GT Bicycles is a large American manufacturer of
roadThe term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle...
,
mountainA mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
, and
bmxBicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
bicycles. The company was founded in 1979 by Gary Turner, a welding engineer and Richard Long, a bike shop owner. The company merged with Schwinn (Questor Partners) in 1998, but the conglomerate went bankrupt in 2001, and was acquired by
Pacific CycleFor the Taiwan-based folding bicycle company see: Pacific CyclesPacific Cycle, Inc. is an American bicycle importer and distributor founded in 1977 by Chris Hornung. The company owns the following brands; Schwinn, Mongoose, Roadmaster DYNO , InSTEP, Pacific Outdoors, Powerlite and Cannondale....
.
Dorel IndustriesDorel Industries Inc. is a Canadian company, based in Montreal, Quebec, which designs and manufactures for three areas: juvenile, home furnishings and recreational/leisure. It was formed in 1987 as a result of a merger between Dorel Co. Ltd., founded in 1962 by Leo Schwartz and Ridgewood...
acquired Pacific Cycle in 2004. GT itself acquired Auburn Racing and Dyno Products from
Bob MoralesRobert L. Morales is a former freestyle BMX rider turned promoter, designer, inventor and business executive. He is the founder of DYNO Bicycles, the American Freestyle Association , Auburn Cycles, KORE Bicycle Components, Morales Bicycle Co., Carlsbad Motocross Racing and ASV Inventions...
plus Robinson Racing from the late Chuck Robinson in the late 1980s. GT is directly administered by Dorel although the Dyno label has been resurrected and is part of Pacific Cycle.
GT mountain bikes are often readily identifiable by the "triple triangle" frame design present in most
hard-tailSuspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
designs. Early BMX frames were also easily identifiable as the top tube seemed to bisect the seat tube and protrude beyond it by approximately an inch-and-a-half towards the rear of the frame. This innovative idea was claimed to reduce the amount of vibration transferred to the seat from the rear wheel. Later versions would actually have the customary "GT" letters stamped on the end of the protruding tube.
Teams
As well as the manufacturing of bicycles, GT Bikes also has several teams competing in
BMXBicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
,
mountainMountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
and
roadRoad bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
competitions.
Factory Racing Team & GT Freestyle Team, GT Airshow
There are six riders in the BMX Race Team. Riley O'Neail,
Luke MadillLuke Madill is an Australian BMX cyclist who was selected to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. As preparation for the Olympics, Madill built a replica of the Beijing BMX course on his property at Cranebrook in western Sydney.Madill often goes by the nickname "Dr Smooth", due to his...
,
Joey BradfordJoseph Bradford is an American professional "New/Current School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1999 to the present...
,
Eric RupeEric Fitzgerald Rupe is an "Old School" American professional bicycle motocross racer. His prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1990....
and
Arielle Martin (Verhaaren)Arielle Martin of Pleasant Grove, Utah, is a US BMX cyclist.She crashed in the quarter-finals at the World Championships held in Taiyuan, China, on June 2, 2008, with the result that Jill Kintner, her friend and roommate at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, finished in...
compete in competitions held globally.
GT Freestyle, Santa Ana/Huntington Beach
BMX Freestyle and GT BMX have a well documented history on video and in magazine coverage from publications like Freestylin/Go, BMX Plus, and Ride which all fostered young talent like Spike Jonze, Eddie Roman, and Mark Eaton and helped an entire generation of riders define themselves and their sport.
From the mid-eighties onward Team GT's Pro Freestyle riders were some of the biggest and most recognizable names in BMX
The GT BMX brand and team riders appear in the 'HellTrack' starting lineup scene in the BMX cult-classic film Rad. Famous names from the ranks of Teams past include X-Games Champions Dave Mirra, Jay Miron, Jamie Bestwick, Eddie Fiola, aka King of the Skateparks, Brian Scura 'Rad Dad' inventor of the Gyro, aka SST Oryg, Trevor Meyer, Martin Aparijo 'the Chairman' Josh White, Dino DeLuca, Dave Voelker, Brett Hernandez, Kevin Jones, Mark Eaton, Gary Pollak, Kevin the 'Gute' Gutierrez, Ruben Castillo, Robert Castillo, Jason Geoffery, Goro Tamai, Krys Dauchy, Adam Jung, James Holmes"he is the best on the team".
Along with Team Haro, Team GT helped shape the future of BMX Freestyle and helped pioneer a sport once deemed nothing more than a fad. GT produced some of the first Freestyle specific bikes in their early Performer and World Tour models. Later highly successful models were the Pro Freestyle Tour, which saw the first use of mountain bike style brake mounts for use of Dia-Compe 990, Dyno Pro Compe: one of the most ridden Flatland frames of the early Nineties. GT was also there for the birth of street riding in the late Eighties with the GT Agressor and Dyno Slammer bashgaurd models.
GT also designed and sold the first flatland specific bike in the USA: the GT Show.
GT Bikes CURRENT Freestyle Team include the riders: Dave Dillewaard, Rob Wise, Eric Bahlman, Justin Coble, Bobby Kanode, and Calvin Krey.
Mountain Team
Eight riders in the Mountain Team, compete in global competitions including
DownhillDownhill is an alpine skiing discipline. The rules for the Downhill were originally developed by Sir Arnold Lunn for the 1921 British National Ski Championships....
,
4XFour-cross , also called Mountain-cross, not to be confused with Fourcross, is a relatively new style of mountain bike racing where four bikers race downhill on a prepared, BMX like, track, simply trying to get down first. These bikes are generally either full suspension with 3 to 4 inches of...
,
TrialsMotorcycle trials, also termed observed trials, is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participants around the globe....
,
FreerideFreeride is a discipline of mountain biking closely related to downhill cycling and dirt jumping focused on tricks, style, and technical trail features. It is now recognized as one of the most popular disciplines within mountain biking....
and
Dirt jumpingDirt jumping is one of the names given to the practice of riding bikes over cement type jumps of dirt or soil and becoming airborne. The idea is that after riding over the 'take off' the rider will become momentarily airborne, and aim to land on the 'landing'.Dirt jumping can be done on almost...
. The riders in the team are: Marc Beaumont,
Hans ReyHansjörg Rey, aka Hans "No Way" Rey . Rey is a pioneer in mountain bike trials and extreme mountain biking. Rey began riding in the late 70s. Since 1987, he has ridden exclusively on GT bikes...
,
Eric CarterEric Robert Carter is a former American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1983 to 1998...
, Roger Rinderknecht, Mick Hannah, Kevin Aiello, Andrew Cho, and Tyler McCaul.
Road Team
GT Bikes are the team sponsors and bike supplier for Jelly Belly professional cycling team.
Also Lotto pro cycling team (now Omega Pharma-Lotto) had Easton aluminium tubing GT frames. It was before carbon fibers were good enough for an almost complete substitution of aluminium, titanium, steel and even scandium as tubing material in the professional peloton.
Co – Factory Team
The Co – Factory Team was founded in 2008. The team is composed of riders from across the US riding for local dealer teams that represent GT Bicycles.
Notable past Factory team members
Gary EllisGary Leo Ellis Jr. was an American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross racer.Ellis was one of the last of the "Old School" BMX racers whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982-1996.Nickname: "The Lumberjack"...
, Greg Hill,
Tommy BrackensTommy Lee Brackens is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer...
,
Eddie LivingstonEddie Livingston:Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a rock/metal drummer primarily known for His fast and aggressive double kick playing, and syncopated southern approach to Heavy metal, or Thrash metal. Eddie is usually seen playing with the 'butt'end of his drumsticks...
,
Danny NelsonDaniel Lee Nelson was an American professional "Mid & Current School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years are from 1993 to 2003. His nickname is "Thunder".-Racing career milestones:...
,
Eddie FiolaEdward Lynn Fiola in Bellflower, California, USA was a professional freestyle BMX rider in the 1980s and a film stuntman....
Kevin Hull, X-Games Champions Jay Miron, Jamie Bestwick, Dave Mirra, Brian Scura 'Rad Dad' inventor of the Gyro, aka SST Oyrg, Trevor Meyer, Martin Aparijo 'the Chairman' Josh White, Dino DeLuca, Dave Voelker, Brett Hernandez, Kevin Jones, Mark Eaton, Gary Pollak, Kevin Gutierrez, Ruben Castillo, Robert Castillo, Jason Geoffery, Goro Tamai, Krys Dauchy, Adam Jung and James Holmes
Models
BMX
- Interceptor
- Mach One
- Pro Series
- Pro Series (Team Model)
- Speed Series
- GT Zone
Freestyle
- Vertigo
- Performer
- Pro Performer
- Pro Freestyle Tour (older models were called the Pro World Tour)
- Pro Freestyle Tour (Team Model)
Road and Mountain
- Psyclone (hard tail, hand made steel frame from GT Tech Shop, True Temper and Reynolds 853)
- CHUCKER(aluminium dirt jumper)
- RAVE
- RAGE
- Palomar
- Rebound (Steel, and then later aluminum, hardtail)
- Tequesta (Steel hardtail)
- Tempest
- Zaskar (Aluminum and recently Carbon fibre, hardtail)
- Xizang (Hand polished Titanium hardtail)
- Lightning (Titanium hardtail)
- Avalanche (All mountain hardtails)
- Pantera (All mountain hardtails)
- Karakoram (Steel Hardtail)
- Bravado (Tange
Tange International Co. is a major manufacturer of high quality steel tubing for bicycle frames. They are a rival to the British based tubing manufacturer Reynolds. Where the defacto standard of bicycle tubing from European Bike Boom bikes is Reynolds steel the Japanese defacto standard is Tange...
Prestige Steel Hardtail -higher spec compared to Karakoram)
- Borrego (Steel Hardtail)
- Psyclone (Fillet Brazed Steel Hardtail)
- Richter 8 (Steel Hardtail)
- RTS (Full suspension)
- LTS (Full Suspension)
- STS (Carbonbikes)
- Sensor
- Force
- Sanction
- Lobo DH, DHi (Downhill bikes)
- i-drive
iDrive may refer to:*iDrive – a BMW vehicle control system*i-drive – an online storage service*i-Drive – a bicycle suspension system created by GT Bicycles*I-Drive/i-drive – A short name for International Drive Orlando, Florida...
Series
- iT-1 (Downhill/freeride Dual Suspension)
- Ruckus (freeride Hardtails and Duallys also Dirtbikes)
- Chucker (freeride/Dirt jump Hardtail)
- Outpost (Mountain Hardtail)
- Slipstream (Comfort)
- Timberline/Nomad (Comfort)
- Course (Very Rare Road, Reynolds 853)
- Aggressor (polished aluminum hardtail)
- Marathon
- Talera (Mountain Hardtail)
- Saddleback Mtn hardtail
- ZR series (road bikes with a numerical designation, the lowest being the best spec'd bike (i.e., a ZR 1.0 was a better quality bike than a ZR 4.0).
- ZRX (Cyclocross)
- Vengeance
- Edge (Road Series)
- Lightning
- Fury (Unique full carbon downhill frame)
GT also manufactured a series of highly regarded Track bikes
- GTB (Generic Track Bike)
- GT Pulse
- Jamie Skinner
James holmes Signiture alex frame
External links