GTZASKAR CARBONCOMP9R
£2,199.99 An XC reinvention of a classic
It’s been over 25 years since GT released their original Zaskar and in that time, it’s morphed from a bombproof do-it-all hardtail into a cross-country speed machine.
The frame Just as recognisable as the name Zaskar is GT’s classic ‘Triple Triangle’ frame design, where the seatstays overlap the seat tube and merge with the top tube. In this case, the frame is made from carbon fibre, with a tapered head tube, Boost-spaced 148mm rear end and optional internal routing for Shimano’s electronic Di2 gearing. The gear cable and rear brake hose are routed externally, but held neatly on the underside of the down tube.
Designed to rip up hills as fast as it can descend them, the 29in-wheeled Zaskar’s angles are decidedly XC-focused. It comes with a 100mm fork, which gives a steep 69.5-degree head angle and 65mm of bottom bracket drop. Fairly long 440mm chainstays are matched to a longer than average (for an XC bike) 462mm reach on the large size. This equates to an e ective top tube length of 654mm, which gives a slightly more rearward climbing position than on many similar bikes, though the 73-degree seat angle stops things feeling too laidback.
The kit For the price, we weren’t impressed by the Carbon Comp 9r’s spec. The air-sprung RockShox Recon Gold fork has a 15mm axle and bar-mounted lockout button but its damping isn’t the most refined and we found we had to run it fairly hard to stop it diving in the rough. The Zaskar’s handling isn’t helped by the super-hard ‘Performance’ compound Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres either. Their low-profile tread makes them zip uphill but descending on anything remotely loose is pretty terrifying. The brakes are Shimano’s budget M365s, with long lever blades that give a rather wooden feel, and the 160mm rotors don’t add meat to the stopping power. On the plus side, gear shifts from the mix of XT and SLX kit were flawless, and the single-ring FSA crankset meant we had no concerns about dropping the chain while putting down the power.
The ride Given the Zaskar’s XC orientation, it’s no surprise that it excels on flat or uphill singletrack. The taut carbon frame transfers all of your e ort into the wheels and it accelerates fast, with minimal e ort. While it’s sti , there’s enough compliance built into the rear end that you don’t get shaken to bits, and it’s a rapid and grin-inducing ride on mellow trails.
Point the bike into anything a bit steeper and the twitchy head angle, stretched-out riding position and XC-focused componentry will kindly ask you to return to the blue trail. That said, the low-slung BB gives a nice low centre of gravity and means you can whip the bike around tight trees and carve between turns with ease. If you do this at speed, though, you’ll start to feel the narrow (19mm internal) WTB STP rims flexing.
This Zaskar is certainly a very di erent beast to its original namesake. While it may not have quite the same razzing potential, it’s still a fast bike. With a few spec upgrades to reduce weight, you could take it XC racing with minimal disadvantage. ED THOMSETT www.gtbicycles.com
A fast and fun XC frameset, held back slightly by some cost-saving component choices