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Submitted by
Matt
a Recreational RiderDate Reviewed: October 15, 2012
Strengths: A lot of the best things on the more expensive bikes in this series are simply carried down.Weaknesses: The wheelset.Bottom Line: GT GTR Series 5.0. I've had this bike for 4 months. I chose the Series 5 with plans to upgrade my components on my own time with stuff I already had lying around. First I wanted to see what annoyed me the most. The frame is fantastic. Everything is solid and quiet. Surprisingly, I really love the microshift shifters too, and I thought that would be the first thing to go before the bike arrived. I think I'm going to actually keep them -- only an 8-speed cassette, but they seem more comfortable than the 105 shifters I have.
I must mention the wheels. I weigh 185lbs, and I put some miles on the stock wheels out of sheer curiosity. They are very heavy, but I was hoping that might mean they were also very tough. Nope. They were actually round when they arrived (surprisingly), but they were definitely warped and required spoke tweaking to get them off the brake pads. More spoke tweaking after every ride. The spokes are something like a 1.8mm STRAIGHT GAUGE. Really, GT? Pop a spoke, and your LBS probably won't even be able to find you a replacement spoke. You have to replace broken ones with 2mm spokes, replacing the nipple too. That's exactly what I did, until I broke a 2nd spoke. Then I threw the wheels in my scrap pile. I put on my Pure Aero wheelset from bicycle wheel warehouse, and they transformed this bike into something fearsome. It feels like a much more expensive bike. I'd totally recommend getting the series 5 and finding some wheels for it over getting the series 1 or 2 and blowing that same money on shifters that won't help you much... just my opinion.
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At: bikesdirect
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ken Jones
a Road RacerDate Reviewed: August 18, 2012
Strengths: Its lightweight for the money. Its a great climber. Handles extremely well.Weaknesses: Compact Crank Set and ALX200 WheelsetBottom Line: Let me start of with a qualifying statement.. I'm relatively new to the road bike scene and have only had experience with a handful of bikes. That said, this bike is awesome. I purchased my 2012 GT GTR Series 2 from BikesDirect and couldn't be happier. The suggested retail on the GT Site is 1400 and I got mine for 899 (no tax or shipping costs). I'm fairly mechanically inclined so the final setup after shipping was a breeze. The first thing I noticed on my very first ride was how magnificent the frame is. Its 6061 AL and stiff as can be, but some how doesn't rattle my bones like other AL frames I've owned. It also handles well - especially on descents. The components are Shimano 105 Shifters and Rear Derailleur and Tiagra Front Derailleur and 10 ring cassette. The crank is FSA compact 39/53. One minor issue is one I have with the crank... I've never used a compact crank on a road bike before and I have trouble finding a "cruising speed" with the gears available. Its not really a problem per se.. maybe just a personal preference. At any rate, I thought it was worth mentioning.
This is essentially my first race bike and for all its positive qualities, the frame definitely tops the list. It feels like a frame that will get better as I get better. And as always, the components can be swapped as I get more comfortable and want to start shaving weight. You can't go wrong with one.
Oh.. and the Wheels suck.. get new ones.
Favorite Ride: 2012 GT GTR Series 2
Price Paid:
$899.00
Purchased At: BikesDirect
Similar Products Used: Diamondback Podium, Trek 1.1, Fuji (not sure of type).
Bike Setup: Front Derailleur: Shimano Tiagra
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105
Cassette: Shimano Tiagra
Shifters w/integrated brake levers: Shimano 105
Crankset: FSA Gossamer Compact 39/53
6061 AL frame with Carbon Forks/steerer
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Phil
a Road RacerDate Reviewed: March 11, 2012
Strengths: Valuw
Comfortable due to carbon stays and forks
Sturdy Frame
Ultegra components, decent wheelsetWeaknesses: Could be stifferBottom Line: This review is for a 2010 GT series 1 with Ultegra components and a Mavic Askium wheelset. Currently I have replaced the stock saddle with a Selle Italia saddle for comfort reasons and Krysium Elites when I race. I picked up the bike during the Fourth of July sale on performance in the summer of 11' and have ridden over 2,000 miles on it so far. This was my first road bike I purchased and as a college student with limited funds I was looking for the most bang for my buck, and I found it with this bike. At $1040 purchasing this bike was akin to buying the groupset by itself with a free frame, wheelset, and saddle attached and performance wise it has served great. The bike is under 20 lbs without pedals as it comes and is decently stiff, you get a good power transfer between you and the bike but due to the carbon seat stays and fork still gives you a comfortable ride. I've ridden a century comfortably on this bike and have plans to do more endurance riding when the summer comes around. The bike's geometry is such that you can keep the stem above the highest spacer and ride upright or you can slam it down for a much more agressive style of riding. With the compact crankset you have plenty of gearing for even the most challenging of climbs and it is quite stable when descending at excess of 45 mph. The askium wheelset, while not the lightest, have served quite well as training wheels and have taken the beating of Indiana roads fraught with potholes and cracks without going out of true as of yet. The frameset seems to be quite durable, after 2 crashes I can hardly tell anything has happened other than the bartape was torn up and needed to be replaced. As an entry level road racer I can tell that at this point any faults during the race are because of the rider, not too much because of the bike at this point. And if you do start getting the itch to upgrade you have a full ultegra (minus the brakes) groupset and you can always transfer the components over if you get a new framset rather than purchasing a whole new bike. From a value and performance mindset I would definitely recommend this bike to anyone who isn't worried about having a bike from a "lesser" company that isn't a Trek, Giant, Cannondale, etc because the bike will serve you well and there is no reason that you can't keep up with the boys on their carbon bikes, if you've the heart and commitment you'll be riding alongside with them and knowing that you saved a bunch in the bank. While I do acknowledge that I will be looking to upgrade sometime in the future, for your new cyclist or someone looking for performance at a good value you can't beat this. Unfortunately it looks like GT might have discontinued the series 1 bike, at least with Ultegra, they now have it outfitted with Sram Rival, another quality groupset. All in all it's a good bike with great components that will serve you well and has good components on it if you want to build up another frameset. If you're a person who really wants to try your hand in racing this is not a bad bike if you don't have another to ride but if you do you may want to consider holding out and saving up for something stiffer like a CAAD 10 which will serve you better in Crits than this bike, its in situations like that where I wish the frame was stiffer but the rider can always get stronger.
Summary:
Great Value, good bike, you will enjoy the ride and the savings, and if you want to race you may want to hold out a bit longer
Favorite Ride: A Swedish Bakery Ride from Notre Dame up to Michigan
Price Paid:
$1040.00
Purchased At: Performance Bike
Similar Products Used: Cannondale R400
Bike Setup: Krysium Elites and a selle italia saddle have replaced the askium and stock saddle, 105 pedals
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Samadhi
a Recreational RiderDate Reviewed: March 1, 2012
Strengths: Great Frame. Sram Apex Derailluers and shifters. Decent wheels. Handles well. Fast. Lightweight.Weaknesses: Not the most comfortable saddle (Fizik Pave CX). Cassette should have been a 12/28 and not a 12/25.Bottom Line: 2011 GTR Series 2 - Very good bike for the money ($800). Derailuers are awesome. Fast bike that handles well, Nicely appionted with SRAM dereailuers and shifterns Mavic wheels, flat-blade spokes, Ritchey stem, bars and seatpost. Not a bad choice for my first road bike in 40 years.
Price Paid:
$800.00
Purchased At: Performance Bike (sh
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rod
a Road RacerDate Reviewed: September 24, 2011
Weaknesses: Breaks or the pads. I replaced mine with a Ultegra breaks to make a full ultegra.Bottom Line: Smooth ride, Great components to match!
Favorite Ride: GT Series ONE ULTEGRA
Price Paid:
$1049.00
Purchased At: Performance Bike
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