This year not only marks GT's 50th birthday but also 35 years that Hans Rey has been riding for GT. This is perhaps even more of an achievement. It's hard to think of another rider who has been as synonymous with another brand for as long as Hans has been with GT. To celebrate this the team at GT decided to surprise Hans with a fully custom version of their eForce AMP+. The bike has some pretty nice touches from Hans' sponsors to celebrate this achievement.
Hans' eForce AMP+ is set up to be a do it all trail ebike and at the same time allows Hans to be messing around, hopping up and down rock gardens all with Hans' normal laid-back style. I spent a few hours riding with Hans and a group of raffle winners at The Malverns Classic before doing this bike check and all I can say is never before has a rider summed up a companies slogan more than Hans because one thing is for sure he is all about the good times!
| Amazing ebike with perfect set up and colours. Definitely a keeper in my collection, but first I’ll ride the hell out of it. Big thank you to GT and all the co-sponsors who made this bike and surprise happen.—Hans Rey |
This is not an off-the-shelf paint job. This custom paint job is by John Canepa and it looks stunning. It also has some nice bespoke graphics celebrating Hans' 35 years working with GT. The frame itself is the standard aluminium eForce Amp+ that you can buy right now. Hans rides a medium frame which is a size below what GT would recommend for his height but it does make for a more playful bike.
At the heart of the eForce's suspension is an SR Suntour TriAir shock which is controlling the 150mm of rear travel on the eForce. Hans was running his suspension to the standard SR Suntour settings of 180psi in the main body of the shock and 200psi in the reservoir but Hans did say as he rides his eForce more he's sure that will change.
Out front it's more SR Suntour suspension for this eForce, with a set of custom-painted SR Suntour Durolux 38 forks with a 44mm offset and 160mm of travel. Much like his shock, Hans is running his fork with stock settings right now with 90psi in it but this will all change as he rides it more. Hans' Durolux 38's got some custom decals too just for Hans.
Hans was running a set of Crankbrothers stamp flat pedals in the small size on his bike the weekend I caught up with him. However, sometimes he likes to ride what he calls the 'HalfWayRey' set up. This consists of his leading foot clipped in using a Crankbrothers Mallet and rear foot is a flat pedal. With this setup he also rides two different shoes.
Nothing too crazy when it comes to drivetrain for Hans' bike. It's a full Shimano XT 12-speed set up. The one change on this bike for Hans is that he is running an 11 - 46 cassette instead of the 51t version he runs on his trail bike.
The Shimano XT cranks fitted to Hans' eForce are 165mm long. He will be changing these to the 160mm version he normally rides when he can get them.
It's yet more Shimano XT parts when it comes to brakes with Shimanos XT 4 piston brakes fitted front and rear with the finned resin pads installed. These are running on a set of Shimano's new XT rotors with 203 fitted to the front wheel and 180mm in the rear. Hans also has his brakes levers set up in the moto style.
When it comes to wheels and tyres on Hans' eForce there is a set of Stans wheels consisting of Stans M-Pulse hubs with 29" Stans Flow EX3 rims. Wrapped around this classic set of Stans wheels is a pair of Schwalbe Hans Dampf tyres which are 2.6" wide and are running tubeless with 17 - 20psi of air depending on the terrain without tyre inserts.
Unless you are from Germany, Hans' SQ Lab carbon 3OX handlebars may not be something you have seen too much of previously. SQ Lab is a German company that specialises in ergonomic components for all types of cycling. Hans runs a set of the carbon 3OX handlebars with 15mm of rise, 12 degrees of back sweep, that are 780mm wide. These are held to Hans' fork by a 35mm long SQ lab 8OX stem with 6 degrees of upsweep.
Mounted to the SQ Lab carbon 3OX handlebars is a set of SQ Labs 7OX black grips. These come with SQ labs Ergobar profile. The Ergobar is a wave-shaped profile on the front and right side, which produces a flat, slightly angular grip bottom.
It is another custom item for Hans when it come to his SQ Lab saddle which comes in a custom colour and with a custom logo for Hans. The German brand's 6OX Infinergy saddle is 14cm wide and mounted to a Crankbrothers Highline 150mm dropper post.
A massive thank you to Hans for his time helping with this bike check and congratulations on 35 years with GT.
Would be cool if I had an easier time ordering your products. I know quite a few people who would ride Suntour suspension if it was more easily available to them.
Please and thank you
Trying to decide between Super Trail, or Super Gravity.
So many years have passed…
A legend, Great to see him still riding!