Submitted by
Tony Kent
a Cross Country Rider
from Moscow Date Reviewed: March 11, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Eastern Russia
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$1900.00
Strengths:
1) Really good climber (with locked suspension or without, just don't forget to lock the fork!) 2) Good and really PEDAL-KICK-PROOF suspension. It feels more than 4 inches of travel. Actually it is not XC-only bike, it is rather designed for Marathon-like rides or really long travels in your saddle. Of course - it is not for trail-riding or real enduro, but it is the FASTEST bike for all-conditional riding! 3) Awesome stock fork (RockShow revelation 115mm is only about 120-140 g.more than Reba Race) with ability to "increase" its travel to 130 mm. Don't know how this would affect the geometry, but i want to try it. 4) Really tough frame 5) The feature/cost value of this bike is awesome!!! 6) Good and well-balanced equipment (my friends don't believe me that Fizik Gobi and XTR real derailer/ Revelation is a STOCK!!!)
Weaknesses:
1) Not good in mud and dirt races (because of such swingarm/ seatstay design). Not a real problem. 2) Flexbone (at least in Europe) is known to have a problem -> bolts might be tougher! 3) I had trouble with steering when i just bought it (680 mm is just ... not for me :-)
Stock, except Truvativ XR bar was replaced with a Truvativ Team Carbon and Truvativ XR seatpost was replaced with Merida Mission Carbon Pro (minus 200 grams). I'm using Kenda Nevegals for really hard/wet trails with a lot of roots or in winter. I have Nokian NBX Lite tires 2.0"/2.2" for XC riding (minus 200 grams).
Bottom Line:
1) The frame is a bit long. My height is about 183 cm and i've got I-Drive in Middle size! 2) I prefer SRAM shifters, but XTR rear derailer with Avid Rollamagic (sold separately :-)) roller is 100% same as X-0... 3) No problems with pivots or suspension at all. But i don't like to clean it after really DIRTY trails :-)
4) The complete weight of my bike (in STOCK) according to GT website -> 12,5 kgs... But i THINK that real weight is not less than 13 kgs. Only after i replaced bar/seatpost/tires <12,5 is believable.
For future upgrade: XT cassette
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Benny
a Racer
from San Diego, CA, USA Date Reviewed: April 28, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Tahoe Rim Trail, CA
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$2600.00
Purchased At:
Online
Strengths:
Climbing, rough/rocky terrain, acceleration. Light full susupension. Fox shock.
Weaknesses:
Only one color available. Constructed overseas for GT.
Similar Products Used:
Specialized FSR, Blur.
Bike Setup:
SRAM XO, Mavic, Thompson, UST tubeless tires, Fox shocks.
Bottom Line:
This bike climbs and races very well. It is a great cross country racing and trail bike. I used it in a few local races and it excels on tough trails.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Michael Benedict
a Racer
from Norfolk, VA, USA Date Reviewed: April 15, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Richmond James River
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$2399.00
Purchased At:
Online
Strengths:
Cross country race on rough terrain. Innovative design absorbs trail bumps well. Not much pedal feedback. Climbs pretty well.
Weaknesses:
Poor paint finish...scratches VERY easily. Complicated design. Noisy pivots. A little heavy for a top-of-the-line race bike! The fox RP-3 shock blew out in 3 cross-country rides. ALso, the shock's rebound damping adjustment is not adequate. Cannot adjust rebound to a slow enough setting or my tastes!!! I think there is something wrong with the valving internally. Maybe not designed for this application?
Similar Products Used:
2004 Specialized FSR expert with full XTR and carbon parts. 2006 Iron Horse Azure WOrld Cup
Bike Setup:
Full XTR...actual race weight without spare kit is 27.2 LBS
Bottom Line:
OK bike, but I was disappointed by the customer service at GT and the FOX shock blow out incident was weak. I missed a race on the bike waiting 6 weeks for the shock to be sent back to me! I race the Xterra International Triathlon Series and know what I am talking about. Get another bike...unless you get it free to race, I guess. I really like the way the Iron Horse Azure expert/world cup rides!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Michael Benedict
a Racer
from Norfolk, VA, USA Date Reviewed: June 13, 2006
Favorite Trail:
RIchmond, Xterra Tri Course
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$2300.00
Purchased At:
online thebikecompany
Strengths:
Good price for a full racing frame and middle grade components (XT). Good climber and odd, yet efficient feel in technical terrain.
Weaknesses:
The stock tires weighed a ton. Cheaper, lighter tires abound like IRC's Mythos XC($14.00 from performancbike.com. I upgraded to XTR across the board to get race ready at elite level. The Fox FLoat RP3 shock malfunctioned after 4 trail and road rides!!! What crap! A little heavy for a company's top-of-the-line offering...but not ridiculously so. A better fork/shock than the Fox F-100 would be nice, like the Rockshox Reba or Fox Talus, but the price will be higher then.
Similar Products Used:
Specialized (M4) FSR Stumpjumper expert with full XTR upgrades. SPecialized Stumpjumper (M4) hardtail, fill XO SRAM.
Bike Setup:
Full XTR, XTR disk, Spinergy cyclone disk rims, Carbon riser bars, THompson post and stem.
Bottom Line:
I race competitively across the USA at Xterra Triathlon events. Some courses require a full suspension, some hard tails. This will be my rough-course bike. It is relatively light with the XTR setup, definately dump those heavy stock tires from Tioga! The Fox shock died early with "negative pressure lock" and is being sent back for warranty repair. What a disappointing thing 5 days from Xterra Richmond, but I cannot blame GT. The place of purchase was online, but after some negotiation, I should be recieving a shock overnight mail. They are making me pay for shipping though which is total B.S. Want to race my new bike, and Thebikecompany.com is sending a Float R as a temp repair for the event. Hopefully I can get the stock shock back in good time (2-3 weeks). It is still one of the least expensive race offerings beating Giant's and Specialized top offerings, which I rode. A good value for an effecient and responsive climber
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