hmmm...

Lame phone pics from the commute ride home last week, just before the last big drop.
It ain't the easiest thing to grind up the hills but it sure is fun once it's pointed down!

 

very nice. what is the weight?

 

Honestly I haven't weighed it, mainly because I just don't want a big ugly number stuck in my head when I'm grinding it up hills. Seriously.

If I had to guess it's gotta' be ~38 lbs or so. Most of the parts came off of an '03 Ruckus 1.0 (eccentric) and although that frame was heavier, the Lyrik I had on it probably weighed a pound less than the coil Totem on this one.

At some point I'll start looking at skimming off some weight, upgrading the first gen Code brakes will probably be the first place; from there it gets expensive, ti coil/nut & bolt-type stuff. I'd love to run lighter cranks but the 83mm BB makes that tough. I'm still not sold on the feel of air suspension, especially compared to the Ohlins/Cane Creek, and a dropper post is a must for my type of riding, so there's a few pounds I'm just going to live with. I'm good with that,

I built this bike for the big, nasty, backcounty stuff, and for that I can say it truly rips. I rigged up a front derailleur with a Blackspire Stinger E (and some embarassingly ghetto cable stop action) and to my dismay it actually works pretty well. I was going to give up and go 1x10, with a 32x11-36 spread I figure I could ride most of what I wanted to. But there are those times, like all day rides in the Sierras, where a granny is the difference between spinning and hiking in bike shoes. At this point the double is working so I'll run it, but I think when this drivetrain's worn out I'll give the single a go. Maybe by then someone will make an 11-40 cassette (just cut teeth in a brake rotor)!

One interesting note on climbing (which is obviously not what the bike was really intended for in the first place): this frame has a very unique feel in the granny gear, unlike any previous iDrives (I've gone through about a half dozen of the eccentrics in pretty much all sizes and currently ride an i4 and Force too). I wouldn't call it pedal feedback because I've never really noticed that tugging sensation that most designs have when climbing really steep, rough stuff. It just doesn't have the same isolated feel that the other ID frames do, can't quite put my finger on it. I assume it has something to do with the pivot placement being designed around a larger, single ring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining by any means - it still gets amazing traction, and once you find a climbing position you can work with it'll get up anything you've got the torque for.

If I had a request or suggestion for GT I would ask for the Ruckus to be moved just a hair more towards the Force/Sanction (maybe replace the Sanction?), away from Fury territory. Stand up the seat angle just a touch and give it front shifting capability for those of us looking to fill that Uzzi/Firebird/Scratch-type niche. And make me one out of carbon, please.

That said, if you are currently looking at one of the other 'HD all-mtn' bikes out there you'd be crazy not to check one of these out. The off-the-shelf models come packed w/ some nice spec and the frame is flat badass, especially if you can handle a single ring setup.

 

If I had a request or suggestion for GT I would ask for the Ruckus to be moved just a hair more towards the Force/Sanction (maybe replace the Sanction?), away from Fury territory.

any reason the Force doesn't fit that bill already? Possibly the Distortion?

 

Beautiful bikes! Where can I find just a frame?

 

Check w/ Ryan @ http://www.schwagstores.com/

Great guy, great support and follow-up. Great bike too!

 

How much the frame cost? I didn't see it on website

 

Got one of those...

That's my Goldilocks bike - got an i4 for lightweight fun/long 'dual sport'-type rides (with extended pavement sections), the Force fills the bill for everyday 'all mtn' use; the Ruckus is for the really burly stuff that I still need to pedal to get to.

In reality the Force can certainly handle any of those same trails, especially set up the way it is (Lyrik coil up front, DHX coil in back w/ Sanction dropouts/through axle). It's just the difference between picking my way down and bombing - bombing's more fun!

The more time I spend on the Ruckus the more I'm coming to appreciate its capabilities - way beyond mine, for sure. I've got all three bikes set up w/ the same bar/grip/saddle/pedal combos so they all have a familiar feel, which makes for a striking comparison between the various platforms. I have to remind myself to let the big bike rip if I've been off it for a while, then God help me if/when I climb back on one of the shorter travel bikes and drop in thinking I'm on the Ruckus - gotten in over my head a couple times that way!

It's a killer bike for what it's designed for, i.e., playing. I'd just love something a touch more pedal-friendly, just a touch. I still want to be able to run a Totem up front without overpowering the rest of the bike - 7-8" of travel is really nice for all day fun, or in my case a quick road commute in the morning followed by a two hour off-road blast home on a Friday night. The Distortion is an interesting idea and I could see where it would appeal to many folks' situations, just not mine.

The Force fills the bill for most situations and is my go-to bike when in doubt, but there are times when I'm riding with guys on Uzzis/VP Frees, etc. In those situations it's like the proverbial knife in a gunfight, which is why I built the Ruckus up the way I did.

Variety, the spice of life they say...

 

What do you think of the double barrel on there? I just picked up a Ruckus to replace my giant faith that got hit by a truck and can't seem to make myself happy with the vivid that came on the bike. I am up in the air between getting it pushed and getting a double barrel. I wanted to get an Elka but Elka said that they don't like GT so they wont do a shock setup for a GT.

 

CCDB all the way...

... you won't be sorry!

I've got Push'd shocks and forks on two bikes and the Lyrik/DHX package on my Force were tuned by Adrian @ CR1 Engineering. Well-done tuning can make just about any damper work well, at least for a while, but the Ohlins guts in the Double Barrel are just on a different level. And since they're made to order, it's basically a custom shock straight out of the box. I want to make adjustments to mine but just can't seem to find a reason to, even the preload was right on the money. Just make sure to give honest weight, riding style, etc. info when you order.

Keep in mind there is no 'platform' or ProPedal-type setting, it's just always on plush. The ID system really doesn't cause any pedal-induced action, but your weight shifting back & forth while pedalling will definitely keep the shock moving; some people are bothered by that sort of thing, I guess. On a deep travel bike like this I say it's the only way to go.

 

How's she doing? You must be one of the few owners of that baby.

 

It's a fantastic bike, does exactly what I built it for; in fact, as I mentioned before it's capabilities are still waaaayy beyond my own. Every now and then I'll hit that perfect Zen balance and find myself just rockin' through stuff that should spook me, the bike just eats it up the faster I go. Then I'll realize what's going on, the brain takes over and self-preservation kicks in, and I'm back to feeling unworthy!

Reliability-wise it's been excellent. I had an issue with the lower pivot loosening itself early on, I felt the bottom bracket moving around and noticed the cap backing off the drive side of the pivot. Some blue Loctite fixed that, hasn't been an issue since. It's been crashed pretty freakin' hard a few times now but the only casualties have been a snapped-off Hopey post and the chain roller portion of the Blackspire E-type mount had to be hacked off, hung just a bit too low to survive. Other than that the frame itself is bombproof.

I don't have any experience with full-on DH or park bike setups so I'm probably not the person to ask how it compares within that segment. I built it to handle the stuff that feels like it's breaking my Force but still be able to pedal into, like my old Ruckus. GT obviously had more of a mini-DH market in mind, hence the lack of provision for any front deraileur. And the seat tube angle is a bit slack when the post is at full extension, but with the seat slid forward on its rails it's certainly bearable. The key to long rides is patience, I've found; standing and hammering on the pedals does no good, best to just sit and spin to maintain momentum. The suspension allows for amazing traction so in the granny gear it'll get up and over pretty much anything you've got the legs (and line choice) for. Once you get to the top it comes into its own, like backcountry skiing/boarding it's all about earning the turns.

Prime example, last weekend a buddy and I hit up the local Sierra foothills for what will probably be the last high country ride of the season. We started at 5500', topped out around 9500', lots of up/down in between, finished off with a 2000', six minute blast back to the car - 5+ hours of big bike fun, just what the doctor ordered!

I'll be interested to see what, if any development GT makes on this platform. I've been on GT's since the '70's and in addition to just feeling 'at home' on them, I also feel a strong sense of loyalty to the core of the company that's kept the faith through the turbulent years. Every time I've been ready to jump ship to another brand I find a reason to keep sending my business their way, the folks in the trenches show a level of support that any 'enthusiast' manufacturer/supplier should aspire to. Whether it's Hans offering advice on tracking down framesets, or John Canepa calling (as in PHONE call - remember those?) to answer tuning questions, you just get the impression that they know they've got a great product and appreciate those of us who still ride them. It's gotta' be tough being on the R&D/racing side and watching the marketing side struggle for traction...

Anyway, my point is that I'll want/need to replace or upgrade this bike at some point and as much as I love it as-is, bikes like the new Uzzi are definitely closer to what I'm looking for, especially if they end up doing a carbon version. I would love to see the Ruckus follow suit with front shifting capability built in and just a hair more pedal-friendly geometry. And less weight would be nice.

So the really long-winded answer to your question is I dig the bike, and you're right, I don't ever see another one out on the trail. To tie into the '2012 lineup' thread I really hope GT USA is working on a business model that will see them back in LBS's as a full line again, including the high end stuff and especially frame set availability. As someone mentioned, that raw black carbon Force in the German catalog is stunning and would be at the top of my list to replace my current Force frame when it's time, hopefully it won't require some kind of black market deal to get one Stateside. And at this point I don't even see the Ruckus offered as a 2012, which is a shame. They're finally regaining some degree of acceptance with 'real' mtb'ers, I'd hate to see that momentum go to waste.

On that note I shall sign off (you're welcome) with a couple recent pic's from the high country...

No chair lift access here:

 

Well thanks for the short reply Eric (just kidding ;-)). She looks simply stunning, I have no words to describe my feelings. If I ever saw that bike in real I would probably lose my mind like if I met my first love ;-).

Anyway, thanks for the summary. It's good to know all the good and bad sides of it. It's obviously a dream bike for me at the moment, sadly I know I will probably not get it for a while even if I really want to and put a lot of effort into it. But it's cool to know that someone is happy and riding it out there!

I perfectly understand what do you mean by "you felt at home". It was exactly the same thing for me when I tried the first GT in my life. I couldn't find the words, I was shocked as a kid that a brand like that could exist. I know there's some other bikes but it doesn't even slightly interest me. The only reason I would get something else would be a lack of money :-(. Yet, I ride my avalanche and I'm pretty happy about it. Even if it has some of the worst components you could find on the market at the moment .

Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge about that brand which is limited in my case since I'm from another generation. I only saw all those old GT's on pictures..

But tell me, how does it handle drops, jumps, etc..? Did you ever give it a try to see some of the capabilities? How does it land, is it smooth? I know you got a totem and I believe a DHX or vivid? She must be flying, I'm just imagining the sound it makes

 

Ruckus balls!

But tell me, how does it handle drops, jumps, etc..? Did you ever give it a try to see some of the capabilities? How does it land, is it smooth? I know you got a totem and I believe a DHX or vivid? She must be flying, I'm just imagining the sound it makes

That's what I call the effect it has on my riding! Suffice to say I'm not going to be invited to the Red Bull Rampage any time soon, but I still manage to get the wheels off the ground from time to time. This bike just inhales rough chop and especially big hits (Cane Creek shocks are in a class of their own here). I find myself launching into rock gardens and sending it off jumps & drops that I wouldn't have considered before. It's amazing, and will probably get me hurt (worse than usual) one of these days if I don't reign it in a bit!

Sorry, no in-flight pictures or video at the moment - just imagine what it sounds (and feels) like to drop into a really comfortable arm chair... kinda' the same feeling!

Find one and ride it, you won't be disappointed.

 

Damn!! Now I really want it!! This is probably gonna be my next bike hopefully. Be careful riding this beast out there and thanks for the review.

You should share a short video with us when you have the occasion, looking forward seeing it fly!