GT Helion

[Sketchyxup]

I decided to treat myself to one of them there modern full suspensions push bicycles courtesy of the Wiggle sale.

Here she is:

Coming from a fully rigid saracen Kili Ti, its a bit of a departure from my usual operating envelope.

It rides superbly but there is a but, it seems really heavy for what should be a high end GT carbon XC bike, on my digital baggage scales is comes in at 28.5lbs. That is with me already removing the front mech and rings for a 1x11 setup, i've also ditched the thumb lever for the front forks. The rest of it seems nice kit so I cant put my finger on where the weight is hiding, the tyres look like the OEM version of the usual ones so im not sure if they are heavier than they should be?

Could the finishing kit, bars, seat etc be carrying some weight? All race face bits.

In an ideal world I would like to add a dropper and have the weight around 26lbs, that should be possible shouldn't it?

Full spec here:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/gt-helion-carbon-expert-2016/

 

[dan_bo]

From what I understand 28lb is pretty standard for a big wheeled full bouncer with discs.

Bet you could drop a pound changing those tyres.....

 

[02gf74]

For comparison my 29 epic large is just under 11 kg but is more xc oriented.

I changed wheels, inner tubes, tyres, chainset, saddle, seat post, bars, discs, Ti bolts and chain to make it lighter by about 1kg.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Ooooh!! Nice ! I looked at those last year, went with a Boardman FS in the end as I could get it on the cycle to work scheme. I'm sure my Boardman weighs 30lb+.
That sort of weight isn't unusual for a modern full-sus trail type bike.so 28lbs for your Helion sounds pretty decent.
As usual the wheels and tyres are where you could easily save weight, but tbh on my full-sus bike I don't obsess about the weight, I'd rather have parts that suit me, work well, and won't break.
I see in the "blurb" it describes the Helion as an "aggressive xc bike" so it has more robust (possibly slightly heavier) components than an out and out xc bike.
Personally I'd ride it as it is, otherwise you might end up swapping out do many parts that you'd have been better off getting just the frame set in the first place.

 

[Sketchyxup]

Re:

My plan was to do a few marathon type races on it and the odd XC race, the rest of the time I like to give a bike a good rattling so the solid build should suit me.

Just ordered a set of light wheels so will see how much difference they make, it might be nice to have a raceday wheelset and use the robust originals the rest of the time.

Might try it with a dropper too, see what all the fuss is about.

 

[T'boo Ted]

Yeha when I bought my Scott Spark I was looking at these, but there doesn't seem to b a GT dealer in my area anymore, so got me a Scott instead, which supposedly is just undr 25lb, but with the way it's set up comes in around 28lb.
You want to move up the the Helion Carbon Pro or Team for the tasty light good bits.

 

[Sketchyxup]

Which Spark did you go for? They were on my radar too but there was a several month wait for one in the right size.

Claimed under 25 and coming in at around 28 is a bit of a gap? Whats the explanation for that?

I think its only the really Top helion which comes with the full carbon frame, front and rear but they dont make that on in an XL for some reason, mine is carbon main frame and alu rear end, but comes in an XL.

Got my new wheels fitted last night and its knocked a good pound off, even using the same tyres, the WTB i23 rims must be pretty heavy.

 

[T'boo Ted]

Re:

I got a 710, had to get shipped from new Zealand to Australia (internal through shop network) so the there was a wait.
Weight wise, I think 25 is without pedals and I'm currently running old 636's which weigh a ton. But also slight longer stem and wider bar, and swapped out the setback syncros post with a straight but heaver nuke proof I had. Probably most is going from 2.2 tubeless schwables to tubed 2.4 contis.
I did weigh all my bikes, I'd have to go look it up for actual weightg t

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Definitely go for a dropper seatpost, I don't think I could ride a modern full bouncer without one, I'd probably stick one on a modern hardtail trail bike as well tbh.