hear GT had a few bad years and lost its "hype" But i can tell you the sanction does not fall into the bad years category! Get one while you can there not being brought to the US in 2010.
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Submitted by
matt9210
a Weekend Warrior
from Wanchai, Hongkong Date Reviewed: July 27, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Tai Mo Shan
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1300.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
climbs great and goes down real fast and confident.
Weaknesses:
a bit heavy but with the i-drive u never noticed it evenon climbs.
Bike Setup:
gt sanction with fox dhx air 5.o and magura wotan fork, chris king headset and bottom bracket, shimano hone cranks, xt brakes, shifter, derailleur and casettes. mavic 819's with hopr pro2 wheelset fitted with maxxis advantage tires, thomson stem and seatpost plus ritchey carbon wcs handlebar.
Bottom Line:
great value for money...was planning on getting an ellsworth epiphany but with the bargain and the set-up it had on ebay...glad i decided to go for this one.
no regrets and will ride this AM/FR rig for a long time. climbs better than my XC rig and definitely more confident on the downhill ride of any trails.
with this GT Sanction i can climb up the trail together with my buddies with XC set-up without being left behind sometimes i can even outclimb them at the same time can do downhill rides with my buddies with DH set-up.
i think this is one of the best if not the best all around, all mountain bike out there.
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Submitted by
Chayseh
a Weekend Warrior
from Albuquerque, New Mexico Date Reviewed: July 15, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Sandia Ski Area
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At:
Performance Bike
Strengths:
The set up on this bike is amazing. It will climb like a goat. The I drive system is perfect. The travel will make you hit some drops that you may not have hit before with ease.
Weaknesses:
None so far.
Similar Products Used:
Giant Pistol
Bike Setup:
Durolux suntour fork w/ Remote Adj, Fox DHX Air 3.0, Sram X-7, Shimano disc brakes, Torsion rims wrapped with Kenda tires 26x2.35.
Bottom Line:
It's a great bike. GT got it right with this one. It has handled everything that I have put in front of it. Enjoy the ride up and take a hell of a trip down.
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Submitted by
manical man
a Weekend Warrior
from adelaide, south australia Date Reviewed: July 23, 2008
Favorite Trail:
free lunch, fruita
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
responsive, agile, light but strong and ready for tough trails and big obstacles
Weaknesses:
found none
Similar Products Used:
cannondale prophet
Bottom Line:
my next bike will be a GT
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ehansen007
a Downhiller
from Aliso Viejo, CA Date Reviewed: June 17, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Stair Steps
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$2800.00
Purchased At:
Performance-Laguna H
Strengths:
Built like a tank!. Fully loaded at great price. Lyrik fork is amazing once set up correctly. Great paint job. Amazing climber for it's category.
Weaknesses:
Built like a tank! A little heavy. Crank Bros Acid Pedals are throwaways.
Similar Products Used:
Mongoose Teocali Super, Kona Stinky
Bike Setup:
Stans Tubeless setup, Sunline 65mm All mtn stem, Easton carbon hi-rise bars, Shimano 424 pedals, SDG I-Beam team with post,
Bottom Line:
I was considering buying a bike to replace both my Mongoose Teocali Super 5.5"(which is the best bang for the buck anywhere as far as I'm concerned) and my Kona Stinky 7", and I had the choice made up for me when someone stole the goose out of my garage. Now the Stinky's up for sale while I try this bike out.
This bike truly blurs the line between freeride and all mountain but I'd have to say it's more of a tough all mountain bike that can pedal uphill and handle good sized drops vs a real freeride bike. We've all seen the ads by now about "it's not freeriding if you have to buy a ticket" I do buy that but not in full since it doesn't have a full coil setup that soaks up huge drops or rocks like a true free ride bike would. Still, it's pretty plush.
What you end up getting with this bike is a stellar package that you can take anywhere and do almost anything with. I can keep up or beat most of my buddies on the climbs and just bomb downhill while jumping over stuff. Truly versatile. BUT, for this bike to really come alive, I believe you have to forgo the factory shock settings both front and rear and set it yourself, install a shorter stem and some hi-rise bars. I changed the bars and the stem before the first time out but it was still hairy as I used the factory recommended settings and it was way to stiff, not soaking up the usual babyheads and shale on my local rock garden. I came back and immediately went to tubeless (as with all my bikes), and went to work setting the sag. Setting stag was very tricky so I just kept working it until I had the most travel setting without bottoming. Next ride out it was heaven! This thing climbs like a heavy hard tail with the propedal! I've love the 2-Step fork. I'm still bedding in the brakes but I hear from most that the XT brakes are awesome once bedded in.
So things to switch out:
Bars
Shorter stem
Try Tubeless!
Pedals-unless you like that griding sound Crank Bros pedals make
Add a Chainstay guard
With these mods, I managed to shave a pound off the bike and may go with some XT cranks to lighten it up even more. I'm at 32.5 and dropping!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Charles
a Weekend Warrior
from Auckland Date Reviewed: April 24, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Goes where you point it no matter where that is. Strong frame, very responsive, well matched suspension, looks great.
Weaknesses:
Bread not bombs? Interesting stickers, lucky you don't really notice them
Similar Products Used:
Ellsworth Id, Trek 9.8
Bike Setup:
As purchased- Rock shox lyric, saint crant, thompson stem and post, xt drivetrain and brakes, fox dhx shock
Bottom Line:
Big, beefy all mountain beast. Soaks up the hits really well. Looks very heavy but doesn't ride that way. I have been progressing to a heavier and heavier bike and find my all mountain times are much the same but my grin factor has well and truely increased. That being said at just over 30lbs (about 15kg) it isn't that heavy. Riding this bike inspires a huge amount of confidence, the 20mm through axles and decent travel means it tracks so true and gets you looking up ahead instead of the terrain directly in front of you. I was reluctant to get off the Ellsworth but I don't regret it for a minute. Thought it would be like trading down to a ford from a ferrari. The welds are excellent, the finish great and the I'drive rear susp is very supple and looks quite simple now.
The Lyric fork is great. I love the lock out and quick height adjustment. Real easy to set up. I really like this bike and will have it for some time to come.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Charlie
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney Date Reviewed: April 14, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Stromlo
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Bullet proof construction and beefy frame without the weight you'd expect from the specs. Beautiful handling on the trails, can handle any downhill I was prepared to throw at it, pedals quite well uphill.
Weaknesses:
XT brakes were not quite as powerful or responsive as I'm used to, Juicy 7s still win that one.
Similar Products Used:
Giant AC-1, Iron Horse something downhill
Bike Setup:
Lyric fork, DHX Air 4.0, Saint cranks, XT drivetrain and brakes, WT saddle, DT Swiss rims and Kenda Nevegals.
Bottom Line:
I hired this bike for two days to ride Rotorua's amazing Redwoods trails in NZ. I initially thought it might be too beefy to ride all day and, while it proved that it could certainly handle a lot more punishment than I was prepared to hand it, it was actually quite good to ride as an all-day trail machine. On the windy, swoopy singletrack it handled beautifully, was very easy to flick in between the sequoias and was surprisingly easy to pedal up to speed so I could launch into the sweetest berms I have ever railed. Downhill it handled very comfortably, the fork and shock soaked up bumpy, rocky descents easily and I felt like it had a lot more to give on the small drops I took. Pedalling felt quite nice, I didn't notice much bob on the flats, certainly not much more than the SC Blur LT that I normally ride. The price seems quite good for such a capable bike and I wouldn't make to many changes out of the box. Finally the bike looks good, nice lines, good paintjob and very solidly built, especially around the top tube and rear triangle. It's a pleasure to look at. I think GT is onto a winner here and when I'm eventually in the market to go from 5" to 6" this will be a contender.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Wes Nile
a
from Ashland, OR Date Reviewed: January 29, 2008
Favorite Trail:
PBR, N Umpqua, Wag
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$3200.00
Purchased At:
Bear Creek Bicycle
Strengths:
This bike ascends as well as it descends. It is a very responsive in various conditions. Switchbacks feel like I am on a XC bike not a trail bike. The seat tube angle does not change when sitting into the bikes sag even when the Lyrik is at full travel. This gives the bike consistent supple feel. This bike climbs better than any other 6 inch travel bike that I have ever used. The bikes pedals exceptionally well on the open fire road to a technical single track. For a bigger bike I felt that my energy was not robbed getting my 205 lbs ass up the hill. Stand up and pedal- the bike travel sits there. The suspension is still active but lacks the BOB.
Weaknesses:
The WTB/DT wheelset is a bit inadequate for aggressive riding styles. The narrower rim width of 24mm combined with lower tire pressures gives the bike a squirrely ride. Increase the air pressure to 35-40lbs and the riding performance gets better. I believe 22-24mm width rims have been the biggest fault of long travel trail bikes for the more agressive rider. The narrow width lacks support for 2.3-2.5 inch tires w/ lower pressure when pushing the bike around. 28-30mm stiffens the feel of the bike and gives me a better sense of security running a stronger rim. The Ritchy bars took some getting used to, I have been using Easten bars for the last 7yrs. The bars performed on par, they are not my first choice because of personal feel.
Similar Products Used:
Rocky Mountain Slayer 70, Santa Cruz Heckler
Bike Setup:
In the rear shock I put in my body weight, 205 lbs for now. This gives me about 40% sag. The DHX Air 4.0 ramps up with great performance as expected from Fox. The Lyrik 2 step air, I am running with a bit less air pressure than recommended. I am sure that once I put more time on the bike I will have to adjust pressures. The components of the bike are what they came with to date. I will run these till the spring to get a better stock feeling for the bike.
Bottom Line:
The Sanction is the best bike that GT has built since the 70's. XT, Saint, Thomptson, Fox DHX Air 4.0, and RockShox Lyrik for only $3200. You can't get a better deal for a sweet performing bike from anyone. Yes it is a GT, but if this is the future line up from GT- it will put a hurt on the compitition. Over all I have really enjoyed the ride of this bike, I can't wait until I can fully push this bike around, snow and frozen icy ground has put the dampers on some fun. I give this bike 2 thumbs up. A smile from ear to ear.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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