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MENS MEDIUM BICYCLE GT - $495 (KANSAS CITY)
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In my 50 plus years of bike building I've come to realize most people have no idea about bike buying. Most of the time they look for a name brand. Almost all bikes now are made in Taiwan or mainland PRC by one of 3 different companies. Bikes are like any other consumer product in that the brands have to come up with different things to hype trying to sell new bikes. The 3 biggest trends in the last decade are gravel, as in frames that accommodate fatter wheel/tire combos, disc brakes, really helpful in wet or muddy conditions, but unnecessary if riding in regular condition. Sram has made a fortune convincing everyone eliminating the front derailleur and installing a dinner plate sized rear cluster in superior to a well adjusted front D and a wide range of gears to accommodate a smooth gentle transition of ratios. The reason 11 and 12 speed clusters on racing bikes have gained popularity is the smooth transition between gears and finding just the right cadence for any condition. A 12 speed with a 2 ring compact crank has a 24 gear selection. My 3x10 set up has 30 combinations for finding the cadence sweet spot. The last trend is electric which obviously mine is not. One innovation I did use when I built this is using tubeless tires. Tubeless in addition to being mostly flat proof also allow running at much lower pressures that with a tube as "pinch flats" are not a issue. Lower pressures allow better contact with the pavement actually increasing pedaling efficiency and roll smoother over rough pavement and even gravel. One does not need a dedicated "gravel bike" to ride on gravel, more marketing BS. My 2013 hydroformed frame is just slightly heaver than a carbon one but infinetaly more durable. The carbon front fork does reduce overall weight but most importantly damps road vibration. Hydroforming is the process on moving molten aluminum inside the frame to strengthen joints while moving it away from center of the tubes to allow flexibility and smoothing out the ride. Hydroformed aluminum is superior to carbon except for the status.The tiny weight difference only matters is you're racing. The low mileage on this bike was due to my hobby of bike building that had 30+ bikes in my "stable". The rides i did on this was in very hilly terrain riding with people on high end Treks and Specialized. I effortlessly left them behind on every hill due to my gearing. Many bike snobs, married to the idea that anything bigger than a "corncob" rear cluster was "cheating", but nowadays even the pros are riding 11/34 rears. The regular push bike frame and geometry has changed little int ht 210 years bikes have been produced. The difference if there is any between a 2013 frame and a 2026 is minuscule. As far as parts, the rear Shimano 105 derailleur on this is brand new with 0 miles. I prefer a "low normal" style derailleur but because it shifts opposite of "regular" D's and can be confusing to someone not used to it, I installed this new 105. The entire bike is built with obsessive compulsive detail. The easily removed bags, a $500extra, make this really attractive as a commuter bike.
HYDROFORMED ALLOY FRAME W/CARBON FORK
SHIMANO 105 TRIPLE HOLLOTECH CRANK W/OUTBOARD BEARINGS
SRAM 11X34 LIGHTWEIGHT REAR CLUSTER
SHIMANO 105 5700 BRAKE LEVERS/SHIFTERS
SHIMANO 105 FRONT AND REAR DERAILLEURS
SHIMANO RS-20 WHEELSET W/SCHWALBE ONE TLR 25 X 700 TIRES
KMC "MISSING LINK" PREMIUM CHAIN
FIZIK PREMIUM SADDLE
JANOVELO QUICK RELEASE FRONT HANDLEBAR AND LARGE CAPACITY SADDLEBAG
I built this bike from the frame up using premium parts and is the equal in performance of bikes in the $3000 range. I'm offering it for sale at less than1/3 of what it cost to build, and although it is upper entry level, you would not outgrow this bike for many years. Geared to climb the steepest hills with ease
It comes as pictured with both handlebar and saddlebag for making wardrobe adjustments on long rides, or carrying something home from the store. The handlebar bag has a pushbutton quick release to leave it home when on shorter rides. The bags alone are a $500 value.
The 54cm medium frame has a standover height of 29.5 in. I'm 5'8" and the bike fits me perfectly.
This bike is very low miles, in new condition with no signs of wear.
The following link might be of interest to anyone shopping for a bike and thinking this brand is better than that brand when in fact 95% of bikes today are made by just three different Taiwanese companies and the only difference is the paint job and decals. In this case the impression is GT is not as good as Trek because GT is mass marketed and Trek is only sold in bike shops. http://jorgeusbiker.blogspot.com/2018/02/are-original-bikes-not-made-in-taiwan.html