Gravel Grinder News: GT Introduces All-New Grade Gravel Bikes – by MG
GT Bicycles has announced the introduction of its all-new Grade gravel bikes. Available in both carbon and alloy frame models, GT says the new Grade is built for adventure out of the box. It’s more compliant, versatile and adjustable than ever before, with a leaner look and purposeful redesign of the company’s iconic Triple Triangle frame design.
The new Grade frames feature a redesigned Triple Triangle with floating seatstays that offer more vertical compliance, for a more comfortable ride in any terrain. On carbon Grade models, the seatstays are built from two different types of fibers – carbon and fiberglass. According to GT, the fiberglass core provides toughness and damping, while the carbon outer layers control stiffness, resulting in what the company calls Dual Fiber Dynamics. The end result is a bike that provides more control and reduced rider fatigue.
GT designed a flip chip equipped fork for its Grade Carbon models, which offers 15mm of offset adjustability. They say the 55mm offset position is ideal for gravel rides and races, while the 70mm “low trail” setting is ideal for loaded bikepacking and touring. It’s an interesting solution that makes the Grade more adaptable to rider preferences, but it’s only available on the top two Grade Carbon models.
Designed for the Long Haul
In a nod to the burgeoning popularity of bikepacking, GT equipped Grade models with numerous frame and fork mounts, enabling riders to easily fit bags, bottles and/or racks needed for adventures of any length. Mounts include top tube feed bag bosses, triple cargo cage bosses on the fork legs, and on alloy Grade frames, bottle bosses on the seatstays.
GT chose external routing for the brakes and shift cables, with internal dropper and Di2 routing. This makes routine cable maintenance easier, while providing the option of a cleaner look for those running an electronic drivetrain on their Grade. In addition, no proprietary parts makes it easier for riders to customize Grade models for their individual needs.
The new GT Grade will be available in three carbon and two alloy models.
Our Take
GT’s all new Grade looks like a great bike for the rider that wants one bike for a wide variety gravel and adventure cycling. The versatility in setup is definitely appealing, and it’ll be cool to see how effective GT’s new floating seatstay Triple Triangle frame design is at reducing bumps and vibration reaching the rider. I suspect it’s going to be pretty darn sweet. We’re working on getting a new Grade in for testing, and if that works out, we’ll give you the full lowdown.
In the meantime, head on over to www.gtbicycles.com to learn more about the new GT Grade.
Now get out there and ride your bike!
The prior generation came with ridiculous 52/36 standard cranksets. Glad to see they’ve come to their senses and mounted 46/30’s on this new gen.
I also blame the component manufacturers. Just look at how much time it took Shimano to finally come out with an 46/30.
Indeed…
Tire clearance not mentioned anywhere on their website from what I can see…I wonder where they have taken that.
@Steve: The info I have says the new Grade models have clearance for 700c tires up to 42c. They don’t mention anything about 650b compatibility, and the fork offset choice suggests to me that they optimized it for 700c.