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GT Distortion

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
Picked up a Distortion the other day, must say this bike is rad! Im riding the size medium which is a bit small for me If I want to ride it as an XC bike (I'm 5'10"). The medium is awesome for a DS/4x bike. If you wanted to ride it XC I would def get the Large if your close to my height. The longer seat tube and TT will help get your legs stretched out a bit more. I have ridden it a few times on some local mini DH runs and it is rad, handles everything that my full DH bike does. Even tho it only has 112mm of rear travel the way the suspension is design makes it feel like a 6" bike. The headangle puts a huge factor in its DH style ride at 66.5* HA makes the 4" travel bike real comfortable on the mountain. Very stiff frame as well really awesome bike. Ill be putting this bike thru its paces and see how she handles some bigger mountains real soon. :weee:





 
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yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
In all seriousness, can it climb with a properly extended post?
Yes, I just installed a longer post on it today. Need to change the gearing, its really set up DH right now with a 36t chainring and a 11-26t cassette. :rofl: so once I change the gearing a round it will be a real mountain killer.
 

Deano

Monkey
Feb 14, 2011
233
0
GT looking good again :)

I always had a soft spot for GT since it was my first BMX back in the 80's

So after the last bunch of years being a crappy walmart brand, its amazing to see them rise up again.
 

woodsguy

gets infinity MPG
Mar 18, 2007
1,083
1
Sutton, MA
GT looking good again :)

I always had a soft spot for GT since it was my first BMX back in the 80's

So after the last bunch of years being a crappy walmart brand, its amazing to see them rise up again.
You can thank the new owners.
 

p-spec

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2004
1,278
1
quebec
I am to also very pleased to see gt back in the game.

Back in the day wen BL rode for them.With the gangster I drive set-up.

Dhi still one of my favs bikes to date.
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
cool bikes indeed. My LBS has a medium one in and it feels pretty good. The appeal to me would be that you could pedal it uphill like an XC style bike and then rail down a jump trail like a slopestyle bike. The US version comes with a travel adjust seatpost. They come in 15.8 and 17.8 seat tube lengths so plenty of room to raise the seat up and still low enough to get it out of the way

The only downside is it has a whole lot of purple bling. Some may pull it off but it seems a bit loud to be pedaling around on some 4 hour XC rides in the backcountry. Also there is no frame only option for the US. I would love a low travel XC/AM bike that could pull double duty as a DJ fully

 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
Took the little guy out with the big boys, hung with them just fiiiiinneee! Bike was so much fun to ride, held its lines very well!

Dont mind the creeper dude in the pic....

 

kidwithbike

Monkey
Apr 16, 2007
466
0
Hoboken, NJ
In that photo I was obviously pissing and crapping my pants cause i was so excited to be riding downhill; much less with Pros like George Ryan and the infamous Yuroshek.

the distortion is a neat little bike, really tears up the parking lot! but is too short for me. It does feels quick when stomping on the pedals, and manuals great. keep in mind i am nearly 220 (minus the weight of the stuff ejected in my pants) versus Puny Yuroshek @165. So, I did try to bottom out the shock and it definetely feels like it has more travel than it does.
 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
I really want one, but can't find them anywhere. Especially frame only. I also can't figure out if they'd be too small for somebody 6'3.
2012's will be out soon, the new site will be launching in the near future so be on the look out.

Since I have installed a SRAM Reverb seat dropper and the bike is just that much more fun to ride. The post is holding up really well and works on command which is dialed.
Answer Carbon Protaper Bars, Sun Ringle Charger Pros (tubeless) Answer 50mm DJ stem. I have a set of Forumla The Ones coming this week as well. I raced Super D at Nationals last month and was a blast, hitting up another Super D this weekend in PA.

 
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ben

Chimp
Mar 8, 2011
3
0
does the distortion use a 150mm or 160mm travel fork? estimated weight of the built bike??
 

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
does the distortion use a 150mm or 160mm travel fork? estimated weight of the built bike??
I have a 140 RS Pike on there right now and the geo is pretty sweet with that set up. I think a 150-160 fork would be a bit weird with the 114mm rear travel. As is Id say 32lbs?
 
Aug 25, 2011
526
0
West Milford, NJ, 'MERICA
Took the little guy out with the big boys, hung with them just fiiiiinneee! Bike was so much fun to ride, held its lines very well!

Dont mind the creeper dude in the pic....

GT Really is starting to look nice. now they went full carbon it is 10x lighter. I would love the oppurtunity to ride one at the mountain so i could see how nice these really are. But Gt is stepping up there game
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
Dang!!! I am still trying to track down a frame. I have rode the medium around and it feel awesome but definitely too small for me. I would imagine the large would fit just right and be the perfect bike for XC one day and FR the next
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
I have a 140 RS Pike on there right now and the geo is pretty sweet with that set up. I think a 150-160 fork would be a bit weird with the 114mm rear travel. As is Id say 32lbs?
Since this is RM, I have to ask - any idea about geo for your current set up?

And speaking of RM approved geo, someone needs to make a RM approved geo measuring app. In short, alarm bells would sound if it measured anything over 64* and higher than 14" BB. That way you could almost instantly ascertain a bike's ride qualities with your i-phone.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Still got a huge boner over this bike but...

Can't find a frame anywhere! Does anyone know where just a frame kit can be found?

ALso can't figure out how big they are. I want this as a aggro trailbike, but at 6'3 with along torso, Im not sure it will work....

ANy help?
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
Still got a huge boner over this bike but...

Can't find a frame anywhere! Does anyone know where just a frame kit can be found?

ALso can't figure out how big they are. I want this as a aggro trailbike, but at 6'3 with along torso, Im not sure it will work....

ANy help?
Hey man,

I have been on mine now for two or so months. It is one of the most fun bikes I have ever been on. I just got back last weekend from doing 4 days of XC in the utah desert and was still able to hit a few 15 foot gaps on one of the freeride trails. Its extremely playful yet incredibly stable at the same time. It sprints like a hardtail which is very cliche to say but it really does. I have also never noticed it bottom out. It has the perfect amount of progression in the rear shock. I highly recommend upgrading to the float rp23 kashima. The only negative (if you can call it that) is it rides like a 4.5" travel bike in the sense of how it wears you out. I do notice i get a bit more tired on long rough descents since my legs have to absorb more of the bumps. Not really an issue though. This is a DH guys review though so for me it is the perfect trailbike for when I am not doing DH laps.

As for sizing. I am just over 6 feet tall but have a really long reach. I am on the large with a 50mm stem and 29" bars and it feels perfect. If you like your bikes a little on the small size or if you ran a 70mm stem then it should work fine. you would want to get a Reverb or one of the taller adjustable seat posts since you are so tall. I have the KS i900 and it is 385mm and I only have an inch or so til the minimum line. one of the taller reverbs should work perfect for you.

As for availability. I am friends with guys who are GT dealers. They tracked me down a frame and the owner found himself a frame as well (me and both owners ride distortions, once one got one and we tried it, we all had to get one). Very hard to come by. Especially with the 2012's coming out soon.

If you are completely serious about getting one and you are ready to buy then shoot me a PM and I can give you the contact info to the shop. Great guys to work with and if you are ready to buy they will go out of their way to track one down for you.

here is a pic of mine in the mean time



Oh and i suggest going with a float 36 or lyrik solo air and lowering it. The extra stiffness in the front matches the rest of the bike. And again, I can't get enough of this bike. I have the biggest grin on my face after every ride
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
See, now thats a post!

It sounds like such a mint little bike. I plan on running a Travel adjust fork up front so I can suffer up a few hills, either a TALAS or the new X Fusion fork. Definitely running a TA post on it too. Can you run a front deraileur on those things? No big deal if not.

If you can PM me the rough cost on one of those things, that'd be great. I definitely want one as my next trailbike bike, just gotta sell off my BLur 4x and Nomad and we;re all good.

So neat@!
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Good review, and like dropmachine, I too have lower body excitement over this bike. Any idea if they plan to tweak to geo for the 2012 models? Also, in regards to the Fox 36 or Lyrik fork recommendations, are talking about a 160mm travel version(s)?
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
Good review, and like dropmachine, I too have lower body excitement over this bike. Any idea if they plan to tweak to geo for the 2012 models? Also, in regards to the Fox 36 or Lyrik fork recommendations, are talking about a 160mm travel version(s)?
No tweaks to geo that I know of. just different colors. bright blue and black i believe are the two choices.

For the fox or lyrik, I am suggesting getting the air versions and lowering them to 140mm internally. A friend has a 170 lyrik on at the moment (he is going to lower it shortly) and it feels way to raked out. If it will be a strict trail bike then a fox 32 or revelation would work fine. I use mine for freeride and I weigh 190 so the extra stiffness is welcome.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
^^

Thanks, you and I weigh the same, and it sounds like we use (i.e. abuse) bikes like this the same way. I have a Van 36 on my Spitty right now, but I think it would be too tall for the Distortion. Was kinda figuring a tapered steerer on a 32 mm stanchion fork with a 15 mm axel would be stiff enough for me, but I like your idea about reducing the travel on a 36.
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
^^

Thanks, you and I weigh the same, and it sounds like we use (i.e. abuse) bikes like this the same way. I have a Van 36 on my Spitty right now, but I think it would be too tall for the Distortion. Was kinda figuring a tapered steerer on a 32 mm stanchion fork with a 15 mm axel would be stiff enough for me, but I like your idea about reducing the travel on a 36.
I also used to own a spitty, I had a 32mm fork on it though. fun bike but for the riding I do I prefer the distortion (mainly the jumping and such)
 

ZoRo

Turbo Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
1,224
11
MTL
Yeah aren't those bikes sold as completes only? Bike sure looks mint. Really really like the overall setup on this bike.
 

escapeartist

Turbo Monkey
Mar 21, 2004
1,759
0
W-S. NC
I love mine. I got a complete several months ago but for various reasons (all lame and inexcusable) I haven't spent much time on it. I switched out the stock drivetrain to a 1X10, and I'll be getting a remote for the seatpost soon.
I'm just shy of 6'1 and the Large feels good to me with a 50mm stem. That said, I'm more of a BMXer and DJer than anything else.
This is a bike that benefits in a huge way from a dropper post. Unless you just want to jump it, you NEED one of these. I'll try to get some pics up soon.
 

BmxConvert

Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
715
0
Longview, Washington
What are the length/stroke of the shock? I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these guys. However.. I'm not super thrilled on the rear shock options and would like to do a bit of research prior to placing the order.
 

climbingbubba

Monkey
May 24, 2007
354
0
What are the length/stroke of the shock? I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these guys. However.. I'm not super thrilled on the rear shock options and would like to do a bit of research prior to placing the order.
I am not 100% sure but I believe its 6.5 X 1.5.

I would highly recommend getting the 2012 fox rp23 with kashima. I love the shock. Just have your local shop call fox and order one. Fox already knows all the specs for the distortion and they will custom build one for your bike. Thats what I had done with mine and it feels amazing. They nailed the tune for it. It feels somewhat plush, doesn't blow through its travel, and I have yelt to feel a harsh bottom out.

If you went with a rock shox then you would be left with a standard tune which may or may not work well with the bike.
 

BmxConvert

Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
715
0
Longview, Washington
I am not 100% sure but I believe its 6.5 X 1.5.

I would highly recommend getting the 2012 fox rp23 with kashima. I love the shock. Just have your local shop call fox and order one. Fox already knows all the specs for the distortion and they will custom build one for your bike. Thats what I had done with mine and it feels amazing. They nailed the tune for it. It feels somewhat plush, doesn't blow through its travel, and I have yelt to feel a harsh bottom out.

If you went with a rock shox then you would be left with a standard tune which may or may not work well with the bike.
I work at the local bike shop.. GT had no idea what the measurements were when I called and I don't have the bike on hand to measure.
I'm ordering the bike and stripping it down for the frame. I'm glad to hear the size is reasonably common.