Last year, GT entered the gravel market, or in the Enduroad market as the company refers to the style of bike, with the Grade Carbon. This year, we sat down with GT's Road Product Manager Cait Dooley, who is now in charge of the future builds and direction of the 2016 Grade models, including the all-new Grade Alloy X.
The X in the name connotes the cyclocross direction that GT wants to take for their Grade line, and the new build showcases all of the popular technology that took center stage in the 2015 season. GT is no stranger to cyclocross, with Alison Dunlap and the McCormack brothers racing GT frames to national championships and countless podiums.
For starters, the aluminum frame was built with a single chainring drivetrain, employing SRAM's recent Rival 1 system that we first saw at 2015 Sea Otter. The build is also complete with SRAM's HydroR disc brakes, as well as the same full carbon 15mm thru axle fork that comes on the Grade Carbon.
Dooley admits that the bike has a "long and low geometry," and she says that she could see many wanting to build the frame up in both a gravel and monster cross application. She's confident that the bike will find a good home on the cyclocross course (she is getting hers ready for the industry race at CrossVegas). Dooley describes the strength of the Grade bike through its versatility of disciplines. The versatility in sizing is also apparent with the Grade Alloy X, extending the offerings from six different sizes of the Grade Ultegra Carbon to eight, with 48, 50, 51, 53, 55, 56, 58 and 60cm frames available.
The current Grade Alloy X cyclocross-oriented builds will be made available in the Fall of this year for $1840, with a women's-specific build, called the Grade Alloy Sora GTw, being made availble in the same time frame for $999 (complete with a carbon fork and an alloy steerer along with Sora components). The current Grade Ultegra Carbon is available now for $3800.
You can see more details and photos on all three models by using the slider below.
More info: gtbicycles.com
GT Grade Alloy X gives enough room with a spec’d 700x33c Clement MXP folding clincher tire. © A. Reimann / Cyclocross Magazine
