On the one hand, GT had their new carbon 27.5″ Zaskar hardtails with spec running all the way up to carbon cranks and 1×11 groups. On the other, they had new budget 27.5″ full suspension trail bikes and a $2,999 Fury DH bike.
But it was all led by this special edition Zaskar presented to the legendary Hans Rey as a celebration of his long (30 years in 2016!) tenure with the brand. His new bike is Number One of 100 special edition bikes being made, none of which will be for sale. They’re all earmarked for special events, people and occasions, so it’s only fitting that one of the world’s best extreme riders gets #001.
Fortunately for fans of the triple triangle design, there is a very well spec’d model that is for sale, along with the full sussers for any budget…
Interestingly, for 2016, the Zaskar lineup switches to all 27.5″ wheels. They said it’s likely a 29er would come back in the fold in the future. The Zasker Carbon Ltd. comes in at $4,999 with Race Face cranks and chainring, SRAM X1 and Maxxis tires. And, as if to reinforce the pedigree of a bike that’s the only frame to have won every discipline at the highest level, it comes with a 120mm Pike fork and Reverb dropper post.
The wheels are DT Swiss hubs and spokes laced to Stan’s Flow EX rims, and the cockpit is a Race Face Turbine bar and stem.
Only ever-so-slightly down the food chain is this model with an FSA SL-K carbon crankset, XTR rear derailleur and XT cassette, front derailleur and shifters.
Both bikes bring the Zaskar line up quite a bit from last year’s top Expert model at $3,250, which continues in the lineup.
The all-new GT Verb is a 120mm trail bike aimed at the rider on a budget. Instead of the AOS and Pathlink on the latest Sensor and Force bikes, the Verb uses the last generation of I-Drive to keep costs down.
The 6061 alloy frame is built around 27.5″ wheels and standard quick release rear dropouts.
The suspension uses forged linkages and the traditional Independent Drivetrain dog-bone connector link. The Verb Expert, shown here, gets an X-Fusion 02 Pro shock with Rockshox Recon Silver TK coil fork, Shimano Deore drivetrain with BR-M445 hydraulic brakes and house brand cockpit and hubs laced to WTB tubeless ready rims. Retail is $1,630.
Brake rotors are 180mm front and rear.
Tires come as wire bead 27.5 x 2.25, with plenty of clearance in the frame.
Next down the line is the Elite with a mix of Alivio, Deore and non-series bits for $1,300. At the bottom is the Comp with a Deore rear derailleur and non-series everything else for $1,080. Both lower level models use a Sun-Race 9-speed cassette and triple chainrings.
For downhillers, the new Fury Elite brings a full featured dual-crown forked downhill bike to $2,999. That includes a Rockshox Domain and Fox coil shock.
At the top of the roost is their Fury World Cup that took the Atherton kids to back-to-back world championships. It bumps the price to $6,499 with top level Fox suspension, Stan’s Flow wheels and a Shimano Saint group with PRO cockpit components.
Not shown, the Sensor frames get upgraded with the same conical pinch bolt to preload the bearings on the three suspension pivot axles, which saved a lot of grams. Across the line, the entire range gets spec updates that make them a better value than ever. The rest of their full suspension bikes get spec and minor updates, too, which we covered this summer along with more details on the carbon Zaskars.
