GT Force Carbon Pro - Reviewed

GT’s 2014 Force Carbon Pro is a complete redesign of its namesake. The new Force is designed for 27.5-inch wheels, and while it looks and feels like a different animal, it is so charged with GT DNA that there can be no question that the 150 millimeter travel all-mountain/enduro machine will be a wicked descender that is willing and able to attack the climbs. Force Carbon Pro models have a true monocoque carbon fiber chassis that is designed around the latest iteration of GT’s Independent Drive - a suspension system that is engineered to create a rearward axle path, while minimizing chain growth to a few millimeters. The Force’s frame numbers were directly influenced by GT’s enduro team, spearheaded by Dan Atherton and as one might expect, its head angle is slack, its bottom bracket is low and there is enough room in the office to get rowdy at mach speeds. Add race-tuned Fox suspension, a Shimano XT drivetrain and a Race Face cockpit, and the 2014 Force Carbon Pro is almost ready for the Enduro World Series at its $7059 sticker price. Sizes are small, medium, large and X-large and the solo color option is blue and white graphics on raw carbon.




Force by the Numbers

All-mountain geometry requires a delicate balance between a gravity bike's slack head angle and a relatively compact front center, and a trail bike's XC-racer seat angle, short chainstays and roomier, climbing-friendly cockpit. GT brewed the Force's numbers in favor of hard chargers who are willing to give up a bit on the ups to rip the downs with conviction. Its head angle is listed at 67.2 degrees, but if corrected for its larger 27.5-inch wheels, the effect is more like 66-degrees. The bottom bracket feels quite low, although it is 13.7 inches static (348mm), which probably has more to do with the positive bottom bracket drop created by the larger-diameter wheel. Its roomy, 23.6-inch (599mm) top tube in the medium size we reviewed will accommodate riders to six feet, and with its 17.4-inch chainstays, the Force's wheelbase starts to stretch out - 1169 millimeters, or 45.7 inches on this side of the pond. Estimated by its numbers alone, one would expect the Force to favor a high-speed approach to nearly every trail situation.



Angle Optimized Suspension

GT's Independent Drive rear suspension has been around the block, and the latest improvement is called AOS, for Angle Optimized Suspension. The acronym refers less to independent Drive as it does to the advantage that a high pivot location gives to the rear suspension when it contacts square edges or sharp impacts. The beneficial rearward arc of the wheel that the GT's high-pivot configuration provides, would normally create massive amounts of detrimental chain growth - but that is taken care of by the 'PathLink' - a hollow aluminum link that suspends the cranks below the main frame. The swingarm pulls the PathLink rearward to activate the shock and because the cranks rock back along with the PathLink, chain growth is virtually eliminated. Of course, that means your feet move slightly as the crank axle swings slightly with each impact, but in reality, there is no sensation of movement. Potential benefits of Independent Drive are that pedaling forces are uncoupled from the suspension, so pedaling over rough terrain is enhanced, and also that the mass of the suspension is kept low in the chassis, which should add a more nimble feel to the bike.



Key Components

All-mountain may be a broad and sometimes misunderstood category, but there is almost universal consensus in the cockpit - wide handlebars, lock-on grips, a short stem and a reliable dropper seatpost. GT checked all the boxes, with a comfortable, 760-millimeter Raceface Turbine low-rise handlebar and a 50-millimeter Turbine stem up front, and with the industry standard RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper in the rear. We were surprised to find e*thirteen TRS wheels on the Force Carbon because they are rarely seen for OEM spec, but they look sharp, especially with the massive Continental tires. Test riders were all thumbs up until the old-school Shimano XT triple crankset came into view. The party line at GT is that people really want three-by-ten drivetrains (insert "...on $7000 carbon enduro racing bikes..." here) because they offer the average rider more options. One wonders whether that statement seemed logical after the fifth or the sixth concussion? The good news is that the rest of the bike is very well appointed for the Force's intended environment.

Specifications Release Date 2014 Price $7050 Travel 150mm Rear Shock Fox Racing Shox Float CTD Fork Fox 34 Float 27.5 CTD FIT, 150mm Headset Orbit C-40-ACB Cassette Shimano XT, 11 - 36 Crankarms Shimano Deore XT, 40/30/22T, 3x10 Chainguide N/A Bottom Bracket Shimano Pedals N/A Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore XT Shadow Plus, Direct Mount, RD-M786-D Chain KMC X10 Front Derailleur Shimano Deore XT Shifter Pods Shimano Deore XT, Rapid Fire Handlebar RaceFace Turbine, 760mm Width, 1/2" Rise Stem Raceface Turbine Grips GT Statement Single lock-on Brakes Formula T1, 180mm alloy-spider rotors Wheelset e*thirteen TRS Hubs e*thirteen TRS Spokes e*thirteen Rim e*thirteen TRS Tires Continental Trail King ProTection 2.4" F/R Seat Fizik Gobi XM Mg Seatpost RockShox Reverb Stealth Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC

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GT’s Force delivers as advertised, with secure handling down technical steeps and enough cornering grip to shred bike park trails like a big bike. In the pedaling department, GT’s carbon trail smasher requires no finesse – only pressure on the pedals – to bang its way up rooted, rocky climbs or accelerate between corners. The chassis feels stiff under power and precise when cornering or pushing hard in broken terrain. The Force feels long and low, because it is, so it trades some of the nimble feel and pop that we have come to expect from elite-level trail bikes in exchange for the ability to carry as much speed as its rider has the courage to give it.

Setup: We needed to set the air pressure in the shock carefully to ensure that we didn't blow through the suspension travel over the big hits. Initially, the bike feels stiffly sprung, as if it will ride well up in its travel, but this is an illusion, because once the shock gets moving, it settles well into its stroke and remains there. Typically, after setting the shock’s sag to 25 percent, we would end up increasing the spring pressure of the Float CTD shock about ten PSI. GT works closely with its suspension providers to custom tune its shocks and forks, so we assumed that the slight falling rate and linear feeling rear suspension was intentional. Up front, the Force’s 2014 Fox 34 CTD fork turned out to be a set-and-forget affair – after we got the spring pressure right and spun the rebound knob to where it felt OK, we never had to touch it again.

Pedaling/acceleration: The carbon Force weighs 13.5 kg (29.7 pounds), which is on the outer edge of competitive for a race bike, but light enough to keep most trail riders happy on the climbs. It pedals and accelerates well, without any feedback from its supple-feeling suspension, nor a sense that the suspension was dulling our leg power. GT’s Independent Drive linkage does a good job of keeping the suspension action uncoupled from the drivetrain, which greatly assists pedaling up steep, uneven pitches or loose, gravelly climbs. Extended climbing was not so inspiring a task, however, nor were long stretches of pavement. In both cases, the oversize tires may have been the contributing factor. Switching on the pedaling aids of the fork and shock to the middle position was the most helpful of the three CTD options, as it improved the ride height of the rear suspension in addition to firming up the pedaling feel.

Agility: At slower singletrack speeds, the Force requires more input at the handlebar than some 26 and 27.5 trail bikes to maneuver. The front end feels weighted, in the sense that yanking up the front wheel in a low-speed situation requires a hefty pull. The up-side of that is the front tire stays put in the turns, or anywhere you ask it to be for that matter. Like all 27.5 or 29-inch trail bikes, the Force must be leaned slightly more than a 26-inch model to turn sharply. Its lengthy wheelbase can be felt in the tight stuff, but when we carried a bit more speed, we found that we could trust its suspension and cornering grip to bash up, over or through anything that we may have tried to avoid using the handlebars. Momentum is the key to enjoying the GT, because when the Force slows below a certain point, it seems to need a lot more push on the pedals to get out of the turns with conviction. The Force rewards courage.



Technical Skills: Once riders learned that the Force could be trusted, speed became our friend. The GT's length, sticky tires and supple suspension made us heroes in the turns. When we hit a section of trail with a lot of grade reversals, we could ignore rocks and ruts and charge the downs to carry momentum for the approaching climbs. Rolling into steeps and tricky descents with conviction was rewarded with an enhanced feeling of control, and it lands like a big cat off jumps and drops. Sure, the Force can pick its way down a dicey line with a high degree of control, but its soul aches for that moment when the brake levers are released and the sound of the wind starts to exceed that of the tires scraping the earth. It only takes a day on the bike to realize that its steering, suspension and size prefer broader brush strokes than your average long-travel trail bike.

Suspension: There is truth in GT's claim that the AOS suspension's pivot location makes for a more responsive rear end over the harsh bumps. There were certainly plenty of chances to put that attribute to use on the red rock, but its suppleness under power was the benefit that stood out most. In other good news, it turned out that the Fox suspension was well tuned for the GT. The 34 Float fork stayed smooth and up in its stroke while we put the bike through Sedona's incredible suspension testing terrain. The shock held its own, but with the Force Carbon's appetite for hard charging, the Float X reservoir shock would have been a much better choice. As is, however, we pushed the Force as hard as any of us wanted to go and the shock put in a good show..

Thirty gears: Rolling out, the incongruity of GT’s choice of a triple crankset, bolted to a bike that could campaign on the Enduro World Series begs to be explained. If the Force was intended for smooth climbs and rolling trails, the Shimano XT triple crankset could be defended, but it was not. Flipping chainrings while we negotiated the fast-breaking, technical terrain that the bike was specifically designed to conquer was an obnoxious time waster.



Mechanical issues: We had an unusual blow up early on in testing when the central bearings of the suspension's PathLink disintegrated in the middle of a ride. The bike made it home, but there were only fragments left inside the hollow link when we pulled the bike apart. GT officials told us that the bearings were not to spec and that they had been purchased to assemble demo bikes for earlier product launches. Fortunately, it was easy to replace the bearings and shaft with simple tools, and the bike survived the remainder of testing without further issues. There were mixed reactions over the Formula brakes. The maximum power was not what we expected, which made us wonder about ditching the standard organic pads for semi-metallic aftermarket versions. On the better side, Formula's lever reach and bite controls were the easiest and most effective to use compared with Avid and Shimano. Finally, all the riders mentioned to a degree or another that the GT was noisy. The rear derailleur featured Shimano's clutch system, but the culprit seemed to be the chain banging against the upper rear suspension member - not the place where most riders would think of using silencing tape.



Pinkbike's Take:

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