I rode the Elite version home tonight. I love Formula C1 brakes. There's lots of room in between brake pads and the rotor which is a big deal when it comes to adjustments. So, in comparison, Avid code isn't as good when you need to quickly adjust them. No grinding noise as well no matter how hard you brake. Very powerful.
Rear deraileur locking system works great, chain doesn't hit the frame when you go over bumps.
fork feels nice. I didn't like 27.5 inch Wheels on the corners, but on the straight line they roll over everything! I feel like GT should have installed short stem, this way it would be easier to control the bike on corners and do wheelies. Weight of the bike is 32 pounds without pedals. Can't say anything about the frame, since I've always been riding DJ bikes, however off road it feels very nice and smooth. I kind of wish it was lower for better cornering and control in general. Returning it back to the store where I work tomorrow, since it was given to me for one night to try it out. It was nice to ride it, but I wouldn't spend 3000$ on it. If I had the money I would buy a black market killswitch, or 2014 GT Labomba 2.0 instead.