GT Fury 2009: DHi Replacement
For 2009 GT will replace the DHi shown above with a full carbon model
BikeMag has got the scoop on a new bike from GT called the Fury that features a full carbon fiber frame.
“The single biggest news from the GT Bicycles 2009 product release, currently underway in Livigno, Italy, is the new Fury downhill bike. Kept under wraps until its unveiling yesterday, the new all-carbon fiber monocoque-framed machine will replace the DHi model currently being sold by GT.”
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all-carbon DH ?? sounds weird !!
looks fragile….
Lahar have been doing full carbon dh bikes for year with little problem. They have lasted in excess of four seasons worth of use.
At the end of the day GT bikes are overall pretty reliable. I very much doubt they would jump head first into building this kind of bike without some serious testing first.
haha, they cannot Claim a strength to weight ratio ten times that of Aluminium. haha thats stupid. It is like saying string is stronger than wood.
Carbon Fiber is really only strong in pure tension (orthotropic). you can try and accomodate for this by using different carbon weave angles, but this is very hard to do when you do not know where the high loads will be coming from.
Put it this way… F1 cars use a lot of carbon fiber. as the loads are predictable and it can be shaped aerodynamically. These are the reasons why it is a good material for road bikes, where aerodynamics are important, and loads are regular and predictable.
now do you see many rally cars with carbon fiber chassis? nope, they are all aluminium as it can cope with very irregular loading as the material is isotropic (Has equal strength in all axis).
Moutain bikes (especially DH race bikes) have to take very irregular loading. Thats a no sale for me I’m afraid. And thats not even taking into account carbon fatigue or shock impacts.
Keith, you should be a consultant. How in the world did GT get the where they are without your input? Time to trash the manufacturing process/capital expense. Surely GT has no way of measuring stress and load with associated failure, repeat with new design, and refine to find an acceptable design. They can only do that with their aluminum models. Right?
In response to Johnathan , Gt are on no account reliable, their DHi model had numerous problems, consequently it was a failure, hence why they have released the fury. The DHi was made to be light, not strong, which is why many people have broken them and GT have had to make many refinements on this problematic frame. the fury is a step in the right direction, i hope it does no dissapoint like the DHi has for so many
In response to Bj yes i know about the issues surriounding the dhi and cracked swingarms as a primary area of failiure. I said overall gt pretty reliable as a brand. I know many people who ride gt’s with no issues.
I never said anything against GT’s designers. I’m just saying that my personal and professional opinion is that carbon fiber is not a good material choice for Dh bikes.
I suspect that the choice was based more on current trends saying carbon fiber was cool, and the fact that you can make a nice curvy looking frame using it, which they have achieved.
I’m not saying it will not work really well, but i do believe you could make a frame lighter and stronger for this purpose from other materials.
Well one more prototipe from GT
I bet it works good this time.
You know what really pisses me off
Blah blah formula 1 this and that Blah blah
take it from someone who works in F1 carbon can survive impacts as well as any other material
A bike aint an f1 car and an f1 car is a fragile creature
still looking pretty ugly in my opinion.
more info and pics here: http://singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=2917
I love that bicycle i want to have, just please tell me how to get it
unless you’re a pro GT selects to ride for them for the 2009 season, don’t expect to be able to purchase this bike until 2010 !
Keith, you sound very confident in your opinion that carbon is not a good idea for dh applications, are you an engineer? experienced with carbon fibre?
Just wondering because mountain biking seems absolutely full of technical myths that get passed around like std’s, such as the whole carbon is weak and only suited to xc myth.
yeeww look fragile? how much does it way?
One of my friends worked at GT bicycles in H.B. 15 years ago. He helped with the building of thier carbon fiber mountain bike frames. One day he brought over a piece of carbon fiber tubing which was used on the top tube or downtube. We wanted to see just how strong this carbon fiber tubing really was. The first thing I noticed when I picked it up was how redicously light this tubing is. We broke bricks with it, put dents in my friends car with it, hit baseballs with it - lets just say, the only thing that finally broke it was when we slammed a cinder block onto it. And even then it barely cracked the tube! And remember, this was 15 years ago. The carbon fiber technology today is much better. I can’t wait for this frame to come out - I want one!
I have one and it’s SICK !! I went from riding Sundays to a Evil Revolt and know the FURY. I am VERY confident in this bike.