GT Bikes Zaskar Carbon 9R LTD (2015)

After 25 years, still at the top of its game

Pros

- climbs like a mountain goat
- incredibly light
- uncompromising kit
- surprisingly comfortable for a carbon hardtail

Cons

- last year for the 29" wheel option

Review

In 2015 GT Bikes celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Zaskar, the hardtail flagship of the GT range. There’s only one reason to keep making a bike for 25 years: it’s very, very good.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – true enough, but what if you can make it even better? The carbon version of the Zaskar in 29-inch form (also available in 27.5”) is exactly that, an improvement upon a bike that was already truly excellent.

From its Continental Race King 29" tires all the way up to the RaceFace Next Carbon handlebars this bike screams “quality”. When writing a bike review, it’s usually a case of weighing up cost vs quality (as in, “Of course this bike would be better with Di2 electronic shifting, but it would add another $1000 onto the bottom line...”) but with the Zaskar there are no such qualms. There are plenty of people, I’m sure, who would rather SRAM XX1 instead of the Shimano XTR SL-M9000 Rapid Fire shifters the Zaskar comes standard with, but that’s personal preference rather than a condemnation of the standard equipment. Overall, the bike is beautifully kitted out, looks fantastic, is super-lightweight and very well priced.

OK, so how does it ride?

Being as light as it is, the Zaskar is a demon on the climbs, surging forward and upward with every pedal stroke. On the descents, where carbon hardtails have the reputation of being a harsh ride, the Zaskar is easy to manipulate and surprisingly comfortable – thanks in part to the Fizik Tundra3 Braided Carbon saddle, my all-time favourite. Stiff as well as light, this bike is snappy in the turns and is easy to loft over gnarlier sections of trail, and the Rock Shox SID XX World Cup forks with their 100mm of travel just eat up smaller rocks, logs and other obstacles. The Rock Shox also feature an Xloc remote lockout – very handy indeed for long climbs and the occasional foray onto paved roads or hard-packed fire trail (but whatever you do, don’t forget to unlock those forks before you get back on the rough stuff!)

If there is a criticism to be levelled at this bike, it’s a very general one to be directed at GT as a whole: in 2016 they will be phasing out all 29” wheels on the Zaskar. The 26” has understandably already gone the way of the Dodo, so we’re left with only 27.5”... perhaps not such a big deal, but I’m sure it will upset some of the taller XC riders out there.