Single Track Aggression: GT Men's Aggressor Pro Mountain Bike Review

The GT Aggressor Pro will make you a conqueror of the single-track course.

One look at this baby, and you know it's got a badass appeal because it pulled off a bold frame design—a triple triangle that only cool fixies normally have. This stylish starter mountain bike (MTB) proves it can be aggressive enough to match the single track’s tight cornering and handling for single tracks.

That being said, we're excited to roll out the Gary Turner (GT) Men's Aggressor Pro Mountain Bike review and give you the salient points you need to ride this bike.

Style and Design

The GT Aggressor Pro has made it a point to keep all the practical design features of a hardtail MTB and add their own taste to the design. Check out the characteristics that caught our eye.

Paint job – The GT aggressor mountain bike is dominated by black, blue, and green color variations. A simple GT logo is painted on the downtube. The colorway is limited to three, making it effectively stylish and visible. However, the paint job is done more for functionality rather than style.

Bike type – The bike's frame belongs to the hardtail category. There's a particular deviation on the common hardtail frame design—the seat stay connects to the top tube instead of the seat post. GT commonly manufactures bike frames like this to make their bikes distinguishable from other brands. It's called a triple triangle frame design. It adds style to your usual hardtail.

Tires – The tread patterns on the GT Men's Aggressor Pro mountain bike are designed specifically for single-track mountain trails. It has a wide tire to accommodate evenly spaced-out treads. The patterns are uniformed to form a curved shape that takes from a dirt type of tire tread, but this prevents any debris or dirt from sticking onto the tires allowing for optimal traction on the mountain or dirt tracks.

Features

The GT Aggressor isn't dubbed that way by the manufacturer, not without reason. There are notable features on this bike's design that make it such a practical and aggressively performing MTB. Check them out below.

Frame mounts – Mounts are important for city commutes and long rides. You can place a bag on the top tube and a water holder on the bottom, and you'll be set for a casual road trip. This is great since you'll be hitting the pavements more often than the off-road tracks—a practical feature.

Mechanical disc brakes – The mechanical disc braking system of the GT Aggressor pro is the right blend of performance and value. GT wants to have the Aggressor perform well off-road, and the disc brakes deliver a sensitive brake mechanism that would par the ones fitted on a GT full suspension mountain bike. It's also a value choice given the GT Agressor's price point.

Thumb shifter – The easy and smooth drivetrain manipulation brought by the thumb shifter lets you adjust your speed quickly. This trigger-type thumb shifter is especially useful when anticipating challenging bumps or attacking corners. You have to change the pedaling power and the speed to better handle the obstacle ahead.

Preload adjuster – The front suspension is fitted with a preload adjuster, which you can crank up or down to tailor-fit how plush (smooth) or how stiff you want to ride your GT bike. This option of suspension control is preferable in the long run as you want to be able to play around with different suspension fork resistance once you've mastered the default settings and have moved on to more challenging off-road tracks.

Triple chainring – The triple chainring supports the eight gears on the rear hub of the MTB. It will give you enough speed and handling sensitivity for conquering the tracks. It also gives you more opportunities to hone your technique when effectively choosing the gear combinations.

Quick-release seat post – This one is a small feature but an important one. Your posture could drastically affect your performance, and if your seat post doesn't have a quick release, you'll need to carry around a tool to adjust it manually. That's a bit of an inconvenience you would rather have taken off your plate. With a quick release, you can adjust and test right away and do it several times until you find the perfect position.

Highs and Lows

Highlights:    

• Affordable. The price of the bike is just below $500
• Wide handlebars make for easy turning on single tracks
• The double crown fork makes adequate shock absorption

Lowlights:

• It feels a bit clunky on the front section on stock forks and preload settings.
• The triple triangle design seems more appropriate for a fixie than a hardtail.
• Frequent chain drops on minor bumps

Built For The Single Track

There's no doubt GT mountain bikes are one of the stylish-looking MTBs in the market today. One look at the frame, and you'll know it's from GT. So, there's a plus point on the style criteria for this bike.

On the other hand, we find that this bike is aggressively built for single tracks with about 80 percent smooth surface, which is really something we would expect for a less than $500 bike. It runs smoothly also as a commuter on the road, but you'll have the most fun with the GT Aggressor on dirt lanes on the mountainside or grasslands with little to no bumps up ahead. If you want a no-brainer, easy ride hardtail, the GT Aggressor will give enough thrill.