GT iDrives

[Blueman]

Anyone out there had any troubles with GT iDrive frames breaking. My is about a 14 months old and has a crack on the top tube about an inch behind the headset. I say crack but it only has about 20% of the tube left before it's a complete break. I took it to the local GT dealer who feels that GT will replace it without issue. I was just wondering if this is common or if I'm special.

[OldDogDan]

Try posting your question in the GT forum on "empty beer" -- but a quick search didn't turn up much...
http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104

Edit: here's a guy with the same crack, but says great service...so ya got that going for ya!
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=398100

[ericfoltz]

It's an aluminum frame and they fatigue. How many miles did you have on it?

I've gone through two AL frames in the last two years. One had 2000 miles and the other went 4300 before they cracked.

GT/Pacific is pretty good about warranty stuff. It only took four working days to get both my frames replaced.

[brparts]

i have a i-drive that is 6yrs old and it is still in good shape.

[bigringrider101]

I cracked 2 of the I-drives

they replaced them... still have the third frame

half way built

[Pain Freak]

I also cracked an I-Drive and it was at the time that GT went under. I lost out on it, but the guy at Incycle (Dom) gave me credit of 200 bucks towards a Spec FSR which was far better bike.

[Trailster]

Well pacific isn't known for their quality. It's a shame cdale had to give it up to those bastards a few weeks ago.

[L8 APEKS]

That's not just alloy fatigue.

I rode a Specialized Stumpy for 6 years and that thing never had any issues. Sounds to me like the engineering staff was a little off on how thin to butt the top tube for that particular batch of frames!

[intensworks]

Back in 04 I had an I-Drive and heard about the frame issues kind a late but never actually had anything happen to mine

[dstepper]

Worst bike I ever owned, in fact the worse bike I have ever rode. Mine tried repeatedly to kill me by throwing me over the bars. I sold it to one of my friends, then took out a life insurance policy on him, then spent the money on a 5-Spot.

Dean

[ghixon]

Originally Posted by dstepper

Worst bike I ever owned, in fact the worse bike I have ever rode. Mine tried repeatedly to kill me by throwing me over the bars. I sold it to one of my friends, then took out a life insurance policy on him, then spent the money on a 5-Spot.

Dean

C'mon Dean, it couldn't have been THAT bad.

Had an I-Drive up until 3-4 months ago. Only had to replace one pivot bearing in 3 years until I killed the bottom bracket...I also have a GT hardtail that I can't seem to kill no matter what I do to it.

It will happen to any bike no matter who's it is.

[Kaboom]

Originally Posted by Blueman

Anyone out there had any troubles with GT iDrive frames breaking. My is about a 14 months old and has a crack on the top tube about an inch behind the headset. I say crack but it only has about 20% of the tube left before it's a complete break. I took it to the local GT dealer who feels that GT will replace it without issue. I was just wondering if this is common or if I'm special.

We sold a few of them when I worked at SuperGo a while back. They had some frame issues, but the customer service was good. You'll have better luck just dealing with GT directly, versus going through a dealer.

[boludo]

The older version had problems with the seat "staff" collar area cracking.

you should get a replacement or just swap for a walmart frame. they'll never crack, just bend.

good luck

[Blueman]

I took the bike to the LBS and he handled calling GT. He said the GT rep was amazed that the frame broke, especially at the top tube/head connection. GT is sending a new frame out and I should have my bike next week.
I fell in love with GT bikes back in the day when Gary Turner owned the company and designed the frame. I bought this bike after not riding for a few years, based on a couple of laps in the parking lot at a LBS. After getting my legs back and discovering technical trail riding, I understand what dstepper is talking about as far as the OTB concerns. The iDrive four is a true CC bike very at home on fast, predictiable trails, but if you try to push technical trails you can easily get bucked. I put a really short stem and a 2" riser handle bar on mine for that exact reason. However, they climb great and are very stable on fast windy fireroads. I wish I had bought an All Mountain style of bike instead, but I'm stuck with the GT so I make the best of it.

[1TrackMind]

I have an ID 5 1.0 and love it! I have gone OTB, but I am pretty sure that was not the bike's fault.

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by 1TrackMind

I have an ID 5 1.0 and love it! I have gone OTB, but I am pretty sure that was not the bike's fault.

It is never the bikes fault, it is just some bikes OTB easier than others.

Dean

[1TrackMind]

Originally Posted by dstepper

It is never the bikes fault, it is just some bikes OTB easier than others.

Dean

Curious...which ID frame did you have suck bad luck with?

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by 1TrackMind

Curious...which ID frame did you have suck bad luck with?

I-drive 5.0 before GT was bought out by Pacific. Supergo was blowing those bikes out dirt cheap back in 1993 (error 2003). That was before the I knew knew about the sale.

Dean

[1TrackMind]

Originally Posted by dstepper

I-drive 5.0 before GT was bought out by Pacific. Supergo was blowing those bikes out dirt cheap back in 1993. That was before the general population new about the sale.

Dean

Worst bike I ever owned, in fact the worse bike I have ever rode. Mine tried repeatedly to kill me by throwing me over the bars.

With all due respect Dean, you may have wanted to disclose that the i-drive that tried to kill you was made over fifteen years ago. I would like to think that all suspension designs have progressed a little since 1993.

Maybe that's why my 2006 rides pretty well as far as I am concerned. I just don't want your harsh criticism to discern a potential buyer of a newer frame from doing so. In my opinion they are very efficient peddling, somewhat light (mine is 29 lbs with 5.5 in travel) and pretty good all mountain bikes.

Issues with cracks are another concern all together and it sounds like Pacific is stepping up to the plate. I am pretty sure I have read threads here about some very "good" name frames cracking, it's all about what happens after the crack with customer service...just my 2c.

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by dstepper

I-drive 5.0 before GT was bought out by Pacific. Supergo was blowing those bikes out dirt cheap back in 1993. That was before the general population new about the sale.

Dean

I think you meant 2003. The first model year for the XCR i-Drive was 1999 (and it didn't have disc tabs!). The 5.0 came out a few years later.