GT GTR SPORT
Thru-axled, disc-braked, tubeless-ready all-rounder
At the tail-end of the millennium, I competed (with no distinction) in the British National duathlon championships on a GT Blade Edge Aero, although that lack of success was not down to the bike. Apart from having a decent cyclist in the saddle, that late 90s Aero Edge was also missing GT’s ‘iconic’ (GT’s word) triple triangle (1). It is present on its 2020 entry-level GTR Sport, a budget-friendly bike that combines a dropped handlebar, fullcarbon tapered fork and cable disc brakes.
The claim about the triple triangle’s ‘notoriety’ (GT, again) is that by shrinking the rear triangle and welding reinforced seatstays to the seat tube on their way to the top tube, it would ‘help reduce unwanted lateral frame flex and improve acceleration’. However, on its GTR Sport the seatstays aren’t attached to the seat tube, which – if my O-level physics is correct – creates a larger ‘virtual’ rear triangle. This will maximise ‘vertical compliance’, which means comfort, rather than stiffness.
The 2020 GTR Sport is similar to last year’s model: wide-range Shimano Sora gears, thruaxles, 28mm Zaffiro tyres, but the Alex ATD470 rims (2) are tubeless ready.
Road tubeless dates back to 2006 when Hutchinson and Shimano brought it to market. It’s been a slow take-up since, partly due to its lack of use by professional teams. For those of us riding without a support car – nearly all of us – the reduction in punctures, including the absolute absence of pinch punctures, makes tubeless a practical proposition. Lower tyre pressures, greater comfort and grip are also potential advantages.
The GTR Sport’s budget Promax disc brakes aren’t noticeably more powerful than caliper rim brakes on bikes at
this price, but modulation is good, they’re quiet and the 160mm rotors work consistently in all weathers. The other big benefit is that the wheels stay working even when the rims are knocked out of true (What? On Britain’s smooth, pothole-free tarmac, you’re kidding!). The brakes certainly worked a treat when a suicide-squirrel made a darting appearance skittering just in front of me across the hardpacked grit of Sustrans’ Two Tunnels route. A sharp pull on the levers and a quick, quiet, controlled halt and rider and rodent survived.
The Zaffiro tyres aren’t designed for full-on gravel but certainly coped with towpath and light gravel easily, as did the bike. I wonder whether some of the comfort over rougher surfaces is down to the ‘decoupled’ – rather than welded – rear triangle; there’s clear daylight visible between seatstays and seat tube. There’s no obvious unwanted flex when you’re riding although there is an excellent smoothness to the GTR generally. The dramatically kinked chainstays should also add a little vertical give.
The groupset is a little below that of some of the other bikes here – 8-speed Claris, rather than 9-speed Sora – but the 34x32 pairing gives a much lower bottom gear than the racier Merlin, which helps to haul the slightly weighty GTR Sport up hills. There are neat mudguard fittings (3) on the inside of the carbon fork and at the rear, but no rack mounts, which I would have appreciated on this adventure and commuter-friendly bike. They add little in the way of cost and I wonder whether the fact that the seatstays aren’t welded to the seat tube is a factor in this.
If you look at the figures, the weight and the components, GT’s GTR Sport looks slightly outshone by the opposition. But I liked this modestly equipped bike a lot. Yes, the 28mm tyres and wheels are basic (though the latter are tubeless ready, remember) but it’s comfortable over a variety of surfaces and copes with rolling terrain well, aided by a low bottom gear and decently performing disc brakes. I also think the silver and blue looks better than last year’s white-with-black-logo look on a bike that, to use a tried-and-trusted cliché, is more than the sum of its parts.
It’s comfortable and copes with rolling terrain well, aided by a low bottom gear and decently performing disc brakes