Bike Check: Thomas Genon's GT Fury - Red Bull Hardline Tasmania
What kind of bike do you get when you mix a freerider and an oversize downhill race track? Virtually the ideal bike park setup. Thomas Genon recently picked up a few new sponsors and is getting familiar with the models in GT Bicycle’s line up. For Red Bull Hardline, he’s built up the Fury downhill bike with a 29” wheel up front and a 27.5” trailing behind. For Rampage and freeriding, he’ll likely run a single-crown fork and dual 27.5 wheels.
Despite his height of 183 cm/6’, he’s decided on a size medium Fury here. Thomas says that’s partially due to the growth in the chainstay length as the high-pivot suspension moves through the travel. You might be surprised to hear that the rest of the bike is set closer to a “race spec”, rather than what might work best for his regular practice of tricking huge jumps.
He’s also chosen the popular downhill race tires from Schwalbe, a sponsor he’s worked with for a handful of years now. A Magic Mary up front provides tons of grip and a Big Betty out back is said to increase rolling speed. Both tires are 2.4” wide, the softest “Ultra Soft” compound, and the burliest Super Downhill casing. The pressures are reasonable at 1.8 and 1.9 bar, or 26 and 27.5 psi.
One surprise that goes against the trend in downhill racing today is the choice for carbon over aluminum wheels. Tommy prefers carbon rims for their resistance to denting and deforming, which can certainly happen more frequently when alloy rims are smashing through the rocks in bike parks. Oddly enough, for freeriding, and especially at Rampage, he says he’d rather use alloy wheels since their lines are well groomed.
Bike Details:
Frame: GT Fury, size MD
Fork: Suntour / 90 psi / LSC 4 clicks from open / Rebound: N/A
Shock: Suntour Tri-Air,
Wheels: Novatec M30 carbon
Tires: Schwalbe Magic Mary, 29x2.4", 1.8 bar (front) and Big Betty 27.5x2.4" 1.9 bar (rear) / both Ultra Soft compound / Super Downhill casing
Inserts: None
Brakes: Shimano XTR w/ 203mm rotors
Drivetrain: Shimano Saint / 7-speed cassette
Bars: Deity Racepoint 35mm OD / 38mm rise / 770mm wide
Stem: DeityIntake 50mm stem
Frame: GT Fury, size MD
Fork: Suntour / 90 psi / LSC 4 clicks from open / Rebound: N/A
Shock: Suntour Tri-Air,
Wheels: Novatec M30 carbon
Tires: Schwalbe Magic Mary, 29x2.4", 1.8 bar (front) and Big Betty 27.5x2.4" 1.9 bar (rear) / both Ultra Soft compound / Super Downhill casing
Inserts: None
Brakes: Shimano XTR w/ 203mm rotors
Drivetrain: Shimano Saint / 7-speed cassette
Bars: Deity Racepoint 35mm OD / 38mm rise / 770mm wide
Stem: DeityIntake 50mm stem
Tommy is still toying with various setups as the Fury can handle all three wheel configurations: dual 27.5, dual 29, and mixed wheels. Compared to the Hardline track in Wales, he says the landings are much smoother and he can prioritize traction over bottom-out control. He feels that the air shock provides more response to suit his taste but sits around a "normal" amount of sag for Hardline.
SR Suntour suspension is also a new partnership for Tommy and he is using their RUX dual-crown fork and Tri-Air shock. Even though Tommy is a few kgs lighter than his Suntour teammate, Sam Blenkinsop, Genon's Rux fork is set to 90 psi - two more psi than what Sam prefers.
Shimano is a long time sponsor for Tommy and he's had the opportunity to experiment with each of their brake systems. He prefers the characteristics of the XTR brakes over the downhill-oriented Saints.
For the drivetrain bits, he is sticking to the gravity classic groupset and is running the bombproof Saint cranks.
A trimmed down Ultegra 10 speed road cassette reduces the weight and keeps the derailleur out of the spokes, just in case it takes a hit. He says the track is built so well you could cruise through it without pedalling once, though.
Tommy runs his bars wider than most freeriders at 770mm due to his lanky stature. He has cut them narrower on his single-crown, freeride bike setup for bar spins though.
For cockpit controls, Tommy is running ODI Longneck Lock-on grips, Deity 38mm rise alloy bars and the Frisco dirt jump saddle.
Look is a familiar name for clipless pedals, more notably in road cycling, but they have made a push into the flat-pedal MTB market. Tommy G has his own signature set from the French pedal brand.
Author Info:
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All ill say is: Money doesnt buy quality and performance. Quite often brands that are super expensive etc did not offer the high quality or high performance... quite often Those expensive brands had Cool designs but didnt actually perform very good.
1) brakes that I can trust & give me confidence,
2) suspension that I can tune to a basic good setup,
3) a no fuss dropper and
4) durable wheels.
None of the above HAVE to be $$$ but often the adjustments I want only come on the more $$$ models. The rest is candy and weight really isn't an issue as long as it falls within acceptable margins.
Paint on my frame I know who I’m sending it off to cheers
That is, if you're ok with a used frame.
I assume you mean the Force? In that case, I personally think it looks great as is. Handles nicely too. Good value but the wheels are always under spec-ed. And the hardware could be better.
Fun bike though, only whip in my garage at the moment.