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Sneak Peek: GT’s All New Carbon Trail, Enduro Bikes

Written by Zach Overholt
25 Comments
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Gt Force Carbon Team

Full details are yet to be released (check back on the 18th), but GT has let a few snaps of their all new carbon bikes loose. Pictured above is the new Force Carbon Team,which looks quite a bit different than the mule we’ve seen Dan Atherton piloting around. With that pivot location in front and below the rear axle, the suspension looks radically different than an iDrive bike.

GT is also introducing the Sensor Carbon Team, check it out next.

GT Sensor Carbon Team

Another carbon beauty, the Sensor looks to be a shorter travel version of the Force which also has the new suspension design. Clean lines, internal dropper compatible, nice graphics, GT is stepping it up. More when we get it.
Zach Overholt
5,725 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Kevin
Kevin
11 years ago

The Sensor looks like a 650B or 27.5 bike. Check out the tire sidewall.

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Mr Bojangles
Mr Bojangles
11 years ago

Wow wow wow. Such a clean looking, well designed bike at first blush. Horst link rear pivot, low center of gravity suspension, plenty of room for water bottles. Daddy like.

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WestCoastDH
WestCoastDH
11 years ago

That is one damn good looking bike.

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Greg
Greg
11 years ago

The RTS is back?

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biker
biker
11 years ago

Just wondering is the Horst Link Patent expired? If so we could see many more bikes coming out with the Horst Link. Bikes look nice.

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dangerjonny
dangerjonny
11 years ago

nice homage to the RTS

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Segg
Segg
11 years ago

@Kevin
They are both 650b 🙂
@biker
In this case it’s not Horst link. The linkage below rear axle is used to get that floating BB effect to decrease chain growth, which is the main principle of I-Drive. Rear axle path is still circular, like in single-pivot frames.

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MMyers
MMyers
11 years ago

@Segg

As the suspension cycles, the chainstay mounted pivot is going to rotate rearward, causing the axle path to be something other than a radius around the main pivot, no?

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Wiffle
Wiffle
11 years ago

This is a great looking bike, although the suspension is a slight variation (from short lower link to chainstay as lower link) from the Mongoose Freedrive and is not really like previous I-Drive at all. This was always IMO the best variant of the floating BB and I reckonthe new bike will be a corker!
MMyers, The axle swings up and back in a circular arc around the upper pivot. not the lower pivot.
Check out vitalmtb for more details…

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Big Cow
Big Cow
11 years ago

bike is a single pivot, basically the upper seatstay pivot is the main pivot. the design is just an upside down faux-bar. with a metric shit load of anti squat, too much

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greg
greg
11 years ago

anti squat is only from tire force, not from chain tension. well, a little from chain tension. the crank is essentially mounted on the linkage connecting the chainstays to the rear shock. linkage pivots near the down tube.
yes, a lot like the GT RTS, besides the crank on the linkage part.

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DeeEight
DeeEight
11 years ago

To answer the question, the US patent on the horst link expired last month.

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DeeEight
DeeEight
11 years ago

As to whether its still just a floating BB link single-pivot variation or if its a multi-link virtual pivot, we’ll have to wait and see a close up of the pivots. They could run an eccentric pivot like Yeti SB bikes and the new Ibis Ripley behind what looks from the side to be a fixed pivot point.

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Tony
Tony
11 years ago

The first time I saw it I thought I was like a Devinci Wilson, then I thought the Devinci was like the Sunn Radical, and then that the Sunn Radical was like the Old GT RTS, so everything is fine. If you are using one of your own designs as inspiration it’s OK.

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bikeshop.nl
bikeshop.nl
11 years ago

The leading dutch site Velozine has more info on the suspension, including pictures. Text still in Dutch though..
http://www.velozine.nl/2013/06/17/gts-nieuwe-troeven-force-en-sensor/

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MMyers
MMyers
11 years ago

I guess the upper pivot is the main pivot, so indeed a single-pivot wheelpath.

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Opfor
Opfor
11 years ago

Pinkbike has a nice write up on both Sensor and Force, seems like they both have potential.

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mike
mike
11 years ago

It’s More like the Mongoose Free Drive Bikes they were building then any I-Drive bike before it. Basically the Freedom link from the old Free Drive bike has now been turned into a Chainstay. It’s still a single pivot bike. No Horst Link BS Here. The lower center of gravity should be a huge improvement over the free drive system. Hopefully they have been able to increase the anti-squat properties over the free drive as well. A terrible draw back was the amount of rear suspension bob when out of the saddle were the best traits were the complete lack of pedal kickback.

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Chasejj
Chasejj
11 years ago

It is a URT with a controlled axle path. GT can call it all kinds of things , but that’s what it is.

Interesting approach. I am not sure (based on my experience with URT’s) that I would like the rearward BB movement under compression any more now than I did in the 90’s.

I don’t think I am selling my DWlink Turner anytime soon.

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Marc Basiliere
Marc Basiliere
11 years ago

Chasejj,

A unified rear triangle would place the entire drivetrain on a single section of the suspension linkage. In this case, the bottom bracket is separated from the rear axle by two pivots: one just behind the (floating) BB and a second in front of the rear axle. This design combines the wheel path of a (very) high single pivot with some potentially interesting anti-squat characteristics- a four bar with the main frame and rear wheel on adjacent segments and the bottom bracket on a third. We’ll do our best to get on one at Press Camp this week…

Marc

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Matt
Matt
11 years ago

I really want to like GT but, in my experience owning one and working at a shop that sells them, their quality control just isn’t there. It would take a number of years of everyone raving about them for me to try another GT.

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RyanC
RyanC
11 years ago

could be either the mongoose freedrive or the iso drive variant from Schwinn. prolly the mongoose as that setup was super awesome and the anti-squat is tunable with the tiny link aft of the BB. so boss, can’t wait to check them out.

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Bikeman
Bikeman
11 years ago

My only problem with GT is that they don’t hold value. The reason is because of all the online closeouts. A Trek, Specialized, Giant all seem to hold value a lot better. I would hate to buy one of these GT’s and then see them discounted 40%. You just don’t see that with Trek, Specialized and Giant. The only way for this to stop is for GT to be pulled from selling online or in stores like Performance Bike. Sister brand Cannondale does it. So should GT. It would increase the resale price of the bikes. I know people like a deal but it does hurt the value of your bike (you paid MSRP for).

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John
John
11 years ago

vitalmtb and pinkbike have more on the new GTs….IMO, Paul Turner and co. reached the evolutionary pinnacle of this particular design years ago with the Maverick. The Maverick also relied on a floating BB to minimize chain growth, had a high pivot, etc., yet they accomplished all of the same results utilizing just 3 pivots. Too bad they had the FD and shock probs, though…

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Chasejj
Chasejj
11 years ago

Marc B.- WHile my description was overly simplistic (intentional). The fact is , if the BB moves when the wheel moves it is a variation of the URT. GT can vary leverage ratios and paths of the wheel and BB using linkages and cams all they want but it is what it is.

I am certain it has way better characteristics than my OneOff Ti and Szazbo’s from BITD. But moving BB’s are a deal killer for me.

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