ken_whi

Was at Performance this weekend and test rode an 2012 GT GTR Strike Road Bike. Like the way it feel coming from an aluminum bike that currently have. Has anyone had any experience with this bike? The bike is equiped with Sram Force group set. My current bike has Shimano Sora/Tiagra group set.

Menel

GT has been in the bike business for a long time, and Force is solid. Wheels are probably tanks, but thats pretty much given for any stock bike.

You talking the NE Expressway location? Make sure Ryan sets it up for you, probably the only competent one there.

seajaye

i literally just picked one up off craigslist maybe 3 weeks ago, brand new (won from a giveaway). now, take my opinion with a grain of salt, because my previous road bike was a 1980s steel touring bike. i'm really happy with it, considering i was ready to fork over $1,500ish for an aluminum bike with SRAM apex. ended up with a full carbon bike with force instead!

so, yeah, i love it. even though i don't know how good of a carbon frame/fork it is (some people say that nice aluminum paired with a decent fork will feel about the same as crappy carbon), it definitely feels good to me. i'm really happy with the force group, as well. the bike feels fast, responsive, agile, etc. although, on the other hand, pretty much any bike compared to my old one will feel way better. that's where my opinion is kinda biased/naive...

if you do end up pulling the trigger, make sure to have it checked over multiple times before you're ready to ride away. as an example, my brake pads weren't lined up that great. also, if you check the reviews of the bike, you'll find a lot of people complaining about defective rim tape and a lot of flats. bring that up and be ready to pressure them to replace the tape before it's between your legs. luckily, mine was already taken care of in that regard. finally, be sure to check all the gear combos to check for any weird noises. the group is set up so that you can cross chain (big ring, biggest cog) using the doubletap 'trim' feature. my cassette was making some weird noises, i realized it was because my pie plate wasn't perfectly symmetric and rubbing on some spokes. removed it, and realized the cassette itself was making rattling noises in certain gear combos. this thread (camilo's post in particular) helped me clear that one up by myself. with my bike, i can't use the 34-11 combo without rubbing, but i'm never in that combo anyway, so whatever.

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/sra...rs-246075.html

if you're used to integrated shifting (i wasn't), then SRAM will take maybe 5 minutes to get used to. it only took me maybe 15 minutes to get comfortable with how far to push for a single vs. double tap. you can also push farther to shift multiple cogs. i'm loving it so far.

now, since you're actually purchasing from the shop (wish i could say the same), make sure they fit you well enough. swap stems and stuff if you need to. i haven't gotten fit to mine yet, with the supposed 'compact' geometry + setback seatpost + me not really understanding how 'bike fit' works in the first place, guessing and testing is kinda tough.

oh yeah, and i know there's a huge debate on this topic, but i say get a torque wrench. you've got a carbon frame and carbon post, and a carbon steerer on your carbon fork. i kind of just ballparked it by feel when i first set up the bike, and i got home from a ride on some rougher roads, and realized one of the saddle rail clamp bolts had shaken loose and come off completely! luckily, i was close to a shop and they had a spare bolt that fit the bill. if i had just gotten a torque wrench right away and tightened everything to spec, i would have realized that my saddle rail bolts were way too loose, and other bolts (such as my stem steerer clamp bolts) were on way too tight. once you get into the world of carbon, it's a no-brainer to spend a bit of cash on a wrench that will prevent you from destroying pricey components.

JTGraphics

Gt bikes are ok but if you should ever need GT's customer service even through the dealer good luck! They have to be one of the worse for support to test them out try emailing them and see if you get a responce!.
My friend had issues with one of his GT's and after 5 months he is still not riding it. He has 2 GTs but he says now he will never buy another because of the lack of support.
If someone here works for GT and wants to help him out PM me and lets see what kind of Customer support you can help him with I can give you dealer's name that you need to contact to help it's been way to long.

K&K_Dad

I don't get this either. I emailed them when i originally got mine to ask about torque specs. Maybe 6 hours passed before i got a response. Or it could have just been 6 hours before I checked my email. Still, it didn't take forever.

How ironic. I've got the GT Carbon sport from last year. Same bike but with Rival parts instead. On my second ride out on the road the same clamp bolt rattled loose. I knew something was up because I heard it hit the chainring or crank arm when it fell. Luckily I turned around and found it on the road. No issues since.
I personally love mine. In fact I dread when the roads are to wet, sandy, grimy enough to take out the Trek because it's just such a different ride even though they are both set up identical. If there was one thing I'd change about the whole deal though is just give me a round seatpost.

JTGraphics

[QUOTE=K&K_Dad;14797278]I don't get this either. I emailed them when i originally got mine to ask about torque specs. Maybe 6 hours passed before i got a response. Or it could have just been 6 hours before I checked my email. Still, it didn't take forever.

Most likely because you were asking about a spec.
He had a frame replaced under warrantee it cracked well they replaced the frame but its not the same color as the fork the dealer agreed that he should also at least get a fork that matches, the frame was also missing the cable grommets for the frame something he's been trying to get now for 3 months the fork he's given up on so he will a fork and frame of different colors but at least they can supply the grommets for the cables LOL.

To top off all his frustration I had a 3 year old frame replaced under warrantee from another manufacture with in a week built it back up and riding 2 weeks later he's still waiting, and they did not even want the old frame back so I still have it.

mprelaw

If it were my decision, I'd spend the extra $500 and get the Revenge, with a Red group and Aksium wheels. If you liked the Strike, you'll like the Revenge, as I believe that all GT carbon bikes share the same frame.

bonz50

I would honestly like to ride one of the new GT carbons, I'm thrilled with my aluminum GT and a Force equipd carbon framed GT would be worth an effort to demo in the near future.

mynameistaken

I test rode a GT Strike a few weeks ago. I thought it rode very nice and was super light. It fit me well, acceleration was snappy, handling was very responsive and even the low end Mavic wheels seemed OK. The front brake (tektro?) squealed horribly and the shifting was awful. The force group is proven so I have to assume it was not tuned properly. These bikes are almost sold out so if you really like it then I would jump on it. I think its a good buy @ 2k. I also recently test rode a Fuji, Scott CR1 and Orbea (Orca?) The GT seemed to be right up there with the Scott IMO.

Coqui_pr

I had this bike since 2013 and had no problems at all. My wheels are still like new. I changed the cassette and rear derailleur (long cage Forte) because at my age I had trouble with the hills. SRAM Forte components perform great.

Spoonrobot 

GT had a bad run of handlebar markings in 2012/2013 for some models. If the bars are centered as indicated by the markings they will be biased to the right 5mm. This is a significant offset and can greatly affect the handling and feel of the bike.

So be sure the measure and verify the handlebars are centered.

Juan Foote

Zombie!