GT Distortion

Finally built up what seems to me to be my do everything bike, a GT distortion. Around here I need a bike that can XC one day and then hit the local DJ's the next. I've been having a hard time finding it but this seemed to fit the bill nicely. Haven't got to ride it yet. hopefully tomorrow night. I tried to make it as clean looking as possible. I think it turned out pretty good. The parking lot test seems promising. It feels nice and slack. Can't wait to ride it.  It's nice and slack,  Around 66 degrees. The weight came in at 31.8 lbs.  not too bad with a height adjust seatpost

Tried to keep the cable routing as neet as possible.  Electric tape seemed like the best solution

Mmmmmm..... Kashima..... Custom tuned Fox rp23 fresh from fox

Specs

2011 GT Distortion frame size large
2012 Fox rp23 Kashima
2010 lyrik solo air DH lowered to 140mm
KS i900 seatpost
Forumula The One brakes
hope hubs to stans flow rims with dt comp spokes
Schwalbe Fat albert 2.4 rear tire and muddy mary 2.35 front
Sunline V1 bars
Sram x9 10 speed shifter/der
Shimano SLX cranks
e13 lg1+ chainguide
30t extralite chainring
sram 1070 11-36 rear cassette
Thomson x4 50mm stem
ESI foam grips

Big thanks to the guys at Laketown bikes in West Jordan Utah for tracking this baby down for me.  If you're ever in Utah check them out.

I will post some more pics and my initial ride report shortly so stay tuned.

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Posts in discussion

Posted: 3 weeks, 4 days ago by McD #2216

Hey Erik, do you still have this little shredder?

Posted: 3 weeks, 4 days ago by climbingbubba #2217

Yes I do, Hands down the most fun I have had on two wheels. Im amazed every time I ride it how well it handles everything. There are a ton of other bikes I would love to try out but don't think they could replace the distortion. The only thing I would change if I had to be nit picky is the chainstay length but its by no means a deal breaker.

Still need to order my havoc carbon DH bars but after that it will be dialed.

Posted: 3 weeks, 2 days ago by McD #2218

That's good news. Would you say it would be capable of handling the flow trails at a resort? Is it fairly stable at speed?

Posted: 3 weeks, 2 days ago by climbingbubba #2219

Yep, It kills flowy trails. I feel faster on it then any other bike when it comes to flowy trails. It can pump everything and with its 65.5 HA it is plenty stable.

The first ride I took it on was a long DH trail with a ton of flow and a few nasty rocky rutted sections mixed in. I was going so fast through the flowy stuff that I cam into the gnarly stuff waaaay to fast. The bike handled it amazingly. I probably rode the trail faster on that bike then I usually do on my DH bike.

I am not sure if I would take it over my DHR to the resorts around here since there is a big mix of trails here but they will both be coming to whistler with me for sure this summer.

Posted: 3 weeks, 1 day ago by McD #2220

Sounds like just what I'm looking for. *adds Distortion to short list*

Posted: 3 weeks, 1 day ago by climbingbubba #2221

If we ever get around to meeting up to ride you can give it a go. I am in love with the bike but my emphasis on a XC/AM bike is that it has to be super slack, super low, and can handle multiple hours of XC to get to 15ish foot gaps. I had always toyed with the idea of getting something like a Banshee Rampant or another Slopestyle/4x style bike but there were always limiting factors like TT and ST length and wicked steep HA's. This bike had everything I wanted in my XC/AM bike.

So thats where I am coming from and why I love it. Someone else looking at the distortion would have to consider what they wanted out of it.

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