![]() Even with soft pressures to offset slight initial shock stickiness, it doesn’t bob much either, although the soft pedalling feel can sap the morale on long road climbs until you get used to it.Įven at over 33lb the bike doesn’t seem to drag too badly, and off-road it certainly feels much lighter – mainly due to the fact that the suspension lets you flow forward over stuff rather than being kicked back. The ‘floating’ bottom bracket only moves slightly though, so while there’s an almost ‘elastic’ chain sensation all the time, it never kicks back sharply or distractingly. ![]() The rear swingarm is free to pivot back and up as it hits edges and bumps, letting the bike roll over them really easily and smoothly. The unique i-Drive action means masses of traction from the rear, too. A steep seat angle keeps enough weight on the front wheel for plenty of steering traction in tight and slippery situations, though. The short stem handling is eager but well weighted, with a stable head angle stopping things getting lairy at speed. Then again, the bus driver feel certainly gives masses of power assistance to steering. The skinny, high rise 27in wide bar is bordering on the daft in terms of width, but a few minutes with a hacksaw will trim it to something more reasonable. The only downside is the fact it only comes in 18 (medium) and 20 (large) inch sizes, so you’re stuck if you’re on the small side.Īgain it’s the cockpit that dominates first impressions of the GT, but in the opposite way to the Cube. Bottle placement is underbelly only, but a QR seat clamp makes saddle height adjustment easy. ![]() While tyre clearance isn’t bad, the front mech cable couldn’t be placed in a worse position to get covered in crap, so watch for rust. The plates are then heavily cut away at the top where they mate the shock and neat horseshoe seat stay top either side of the seat tube.Ĭonsidering the complexity of the frame, cable/hose routing is relatively tidy, although it’s likely to destroy swingarm paintwork very rapidly. The GT handles well in spite of the suspension, but if you really want to attack the trails look elsewhere.The front of the swingarm is then formed from one massive forged V section with the bottom bracket swinging independently off the bottom. One rider likened it to riding a hardtail, while another who spent most of the time sat down thought the suspension was OK. We feel that this may have more to do with the poor suspension performance on the GT than the shock valving.Įither way, the GT was the only bike of the eight on test that left us with sore feet at the bottom of the Skyline descent. By having to move the bottom bracket up by 1/2in the rider’s weight also has to be lifted over the bump, increasing the unsprung mass and reducing the effectiveness of the suspension. Surprisingly, you can’t feel the bottom bracket moving when you are riding, even though it moves back by almost 3/4in and up by 1/2in.īut that’s not to say that its effect goes unnoticed. The i-Drive suspension design has virtually no pedal feedback in the middle or granny ring, but occasionally when sprinting out of a dip while in the big ring you get a bit of chain slack that causes a delay in acceleration. Like Iron Horse, GT has fitted a larger volume 2.35in front tyre to raise the front end of the bike, slackening the frame angles a touch. The Kenda Nevegal tyres give the GT plenty of traction while adding some much needed cushioning but, as with any soft compound fat tyre, you notice the drag on fire roads. Also, with the longest cockpit on test, the GT is one bike here that would really benefit from a 70mm stem. While the Truvativ handlebar and stem serve their purpose, their bulbous nature seems out of place with the slender profile of the front end on the GT. It’s fine for climbing but the back end of the GT felt harsh on out-of-the-saddle descents where the handling was only saved by the superior performance of the fork. In simple terms, the GT with minimum ProPedal felt like the other bikes with maximum ProPedal. On the rear, we always ran the Fox RP2 shock in the minimum ProPedal setting and even then the suspension on the GT was lacking. When will product managers learn that more dials isn’t always better? Also, Fox forks need to be cycled fully to keep the bushings lubricated, so extended use of the lockout can accelerate wear. We never used the lockout as it actually makes the geometry of the bike worse for climbing. Its spring curve is progressive without being harsh and steering precision is first-rate. The Float 32 RL on the front of the GT feels so much better than Fox Talas forks on test.
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