GT Zaskar Carbon Team
With every ride I love this bike more and more!
From day one it has been a pleasure to ride. The Zaskar tracks superbly and feels rooted to the trail, almost feeling weighted to the ground in the same way a boat has a keel to keep it upright. I feel very confident in throwing the bike from side to side through tight single track or descending. The front wheel rarely disappears beneath you and there are few unpredictable rear wheel skip outs.
When climbing this bike excels. The Elevator, The Whore and The Whore No More get eaten up by it. On the steep kicks or log-overs the rear wheel doesn’t spin or slide out but rather neatly holds firm and keeps traction allowing you to not break rhythm. The front wheel doesn’t pop up, which I have always struggled with, giving you confidence on technical ascents to pick a line and hold it.
At Barry’s Block State Round 2, I found more reasons to rave about it. Billed as a dual suspension bike course the Zaskar was great over the rocky technical sections, the lightweight frame floated in some cases over the trail and my lower back felt very much in tact by the end of 6 laps.
However it was my discovery of the remote fork lock out that impressed me the most. If you have big-ish hands like me, setting the controls in a little reduces the accidental unlocking of the fork which caused me not to be an initial fan of the new system.
At Barry’s Block using the lock out on the sharp climbs and getting out of the saddle really helped conserve energy and stretch the legs, I didn’t get wheel spin and the stiffness of the frame transfered straight into fwd movement.
Just when i was thinking it might be time to go a dually the Zaskar has come along and blown those thoughts out the window!
It comes in full XTR, XT and SLX options and very reasonable price tags.
I LOVE MY BIKE!
