Advantages: Very strong, stiff, versatile Disadvantages: Heavy, marmite looks
This fork is aimed purely at the dirt jump and street market. For this reason they have been constructed primarily with strength in mind. The steerer tube is made from reinforced steel so there are no worries about cracking as on some of the older models of this fork. The stanchions are 32mm diammeter steel ensuring that they can withstand the constand abuse of dirt and street riding. All this steel does come at a price though, and that is the weight of around 7lb, about 2lb heavier than the 2003 version with aluminium steerer and stanchions (although I own both of these versions of the fork, and when in use the extra weight only seems to make a difference on long climbs, not the forks intended use, and therefore the weight is not a problem as far as I am concerned). The damping is Dual SSVF and has an external rebound adjuster, preload ...
Advantages: Solid frame, very good brakes and smooth gears. Disadvantages: Tyres are too chunky for road riding, if thats what your into.
This bike is ideal for anybody looking to do any sort of offroading. It is well equipped with tektro auriga hydraulic disk brakes which are silky smooth and have plenty of braking power. The great thing about the GT is that it has a lock-out on the forks which makes riding on roads a bit easier. I find this useful as i commute on it. I chose a mountain bike because i prefered the riding position and the fact i can take it off-road if i so choose. The tyres that come on the bike are chunky enough for off roading but for road riding they have a fair bit of rolling resistance, i swapped mine over for a set of semi-slicks for road riding. This bike is well worth buying and i would reccomend it to anybody. ...
Advantages: Light, nice ride, good brakes Disadvantages: Chain should have shield,brakes bit squeeky,only availible from halfords
I brought this as my last bike, a saracen, died on me, it was really in a terrible mess! I brought this for £400 in Halfords, which is a pretty good deal for what you get. The technician was very helpful in there, otherwise I probably would have brought a bike from a Local Bike Store.
So, what do you get for your £400 here? Well, a light and strong bike, with hyrdaulics, 24 gears, thick tyres, nice wheels with strong spokes.
"GT Triple Triangle Aluminium frame with butted tubes
Suntour XCR 100mm travel fork with hydraulic rebound damping and on the fly lock-out
Tektro Auriga Comp hydraulic disc brakes 180/160mm rotors
Shimano Deore/ Alivio 24 speed gearing
Truvativ Isoflow chainset
Tioga Factory XC tyres
WTB SX24 rims
SDG Bel Air saddle
GT over size bar and stem"
All in all, a good bike for you money. So far, been so good ...
