bassnotesteve

@freestylAM again - If none of this sounds promising let me know and I can try to ask the mechanic about the exact lube he used

@freestylAM - I hear what you're saying about the noise driving you nuts. Even if it doesn't affect the ride quality it makes you feel like you're riding a complete piece of shit so it kinda throws off your game. There was an agricultural lube that a mech at Performance, who owns a force and works on them all the time, used on mine and it's done the job. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but here's a shot in the dark after some internet searching: Super Lube® Multi-Purpose Grease and Oil with Syncolon® (PTFE). But I'm not sure if this is the one. Maybe you could try the PM600 that shmoodiver recommends too. The other thing I've done with success when there was a minor croak was shoot Tri-Flow (make sure it's got the plastic straw on it for accuracy) right down into the pivots where the swingarm and frame meet. I do this after washing the bike. Once you get some tri-flow all around it jump on the bike and compress the suspension a bunch of times and it seems to help the lube work its way in there. Maybe I'm just lucky but this has pretty much completely solved the problem for me. And I'm not the kind of guy that keeps his bike super clean and maintained all the time either. I haven't disassembled the i-drive in like 18 months and it's still buttery. Good luck with yours. Hopefully you didn't just get stuck with a lemon.

That's actually not true. The dog-bone link now is pretty darn sturdy, though it is true that the original i-drives had a ridiculous, cheap, and weak dogbone for a few years while they figured things out. So you were a little unlucky to get it so early. But 12 years is a long time, and not it's pretty bombproof

Nope. The Force Carbon's you're talking about have the original force geometry--a lot steeper and a sort of XC/AM mix. So I was wondering if they're making a carbon version of the LE with a 66 degree HA and such. I agree that the force carbon is a great bike though

@RC I thought I heard that GT was planning a carbon version of this bike, which would bring the weight down closer to other similar bikes. Do you know if this is true?

I agree with pwcutajar. I have a 2010 force 1.0 and the thing I love most about it is that once you get the suspension set you don't have to mess with it. Like RC says in the review, even climbing is best done when shock is in open-mode. So you can leave the suspension in one setting all day long. If you're a gearhead this bike probably isn't for you, but if you just wanna ride it's great. The only time I use pro-pedal on my RP23 (or CTD or whatever you wanna call it) is if I'm riding a paved or dirt road on the way to the trail.

@freestylAM. If you live in dry climate (I'm from CO, but CA or AZ would be the same) the pivot creaking shouldn't be an issue. When they sell the bike they don't do the proper service so it starts to creak pretty soon, but once you get a good agricultural lube in there its fine. I've been riding pretty hard--at least once a week--for over a year without a peep, squeal, or croak. So maybe you just have to find the right lube. But I have heard that if you're in muddy conditions a lot it becomes more of an issue. Anyway, I love my force so I guess I must be a point and shoot rider, though I never really thought of it that way

The fact that Beaumont looked literally scared tells you a lot about how crazy those jumps are. Can anyone tell in the video is Beaumont actually rides the line?

I say Rad. Seems like people are still down on GT because they made some crappy walmart bikes, but at the top level they are awesome. I-drive may look weird but its pretty simple and works great. And no one can mess with the history of GT racing