GT Grade Carbon Pro: At the Finish – by MG
GT Bicycles is a brand built on passion for riding fast. While the brand’s image was forged in the BMX and mountain bike markets, GT’s Grade family of gravel bikes proves the company can build a great drop bar dirt bike too.
I’ve been riding our custom-built Shimano GRX Di2-equipped 2020 Grade Carbon Pro long-term test bike for about eight months. Now, it’s time to offer up my final impressions of the bike. Since I covered the basic specifications, features and geometry in my Getting Rolling post, today I’ll focus on my long-term ride impressions of the Grade Carbon Pro frame and fork.
Ride Quality
For the 2020 Grade, GT redesigned its Triple Triangle frame design. Instead of stiffening the rear triangle laterally, the new ‘floating’ seatstay design encourages shock absorbing flex in the stays and seat tube.
Does it work? Oh yes… Yes it does. Overall, the Grade Carbon Pro is one of the smoothest riding drop bar frames I’ve ridden. In some ways the rear of the GT reminds me of the Kingpin suspension on the Cannondale Topstone Carbon, but the character of the two bikes couldn’t be more different.
While the Topstone Carbon has the ultra efficient feel of a great race bike, the Grade Carbon has a less edgy, more approachable character for many cyclists. In many respects, it’s more reminiscent of a lightweight, high performance carbon touring bike.
The GT’s 430mm chain stays are a full 15mm longer than Cannondale specs on the Topstone Carbon. The longer stays give the Grade Carbon a more stable, planted feel, particularly in rough gravel. They also give the GT a fair bit more tire clearance than the Topstone Carbon.
While the Topstone Carbon struggles to fit anything larger than a 40c tire in the rear, the Grade Carbon can easily take a true-to-size 42mm tire. If it’s dry, you could even fit a 44mm tire. GT’s spec of a 42mm max tire size is pretty conservative, from my experience.
Handling
GT equips the Grade Carbon fork with a flip-chip, so the rider can choose the standard 55mm offset, or a longer 70mm offset position. The 55mm offset provides stable, balanced handling for most gravel rides, while the 70mm offset provides more responsive handling in a fully-loaded bikepacking setting.
I rode the Grade Carbon extensively with the flip-chip in both positions and it had a profound effect on the bike’s handling. When running in the standard 55mm offset position, the Grade Carbon has a familiar feel, with good maneuverability and enough stability to easily ride hands-free for extended periods of time.
When I switched the flip-chip to the 70mm offset setting, the Grade Carbon took on an entirely different character. It was incredibly sensitive to steering inputs, enabling me to easily change lines on the road. It also felt great when running handlebar- and/or fork-mounted bags.
Without the weight of extra bags, the heightened maneuverability of the 70mm offset setting made riding in a close group or pace line marginally more challenging. It also felt like crosswinds had more effect on the bike’s stability unless I was running bike packing bags on the fork. It was harder to ride no-hands for extended periods, such as when taking off and stowing a rain jacket, particularly in the wind.
As a result, I tend to run the fork in the standard 55mm offset setting for most rides. I’ll switch it over to the 70mm setting if I’m loading the bike up for a sub-24 overnight, but will switch it back as soon as the bags are back off the bike. In this case, options are good.
Living with the Grade Carbon Pro
GT bucked the trend when it equipped the Grade Carbon Pro with external cable routing, and it’s a feature most home mechanics will applaud. It’s much quicker and easier to service externally-routed cables or hydraulic hoses.
On Shimano Di2-equipped Grade Carbon models, the Di2 wiring runs internally through the frame. This enables the use of Shimano’s seatpost-mounted battery, but on mechanical drivetrain-equipped Grade Carbon models, all cables and hoses run externally. Internal dropper routing is provided, which enters at the bottom bracket. Overall, it’s a good setup that’s easy to live with and service when needed.
With versatility in-mind, GT equips all 2020 Grade frames and forks with a plethora of mounts. There are 3-pack mounts on both fork legs and the top of the down tube with standard bottle cage mounts on the seat tube and bottom of the downtube. GT also provides fender and rack mounts front and rear, plus mounts on the top tube for a direct-mount bag (or an additional water bottle).
Any Room for Improvement?
While I’m stoked that the Grade Carbon Pro can easily clear up to a 44c tire, it’d be even better if it cleared a 50mm tire. That’s where the market is headed (mark my words), and I think the ability to clear a 50mm tire would only enhance the Grade Carbon Pro’s versatility.
Also, in my perfect world the Grade Carbon Pro would be spec’ed with a T47 threaded bottom bracket. That said, the stock press-fit bottom bracket has been creak- and trouble-free throughout the test period.
The Bottom Line
The GT Grade Carbon Pro is a great choice for gravel cyclists that prioritize ride quality and versatility… Those who want one bike that can take on almost any ride, from pavement to smooth single track. Even without ‘active’ suspension, the Grade Carbon Pro is one of the smoothest gravel bikes I’ve ridden. It’s a bike I look forward to riding.
Furthermore, GT built a lot of value into the Grade Carbon Pro, and really the entire Grade family. At each price level, you get a very nicely equipped bike. The stock top-end Grade Carbon Pro is equipped with Shimano’s excellent Ultegra RX groupset (with a clutch-equipped rear derailleur), and it’s priced at just $3,900. That’s impressive value for a bike that competes toe-to-toe with the industry’s best in terms of handling and ride quality. No, that price doesn’t get you carbon wheels, but from experience I can tell you it’s an upgrade worth making, and it’s still an excellent value.
In the end, the Grade Carbon Pro is light enough to race, robust enough to load up for a quick bike packing trip and fun to ride on virtually any road. For a gravel cyclist interested in doing it all, it’s a solid choice.
Learn more about GT’s entire family of Grade gravel bikes at GTBicycles.com.
Note: GT sent the Grade Carbon Pro frameset to Riding Gravel at no charge for test and review. We were not paid, nor bribed for this review and we always strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.
Great review. I am interested in the Gt Grade Carbon Pro but i find the sizing a little weird. What size did you test? I am 185cm with a 82cm inside leg. Normally, I prefer to size a 56 or a ML in Giant? The size 55 seems closer than the size 58 but would love to hear about your experience. Tx!
Hey @Marc – Thanks for your questions. I’m about 183cm tall, with an 84cm inseam, and I’m squarely in the middle of the size range for a large/58cm, which is the size I tested. I can’t imagine going with a smaller frame.
I always recommend test rides before buying, and I think particularly for you it’d be valuable in finding the right size in GT’s range.
Thanks for reading!!
Awesome. thx for the note. My bike shop matched my old stack and reach with the GT grade and we came to the same conclusion….fingers crossed!
How does the compliance of this bike compare with a titanium gravel frame???
I found the sizing to run large. When we ordered Mrs. Grannygear’s GT Grade we chose a 48cm as that was where a 52cm would normally be reach and stack wise.
HI. How tall is she ? I ‘m 1,70 and wondering with the 48 would be fitting me (Have no chance to try out here in Brazil..)
@Daniel R – Hold on for a bit if you are interested in a GT Grade. I have heard a new version is soon to be introduced and it is all-new.
HI GuitarTed! thanks for the advice. Here in Brazil new bikes take long to arrive! I like the idea of 3 years old bikes that get much cheaper.. this particularly GT Iḿ interestes is away below it ‘s average price.! Only one GT seller right now in Brazil. What have heard about the new ?
@Daniel R – See the latest post on the site published today for all the details.
Thanks for the perspective, @grannygear.
@Grant Quinn: Thanks for your question. From a performance standpoint, the Grade Carbon compares favorably in terms of performance, and is lighter than Ti would typically be for a similar frame. That said, I’ve always felt that Ti is a material you buy to keep for life. Carbon, regardless of how good it is, hasn’t quite achieved that status in my mind.
The ride quality and performance of modern carbon bikes like the GT is compelling, and time will tell if the durability matches the heady standard set by my Ti bikes. The bike I finished the 350-mile Dirty Kanza XL on in 2018 is ten years old now, and it’s still as awesome as it was back in 2010. That’s value.
I definitely agree with your points about titanium being a lifetime bike, and therefore a good value. The only point I would disagree a bit on, regarding the OP’s question about compliance, is that at least at the rear of the bike the GT unquestionably has a lot more compliance.. (in my experience and those that I know who have ridden both) ..the GT gets around 15 millimeters of vertical travel, while most titanium bikes I have ridden likely will not get any more than 1 or 2 millimeters from the slight flex of their seat stays. I have to believe that on rougher terrain that the GT would be better at taking larger bumps than a regular titanium bike would; although obviously for many riders taking extra hits and possibly having extra fatigue is more than an acceptable price to pay for the added efficiency a more rigid frame will provide.
Last, some people feel titanium has more vibration damping than most Carbon bikes- along the whole frame, and as well this is even more the case with flexible titanium forks. J
Does the Carbon Pro really has got rear rack mounts?
Thanks for your question, @Aivars. The Grade Carbon Pro has rack mounts at the dropouts, but for the upper (seat stay) mount, you’d need a seat collar that’s equipped with mounts. Salsa Cycles makes a good option that I’ve used successfully on several bikes in the Rack Lock collar – https://salsacycles.com/components/category/collars/rack-lock.
Thanks for reading!
Hi I have a gt grade carbon 2020 and have fitted the pro discover dropper seatpost with internal cable routing . Looks from pictures you have a similar setup? Wondered where you put the Di2 battery? Tried to use pro stem setup for the Di2 battery to go in the head tube but the pro headset spacer doesn’t fit the fork steerer. Running out of ideas where to put the battery with the dropper post. Any thoughts? Seems you may have a solution ?
Hey @Andrew Jones! Thanks for your questions. What I’ve done is to secure the battery to the cable housing with zip ties where it attaches to the bottom of the dropper post. Orient the battery so the plug faces down and you should be good to go. Leave the zip ties a little long so they keep the battery from knocking on the inner wall of the seat tube.
Good luck, and congrats on the excellent bike choice!
Cheers!
Hi. I am 180 and have 84 inseam. What is my size in this bike ?
Hey @Helge Myhrvold: Based on your measurements, I’d probably put you on a large/58cm frame, but as always, would recommend a test ride to confirm. We have similar dimensions and the 58cm frame fits me very well.
Hi again. A little controll sizing from Norway 🙂 179 cm high and 83 in legs…sorry
MG, I had asked a question during the time of this post about comparing the Grade to the Topstone. You had been very decent in writing back to me on here, with a great response about how you felt the Topstone was a more efficient road bike for pavement. Now it appears you have removed my post and your. What happened to my question and your answer? thks jeremy
Hey @jeremy – No clue what happened to our comments. I’m not the site administrator, so I can’t go in and remove comments. Sorry…
thanks for reply, I get that you didn’t remove the comments yourself. But most sites are able to keep comments and not delete them or lose them. on most sites I go to comments remain. Its like your saying too bad anything you post here can be deleted, and it won’t be my fault could be the admins, who knows, we won’t look into it, best of luck. Too bad as that comparison was an excellent one, and is now even more interesting as GT may have improved upon the pedaling efficiency of their flexible stays, they may have now been the first maker to develop a rear suspension that has few if any downsides. Thanks