Summary: actually it's the 2008 model with SRAM Rival all round and shimano 105 wheels. what value for a full carbon with premium components - i wasn't sure of GT but with a great frame, plus richey all-carbon fork and seat post it was a steal. bike weighs 17.3lb with pedals. rides fast and light with good handling and fizik airone saddle is perfect for me. i almost went back and bought a second as back-up.
Strengths: light, agile, great components, Performance Bikes are great on sale and service
Weaknesses: unusual looks and paint (white, red & black) but i'm getting to like it; GT not premium brand but part of Canondale and great value
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Bike Setup: Bike was purchased as a whole so it came with the Ultegra drive train, Ksyrium SL wheels and Ritchey bar/stem combo.
Summary: This review is actually for the '09 GTR Carbon Pro bike. I just picked it up today so I haven't ridden it yet but it is a beautiful bike, I love it. The new seat mast looks very nice but Ritchey probably could've done a better job with the weight of the seat clamp. The tapered fork looks like it hold better than their '07 and '08 models.
Strengths: Seat mast, tapered fork, and the internal cable routing are all very nice touches.
Bike Setup: 54cm GT GTR Pro Rival
172.5 SRAM Rival Crankset
Rest is stock
Summary: Perfect starter/midrange bike right out of the box. Put 800 miles on it thus far when I actually find time to get out on it. Mostly city riding so the carbon frame gets a work out but I can't roll up the miles as quickly as some. Coming from a mountain biking background the stiffness definitely takes some getting used to but the frame doesn't beat me up too badly.
Love riding it so much my Scott Spark has been sitting collecting dust ever since I bought this. Planned to get a matching CR1 to go w/ the Spark originally but the GT proved just too good of a deal and rode just as well. The GT even came in 1lb lighter than the Scott.
Strengths: -Light weight for the money (17lb for a 54cm)
-Solid components(SRAM Rival Top to bottom)
-Decent enough wheelset Mavic Ksyrium (No Shimano R500's).
-Brand name kit all around. Ritchey Pro for fork, bar/stem & seatpost.
-Unique styling on the tubes makes the bike very distinctive that belies its sub 2k price point.
Weaknesses: -Not a well known road bike brand...GT's more of a mountain/BMX brand
-No carbon weave (Fewer bikes seem to have this each year)
-Questionable warranty (Not sure how long GT will survive in its current form)
-Fizik Arionne saddle - not wearing so well and a bit hard on me at least
-Rival Crankset too short. Swapped for a 172.5mm after I noticed the 170's were giving me problems at 5'10".
-Small amount of play in Mavic Ksyrium front wheel (not really the GT's fault)
Similar Products Used: -Scott CR1
-Fuji Pro Carbon
-Trek Madone
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Summary: The GT Pro frameset was light and the carbon soaks up the road. One of the best carbon frames I have owned. Corners on rails and found it great for crits. Sad to see they decided to start making this frame with an integrated seatpost this will make sizing permanent. Great frameset and I put it up there with my favorite specialized sworks sl. You cannot go wrong with the sram force, which is the group I installed with the frame.
Strengths: Corners great, stiff, very comfortable
Weaknesses: did not like the color scheme, came in white, with green and black highlights
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Bike Setup: Stock except changed out saddle for Specialized Toupe
Summary: Actually this is a 2008 bike. It looks great with the White and Red paint scheme with about half the carbon fiber clear coated. The Sram Rival components work great. Mine came with Ksyrium Equipe wheels. The full Ritchey Pro cockpit is very comfortable. The Fizik Arione saddle is great but not my favorite so I swapped it. Also put on White bar tape. 17 lbs. off the shelf without peddles. Similarly equiped bikes I looked at were $800 - $1500 more. I,ve put about 500 miles on it already and am very pleased.
Strengths: Light
Stiff for sprints and climbing
Good ride quality
Amazing parts spec for the $
Incredilble bang for the buck.
Looks great!
Weaknesses: Arione saddle, but I know people that love them.
Similar Products Used: Lemond Beunos Aries
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