thehammerdog

I just read a review of this bike and I gotta say it appears to be a great bike. The design is sweet with Ultegra groupo it weighs 18lbs. with disc brakes & big tires. With a little effort I bet it can get into the 16-17lb range an dbe a great all arounder.
The new era of Carbon , comfy bike design is perfect for this aging old fat guy. I just need to find the extra $3K to get one.
Has anyone ridden it or seen it yet?

RocThrower

I can't comment on the carbon Grade, but I picked up the Alloy 105 in October as a gg/commuter/winter bike to compliment my carbon road bike. So far, I have been quite pleased, and it does seem like a good candidate for an all-around bike. I have taken it out on the road, gravel and even some singletrack, but now it's fendered up for winter. I was really impressed with it on gravel, and it seemed to be very stable and confidence-inspiring.

One thing I'd mention is the tire clearance is stated as "up to 35mm", but I'm guessing I could go up to 40mm. This is more than adequate for me, but I know there are other bikes with more generous clearance.

I can only imagine this bike is better in carbon, especially if GT's claims about the vibration-damping glass seat stays are true. The alloy version is a little heavy, but I think you could get the carbon down to the weights you mentioned.

thehammerdog

Good looking bike. I am not a touring guy I just love the do anything go anywhere compliant bike idea. DIsc brakes on roadies rock

DirtRoadRunner

For the $3580 price tag, you could come close to having a framebuilder custom-make you a lightweight steel frame ($1200-1500), still have $2200 left to buy components and build exactly the bike you want. Don't get me wrong - it looks like a nice bike, but I would want something totally custom at that price point. Also, the 52/36 gearing is a bit high for a mixed-terrain bike - a 50/34 or 46/34 would be more appropiriate.

Phlorida

The reviews that I have seen have been very positive. It seems like the bike that the reviewers get comes with electronic shifting which isn't an option on the GT website.

fumanju

I have a GT Grade Carbon Ultegra, which I picked it up the second week in December. The XL size weighed at the shop was 19lb, but that one has Di2 on it (Mine's a XXL which I haven't weighed yet, silly me). I was fortunate that this shop had some of the reviewer demo bikes with Di2 and he offered to order in the Ultegra mechanical version and swap over the Di2 set, so SCORE! Glad this shop was so cool with doing this - GT really should offer that as a build option.

This is a fantastic bike. Ride quality is amazing - it's ultra responsive and very stiff in the bottom bracket, but like sitting on a sofa up top. It completely mutes any of the jarring stuff you run across on the road (unlike my old carbon Giant) and is just a fun bike to ride. You realize when you hit one of these "features", but it just doesn't hit hard at all.

I've only pounded the gravel a little bit on it (dirt road with a bit of single track) and it performed surprisingly well in stock form (28mm Conti Grandsports), but the slick nature of the tire definitely was a disadvantage in some of the sandy parts of the single track.

I recently put some 32mm Vittoria Randonneur's and some Planet Bike Hardcore fenders on it for some winter commuting. I love the versatility of this bike - I generally do century rides which is why I looked at something more comfortable like this and the fact that it is so versatile really hit a lot of check marks on the shopping list. For me, this can truly allow a "one road bike" quiver so I don't need a bike for commuting, racing, etc....

Depending on the size of frame you're getting, I could easily see the weight of the bike getting down in size to 16-17lb, but you'll probably be going with some lighter wheels and perhaps a lighter seat.

pitaklein

I also have the GT Grade (although with 105) XXL, and I love it, as well. I have some 35mm studded tires to put on, and I'm wondering what size fenders you bought? I'm guessing I should get the 45mm ones, as the smaller ones will probably be too small for the tires. Do you have the 45mm fender? And if not, do you think they will fit the bike? Thanks!

RocThrower

I have an aluminum Grade, and I am running 45 mm fenders on it, SKS Longboards. I had no issue fitting the rear fender, but the front needed some modifications. First, the stays had to be bent to clear the brake calipers, but I have they HYRDs, which are kind of bulky. Either way, that was easy. I also had to "notch" the sides of the fender where it fit between the fork blades. This was necessary to get the fender high enough to vertically clear the tire. This made the front end of the fender kind of flimsy, and it would bounce off the tire, so I shortened it by about 6 inches, and I haven't had any issues since. I am also running 700 x 35 Studded Winter Marathons, and they are clearing the fenders just fine.

Wilfred Laurier

It would be at least 2 lbs heavier, probably flex like he was riding a bike made from overcooked spaghetti, and it would likely break after a few seasons, but he certainly could go that route!

fumanju

I have the 35mm version of the fender, but I think you could fit the 45mm version, perhaps with slight modifications as per RocThrower's reply. While I had the wheels off a bit back, I did take some measurements for of the clearance between the stays and such where the tire would pass by, so that'll probably give you some hope:
Seat Stay: 54mm
Chain Stay: 44mm
Fork: 49.5mm

pitaklein

Thanks for the replies regarding the fenders! And keep enjoying the Grade!

El Veloz

I just picke up the same bike. Would you mind telling me what brand/model fenders and racks you got. I want to make sure they will fit. What is the width in mm of the fenders. I notice the racks mount at the skewers and seatpost. How do you fenders mount? Thanks for your time

RocThrower

Again, I have the Alloy version, but I mounted a Bontrager Backrack to the mounts at the dropouts and used a seat post clamp with rack mounts attached. For the fenders (SKS Longboards, 45mm), I used p-clamps on the racks to mount the fender stays, and mounted the fender at the seat stay and bottom bracket mounts. If you have a carbon version, I believe there is a detachable bridge you should have received that mounts between the seat stays over the tire. This should have a mount for the fender.

joshnc

I am really thinking about getting into gravel riding and I think this bike would be the one for me. Anyone ride in NC?

NormanF

I'm guessing it could fit 40 mm tires without fenders. If you run fenders with it, 35 mm is the max and its still plenty big.