First Look: GT's 2020 Force 29 Gets Big Wheels & More Travel
What is it and what's it for?
In a nutshell, this is GT's 29" wheeled version of their Force, the bike that Martin Maes had been using to step on the rest of the EWS field before he was interrupted by that infected leg gash, a ''potential loss of limb situation,'' and the UCI's inability to think rationally. Anyway, the Force 29 platform gets 150mm of rear wheel travel and 170mm forks across the three-bike range, all of which are aluminum. GT doesn't call it an enduro bike, but that'd pretty much sum it up.
In GT's own words: ''The Force 29 is for riders who prefer descending and like to go fast. It hits that sweet spot right in between all-mtn and dh, it’s low fuss and provides more versatility than a dual crown bike.'' So yeah, it's an enduro bike. If you want to know more about the 27.5" Force, Kazimer rode one in Norway awhile back and wrote about it.
In GT's own words: ''The Force 29 is for riders who prefer descending and like to go fast. It hits that sweet spot right in between all-mtn and dh, it’s low fuss and provides more versatility than a dual crown bike.'' So yeah, it's an enduro bike. If you want to know more about the 27.5" Force, Kazimer rode one in Norway awhile back and wrote about it.
Force 29 Details
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Travel: 150mm rear / 170mm front
• Wheel size: 29"
• Frame material: aluminum
• Adjustable geometry
• Head angle: 65-degrees
• Seat angle: 77-degrees
• MSRP: $2,700 / $3,700 / $4,700 USD
• More info: www.gtbicycles.com
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Travel: 150mm rear / 170mm front
• Wheel size: 29"
• Frame material: aluminum
• Adjustable geometry
• Head angle: 65-degrees
• Seat angle: 77-degrees
• MSRP: $2,700 / $3,700 / $4,700 USD
• More info: www.gtbicycles.com
The 150mm of rear-wheel travel is controlled by a Horst Link system, and all three models get 170mm-travel forks.
It sure looks like the current Force...
Good eye, Sherlock, but it's an all-new frame from tip to tail that's been designed specifically for big wheels. What about Maes using a 29" front wheel on his EWS race bike? He's actually on 27.5" Force with a 29er fork and wheel, not a carbon version of the Force 29 that we'll surely see at some point down the trail.
You probably also spotted the same LTS ''Linkage Tuned Suspension'' system, although GT says they've made some kinematic changes to have it better suit big wheels. The latest incarnation of their LTS design is very not GT-like in its straightforwardness; it's a Horst Link system driven by a big rocker that, unlike many of their previous layouts, isn't trying to pull some kind of trick. It's also a layout that GT is using on everything from their Sensor trail rig to their Fury DH bike.
Our own Dan Roberts took a deep and dorky dive into the 27.5'' Force's kinematics, and while they're obviously different bikes, the two are basically blood relatives whose suspension will perform similarly on the trail.
Our own Dan Roberts took a deep and dorky dive into the 27.5'' Force's kinematics, and while they're obviously different bikes, the two are basically blood relatives whose suspension will perform similarly on the trail.
These three letters might trigger some memories, depending on your age and experience.
All three Force 29 platforms come from GT with air-sprung shocks, but the bike is said to be compatible with the linear action of a coil as well. That said, we might have to slap one on the bike to check, as the 27.5" Force doesn't have a ton of built-in progression.
Force 29 Geometry
Not surprisingly given that it has the same intentions as the 27.5" Force, the new big-wheeler gets some modern geometry numbers that make a lot of sense, with a few exceptions. First, the good: there's a 65-degree head angle that's fitting, a 77-degree seat angle, and a 475mm reach on our large-sized test bike. Those all seem about right given the action the Force 29 is meant to see, but the relatively tall seat tube and standover height aren't ideal.
For comparison's sake, the large-sized Force 29's 460mm seat tube is 30mm longer than what you'll find on a large-sized Santa Cruz Megatower, and my underside tells me that the 770mm standover is way too high. In fact, my underside contacts the top tube when I have both feet flat on the ground.
It also gets the same geometry adjustment chip at the lower shock mount; flipping it provides 6mm of change at the bottom bracket and a half a degree at the head tube.
Not surprisingly given that it has the same intentions as the 27.5" Force, the new big-wheeler gets some modern geometry numbers that make a lot of sense, with a few exceptions. First, the good: there's a 65-degree head angle that's fitting, a 77-degree seat angle, and a 475mm reach on our large-sized test bike. Those all seem about right given the action the Force 29 is meant to see, but the relatively tall seat tube and standover height aren't ideal.
For comparison's sake, the large-sized Force 29's 460mm seat tube is 30mm longer than what you'll find on a large-sized Santa Cruz Megatower, and my underside tells me that the 770mm standover is way too high. In fact, my underside contacts the top tube when I have both feet flat on the ground.
It also gets the same geometry adjustment chip at the lower shock mount; flipping it provides 6mm of change at the bottom bracket and a half a degree at the head tube.
The ready-for-action Pro model that we'll eventually review comes with a Grip2-equipped Fox 36 and a chainguide.
No excuses for messing up the sag.
The Force 29 Trio
GT's new Force 29 can be had in three flavors to match your bank account and your needs, all of which are based off the same aluminum frame. The bike pictured here is the Pro model that comes with a not-that-pro GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, but that did give GT some room to have $4,700 USD bike ride on Fox's best dampers and that counts for a whole lot more. The 170mm-travel 36 Float Performance Elite doesn't have the showy Kashima coating that you'd never notice in a blind test, but it does have the four-way adjustable Grip2 damper that actually matters. There are four matching damper adjustments out back, too, courtesy of the Float X2 shock.
It's this exact bike that we'll be testing in the 2019 Pinkbike Field Test later this summer.
The Expert (left) goes for $3,700 USD, while $2,700 USD will get you the Elite model (right).
For $1,000 less than the Pro model, the Expert runs an NX 12-speed drivetrain and a Fox 36 Float Performance paired with a DPX2 shock. At $2,700 USD, the Elite is the least expensive Force 29, and that'll get you a Marzocchi Bomber Z1 fork, a DPX2 shock, and 12-speeds via SRAM's new SX Eagle drivetrain.
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Then again, that beast Maes could win on a Penny-Farthing ( the OG mullet! )
Would've like to see maybe +10mm more in the rear, but would give her a pedal anyway to see.
Like the understated simplicity of the Forece, esp. on the elite model with the red bombers, nice!!
At $2700 you get REALLY good suspension, SX Eagle (you can break the SX and get GX for $150), and 4 piston brakes (Tektro can't be that bad).
On the $3700 build, while it has NX... its just the shifter and derailleur. They give you a Formula hub with XD driver on Flow hoops, and a XG1275 cassette. The rest of the spec is good value including good suspension and TRP brakes.
SRAM SX? What is that? Equivalent of Alivio but 12spd?
Sram has proven that overall, the general bike-buying public does not care/understand/pay attention to group-set hierarchy/bike spec level. Features and buzzwords sell bikes, not quality or incremental performance advantages. Especially if you rename your product lines every few years, and brand them so they look and sound identical. Bonus points for making them all shift like a can opener, so nobody can tell the difference. To your average consumer, X01=GX=SX... who even knows? They all feel the same, testing the bike around a parking lot. They are all black, have “12 speed” “EAgLE tEChNologY!!” “500%!!” emblazoned proudly. People see that, and hand over their money.
Again, I remain hopeful, but I’m a bit worried that Shimano doesn’t have the sly marketing edge to compete with that, in the largely image-based world of MTB. They are a very conservative company. They’ve had the same basic product lines since the 1980’s. Even if they have a significantly better value, and thoroughly engineered product, are they willing to make an ass of themselves and come up with a ‘sick’ patriotic-sounding bird name to sell it with?
@alreadyupsidedown "To your average consumer, X01=GX=SX... who even knows? They all feel the same, testing the bike around a parking lot. They are all black, have “12 speed” “EAgLE tEChNologY!!” “500%!!” emblazoned proudly. People see that, and hand over their money."
ahah you're on point!!!
Same thing was for the fork series; all black, all looked the same.
What bothers me specifically is the bait and switch method of constantly releasing newer group sets that claim to have the same features for less money- (Except they dont- with no XD driver, NX and SX do not offer the 500% range Eagle was supposed to offer) but instead of passing those savings on to the consumer, they just use the cheaper part in place of the original, and reap the profits. It’s painful to see a 2018 bike model go up in MSRP for 2019... And go down in component quality. Sram’s particular product branding methods serve to obfuscate these cuts in quality, by painting everything the same colour and giving them similar names. They do it with RockShox too, as @t-stoff pointed out.
End of the day, all the bikes work great and the world will keep going round, it’s just annoying to watch as an informed person in the market for a new bike. Nobody wants to pay more for less. As much as I dislike SRAM, this is Shimano’s fault for not staying on top, and allowing SRAM to exploit a perceived first-to-marketing advantage.
Sure it would pass as a new one, or as "normal" Pike, but it really felt completely uninspired and boring.
And this all comes from a brand that gave us the yellow Judy SL the red Judy DH and the blue SID. Recognizable and dreamy things of our teen years.
SLX should be the bare minimum on a bike at this level. It wasn't long ago when we could regularly get SLX mix with an XT rear mech at this pricepoint. Sometimes even lower. Bicycle prices have sky rocketed lately and the general public just laps it up like good plebs.
Sram GX is a meh group set. Kind of passable for the price and I can respect it on the $2000 to $3500 bikes but IME shifter feels crap compared to X01/XX1 and at least on the 11 speed versions the GX rear derailleur had a tendency to wear out the pivot points in less then one season and became a rattling POS that is impossible to adjust properly (had 3 go out like that). GX eagle cranks are actually OK for the price (especially considering how much SRAM asks for eagle chain ring).
NX/SX is pure garbage and seeing it on any bike that costs more than $1000 just makes my blood boil. Sram just does not know how to make reliable/decent budget stuff. They always end up with something that is just way too crappy and still rather expensive for what it is.
Like I already said, in order for them to get the suspension spec that they did, they had to cut costs in other places. SX is priced to compete with Deore, not SLX. Deore isn't super high quality either, so it's understandable that they went with Eagle instead. If the bike had SLX and XT, we would most likely be looking at a build with rhythm 34 and a non-piggyback shock. Take your pick.
It should be obvious to anyone who designs bikes that high AS bikes have a low sensitivity and reactivity due to the constant extension/contraction of the clutched RD. Anyone who's looking at AS numbers in CAD and thinking "oh jolly good, 120% AS with a 32/21, this thing is going to pedal like a hardtail" should never work in the bike industry again. After 5 minutes on such a bike it's obvious to anyone who's got a clue that sensitivity (grip) has been clearly compromised in favour of pedalling efficiency, and that the latter is far better controlled with hydraulic damping and learning to not pedal like a mountain gorilla on 1000mg of testosterone.
I can turn off compression damping, I can't turn off pedal feedback.
Compared with another brand like Santa Cruz or YT (both of which seem to always get a glowing review), are GT bikes really that below par?
Curious to see how it stacks up against the (mostly pricier) competition in the Field Test this year!
As for Santa Cruz, we do generally like their bikes but Kaz wasn't overwhelmed by the Megatower's performance in our most recent review of theirs: www.pinkbike.com/news/review-santa-cruz-megatower-2019.html
We did like the YT Capra, but thought it gave up some suspension capability in rough terrain to its high pivot competitors: www.pinkbike.com/news/review-yt-capra-29-cf-pro-race.html
LOL!
I’d really like to see the frame only price on these. The carbon 27.5 version at $1900 was an absolute bargain. If this frame went for $1000 it’d be a genius buy.
No, because it's crap.
This stuff is bin worthy.
Sounds a lot like "This bike doesn't climb that well. It's an enduro bike, it's not very adjustable and can do x-ups." When you take the marketing spin off it.
imgur.com/2a6QP51
Where did you see 80.9 though ??
I know the answer but give it your best shot.
But again, a bike I won't consider because of the Fox bits.
geometrygeeks.bike/bike/gt-force-29-2020
Bunch of obsequious automatons we are.