The value of anti squat has been optimized to ensure maximum traction, without giving too much emphasis on pedaling efficiency. The LTS was born to make the bike fun to ride, therefore, it is not an XC bike where what only matters going uphill. In any case, to make the pedaling behavior as neutral as possible, pedal kickback has been reduced to a minimum, with a low placed pivot that is optimized for Eagle 1 × 12 transmissions, with 32-34T crowns. This is a 4-bar suspension scheme, obviously interpreted personally by GT. To those who comment “yes, but it’s the same as …” Let’s say right away that aesthetics is one thing, but from a technical point of view two bicycles, even if they have ballpark suspension patterns of the same type, can have very different behaviors, so every bike must be analyzed independently based on its characteristics,Īt the compression curve level, the new LTS has a more progressive curve and a high initial sensitivity on small impacts. It is compatible with both modern coil spring and air shock absorbers. The acronym LTS stands for Linkage Tuned Suspension and identifies the new suspension scheme that GT will use on the Sensor and the Force, but not solely those bikes (in the future we will see further changes on other models). There were those who liked it (personally, I found it very fun to ride, but it has a problem: it is very much affected by braking input. As long as you let the bike go a bit, the rear end eats everything, but when the braking got heavy, the suspension no longer worked as it should. The more brakes, the more it breaks down, thus requiring you to brake even more. A vicious cycle. In reality, the secret to remedy this situation is to let off the rear brake to make the bike more stable, but this requires a certain malice that the average rider hardly finds in times of difficulty. Executed in a rather daring way, a floating bottom bracket allowed a very high main pivot, first with the I-Drive then with the AOS, this general layout has been the workhorse of GT. Now it is no longer. The change is quite drastic, because the I-Drive has been the hallmark of GT for many, many years. This also makes chucking it round the tight stuff a joy, despite the long top tube and slightly slippery tyres.The new Sensors and Force represent an important turning point for the American brand that completely abandons their most recent interpretations, namely the AOS (Angle Optimized Geometry) and the I-Drive, which they have finally forgone for a 4-bar style suspension scheme Trouble is easy to avoid, thanks to super sharp handling from the big bar and short stem. Pedalling and rebound can slap it into the face of subsequent hits though, so remember it’s only a light XC bike and be wary of sequential boulders or big rut sections. It’s smooth on the way back down too, with the smoothly progressive shock and backward swing of the high pivot coping very well with big rock strikes. This gives superb traction feedback without upsetting pedalling rhythm, which makes it an incredible technical climber with a particular penchant for cleaning big slow speed step ups that’ll stall other bikes. The bottom bracket moves separately to the high mounted swingarm, but while there’s no obvious nod on smooth trails, there’s still a constant pedal-trail interaction. Even with the short stem, the long top tube gives loads of stretch for pulling the sky down to meet you. With the heavier duty i-Drive 5.0 taking on ‘all mountain’ duties, GT has put the 2.0 firmly in the XC camp. The use of bottom bracket bearings in the main pivots makes them pretty bombproof as long as you check for tightness regularly, but mud room is limited, even with the 2.1in tyres fitted. The 3D shock mounts are particularly crisply forged, as are the dropouts and bottom bracket mount that dangles below the rear swingarm. The terminals of the seatstays are little drilled bullets for internal gear cable routing, and the front mech cable gets an additional barrel adjuster where it goes through the seatstay plate. As you’d expect for a light XC bike, the rear subframe is a mix of skinny pipe and thin plate bridges, but there’s some really neat detailing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |