Update: Noga Korem has also shared what looks like the same bike, albeit with different paint, in her last three Instagram posts. A post from this morning has a clear view of the idler pulley. Whether it's a new Sanction or the next carbon Force, it does seem safe to say that this bike will be a long-travel, high-pivot, enduro something-or-other.
Original article below.
Martin Maes and Wyn Masters have been teasing a new GT frame that we suspect may be a new Sanction, GT’s long-travel enduro bike that hasn’t seen an update in a while.
When GT released the Force 29 in 2020, the bike grew to more or less take the older Sanction’s place as GT’s flagship enduro bike, but in the age of ever better do-it-all setups and enduro bikes with dual crown forks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an aggressive new mini-DH sled from GT.
It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see a new Sanction borrow suspension design from the most recent Fury. After all, that’s what happened in 2014.
GT released the second-generation Fury in 2013 with redesigned suspension and a “floating bottom bracket” that allowed for a relatively high main pivot without too much chain interference as the bike moved through its travel. The following year, GT introduced a new Sanction with a pretty similar design.
2013 Fury vs. 2014 Sanction.
The 2019 Fury 29 saw a departure from that design with the introduction of an idler wheel to accompany a high main pivot. From what we’ve seen of this new bike so far, it might once again be the Fury’s lookalike younger sibling.
All of this is just speculation, but it looks like Martin and Wyn are riding the same frame with forks ranging from a Fox 36 to a Fox 40, again pointing to the mystery bike falling somewhere between the Force and the Fury in GT’s range.
While we're here starting rumors, the fact that Wyn raced downhill on the frame may be an indication of the bike industry's trend toward long-travel bikes that can run either single or dual crown forks, like the Rocky Mountain Slayer and the Yeti SB165. We're not saying downhill bikes are dead, but the industry does seem to increasingly develop these boundary-blurring rigs rather than focus on strict downhill bikes, and we'll likely see several companies (like Rocky Mountain) phase out their downhill bikes over the next few years.
We have reached out to GT for comment and will update this story with any new information.
I really dont get it
You mean stopping on the way to/from a ride at the same coffee shop/etc. as some dude who's testing a "secret" prototype who leaves it out in the parking lot on a rack on back of a vehicle for all to see and who doesn't think maybe to cover that shit up if it's so "secret"...
yea... PB is just horrible...
It's not like they were disrupting their training session to get the shot.
and it's expensive, but at least you don't get tricked into sub pair parts. It's full XT.
I win!
I got to click play and it takes me to the dumb gallery thing.
Wow, I would think they would have these without the play.