M AY 2 019mbr 99
ROO’S GT
SENSOR
CARBON ELITE
£2,499.99 /29in/gtbicycles.com
THERIDER
ROOFOWLER
PositionFreelance
photographer
Mostlyrides
SurreyHills
Height6ft4in
Weight86kg
THEBIKE
■29ertrailbike
with130mmtravel
■Revise dLTS
suspensiondesign
withHorstlinkand
adjustablegeometry
■Carbonfrontend
withGrooveTube
recessedcable
routing,alloyrearend
■SRAMNXEagle
12-speed drivetrain
MONTH6:Aheads
uponthatheadtube...
I
havetoconfess,it’sbeenanotherof
thosemonthswhereworkhastaken
over,andthebikehashadlittle
use.I havespentmytimearound
someotherfreshbikesthough,and
I’venoticedtheshortheadtubething
becominga bitofa trend.Therewas
a timewhenheadtubeswerehuge,
andyou’ddoallyoucouldtoremove
spacers,maybeevenrunningflatbars
totryandgetthefrontenddown.The
industryhascertainlylistened,butis
atriskofgoingtoofar.I wonderif we
willseethesamewhenit comestothe
longer,lower,slackerthing.AsfarasI’m
concerned,thesizeonthisXLGTSensor
is aslargeasI’dwantit,withthe29er
wheels;anythingbiggerreallystarts
sacrificingtoomuchmanoeuvrability.
OnechangeI haven’tmentionedso
farthatI’vemadetotheoriginalspec
is swappingoutthefronttyrefora
MaxxisShorty,whichhashelpedhugely
throughwinter—whilethe2.35in
SchwalbeNobbyNic’smight
befineindryandslightlydamp
conditions,whenit comes
totheusualUKwinterslop,
somemoredepthandspacing
inthefronttreadgoesa long
way.Especiallyonthiskindofbikewith
theslackheadanglewhichis always
encouragingyoutopickupspeedonthe
descents.It mayseema bitwacky,but
asI, andothertestershavementioned,
theBBonthisbikeis a littlehighinthe
lowestsetting,soit wouldbequite
interestingtoseehowthebike
ridesrunninga 27.5inrearwheel.
HopefullyI’llgetthechance next
month to give this a go.
WHYIT’SHERE
GTisbackin
thegamewitha
cutting-edge
trail bike
JAMIE’S YT CAPRA
29 CF PRO RACE
£4,699/29in/yt-industries.com/uk
“T
here’sprettymuchnothingyoucanget
forthismodelofCaprathat’sanybetter
thanthesuperlativestockequipment...
unlessYTwantstoofferanelectric
motortobolton?”I wrotethesewords
backinFebruaryafterabandoningtheCaprafora week
toridee-bikesandescapethemuddywinterconditions.
Well,I’mflatteredthatYTreadsmylongtermer
updates,andthatI’mnowbeinghailedinthembr
officeassomesortofbikeclairvoyantbecause,
wouldn’tyouknowit,YTis launchingitsfirstever
e-bike,andwe’vebeeninvitedonthelaunch.AsI
writethisweknownothingaboutthenewbike,but
restassured,we’llberidingit verysoon.
MostofwhatI’vejustsaidis disingenuousofcourse
—thelikelihoodthatYTcoulddesignandproduceits
firste-bikejustthreemonthsafterbeinginspiredby
mywordsis ridiculous.Asis theideaI’dbehaileda
clairvoyantintheoffice,largelybecausemostofus
workfromhomethesedays,andbesides,YT’sentry
tothee-bikemarketwasprettymuchinevitable.
Butit reallyis truewe’regoingonthelaunchandthere
isa bike.
Thebigquestionswillbe,doesit rideaswellas
theCapra?Willit keepthesouloftheCapra/Jeffsy
anddelivera confidentbutplayfulride?Anddoesit
pushe-bikedevelopmentontogreaterperformance,
leapfroggingthemoreestablishedplayers,orwillYT
producea bikethat’sonparwiththerestofthefieldbut
aheadonvalue.Answerstofollow.
Inthemeantime,thismonthI’vealsoriddena bike
thatI thinkis toostiff(SpecializedS-WorksTurboLevo),
andanotherI thinkis tooflexy(OrangeAlpine6),soI
headedtoBikeParkWalesontheCapratotryand
feelwheremylongtermersitsinthisspectrum.
Banginthemiddle—myhandsweren’tbuzzing
attheendofeachrun,evenonthereallyrocky
stuff, andI didn’tfeellikeI wassquirmingoffline
onfast-bermedtrails.You'vegottolovecarbon
whenit'sdonewell.Fingers crossed YT will get it
right with the e-bike too.
THERIDER
JAMIEDARLOW
PositionMagwriter,
vidmaker,risktaker
Mostlyrides
SurreyHillsand
SouthDowns
Height6ft1in
Weight78kg
THEBIKE
■Fullcarbon,
full-onenduro
bikewith170mm
suspension
andflip-chip
geometryadjust
■Uncompromising
specification,with
FoxFactoryshocks,
carbonwheels,
cranksandbars
■Big,low,longand
slack,theCapraRace
is unashamedlybuilt
for bombing downhill
WHYIT’SHERE
HasYTbuilt
a bikethat’s
impossibleto
upgrade?
MONTH8:mbr’s veryownMysticMeggets
the tough questions ready for YT’s new launch
Stubbyheadtubeis
a step too far
