Next up from the 2011 GT product launch we have the gravity defined hardtails. Two models represent a slimmed down range; the La Bomba & the Ruckus DJ.
Read on to find out more:
La Bomba First up is the La Bomba. This is certainly a good looking bike and one which covers a fair few bases in its repertoire of talents. The frame itself is pieced together from 6061 hydroformed tubes, full replaceable dropouts and a 1.5-1.125” taper headtube. Also included are ISCG05 tabs, obligatory on a bike like this. It’s spec’d well too with a Rock Shox Recon up front providing 100mm of travel and Shimano hydraulic discs with 180mm rotors. X7 & X9 takes care of the shifting duties whilst an FSA Gravity crank and E-13 LG1 do the duties up front. The whole package feels light, responsive and features a short back end to get the power down.
Covering 4x, dirt jumping and all in between it’ll happily do street and light slopestyle type riding too without any drama although the former is its target, the Ruckus DJ aimed at doing the job of the latter. And at $1379 the La Bomba represents pretty good value too with the spec it comes with out the box, including High Roller tyres from Maxxis, 700mm bars & Alex rims.
Ruckus DJ This bike really caught my eye the first time I saw it on display in the press room. With the top 1.0 carrying a chrome 4130 Cr-Mo frame it looks the part and the colourmatched purple components add to the effect. Unlike the La Bomba the Ruckus DJ comes in two spec options; the 1.0 and the slightly cheaper 2.0 although the spec across both is good. Both feature 4130 steel 48t cranks, the 1.0 having 48t splines, 8t on the 2.0. Both are fitted with micro sized gearing (a 26t front ring) and also come with Pivotal seatposts, a nice touch and one which is becoming increasingly common on bikes like this. The 1.0 also features Shimano discs all round whilst the 2.0 features Tektro to keep some extra cash in the buyers pockets!
The biggest difference between the two bikes comes at the business end where the 1.0 is fitted with a Rock Shox Argyle, the 2.0 a Suntour Duro D with 100mm travel. Overall these are really neat and tidy bikes which feature great spec for the price and ride sharply, thanks in part to the stiff frame and ultra short stays at the back. It should stand up to some abuse too with primarily dirt jump and street biased frame and build spec.
Prices:
La Bomba: US$1379
Ruckus DJ 2.0: US$929
Next up will be the All Mountain range.
you know that!
