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Camping this week was in Temecula for the race. We took a break today and worked on @roguejourneymen - But it’s always in the back of our mind to take our bikes and tents somewhere. Nostalgic for Saturday, here are some more pictures from Temecula. #socalendurance #temecula (at Temecula, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp6E5giFYC2/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1bk0xc1u7adip

#socalendurance #temecula

When I was 12, I could only have hoped the adult me would be entering mountain bike races. Wouldn’t it be nice to tell ourselves what the future would include? The fun stuff anyway. 24 miles of mountain bike racing today. Exhausted and somehow feeling good. #socalendurance (at SoCal Enduro) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpvde1-lmFL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=b53dh5ty6ita

#socalendurance

My son hitting the climbs @ Vail Lake🚵🚵! #vaillake #socalendurance #temecula #vaillake #cycling #specialized

#specialized #temecula #cycling #vaillake #socalendurance

GT Helion Carbon Pro.

Hel yes

GT's marketing team was nice enough to give me a Helion Carbon Pro for a couple days in Temecula, CA.

This was actually a double-whammy score for me. I got to ride at Vail Lake, Temecula with Jason and Heather Ranoa, owners of SoCal endurance, who manage the area and had just set the Enduro and 12-hour course for the following week. I also got to ride a little with Rachel Throop during a shoot day.

Good bikes with good people = life is good.

The Merlot lot at Vail Lake

SPECS:

Anyway, GT gave me a large Carbon Helion Pro with:

110mm FOX Float CTD Shock and Fork w/remote front and rear lockout

Shimano XT Brakes (180mm rotors) & XT shadow plus rear derailleur

Race Face Turbine Narrow-wide crankset with 32T chaninring

Race Face Turbine 740mm 3/4in riser handlebars w/80mm stem

Shimano XT Cassette with an E*thirteen 42t cog

27.5 Wheels: DTSwiss 240 hubs laced to Stan's NoTubes ZTR crest hoops

Continental X-King 2.2 tires

Rockshox dropper post (this may not be standard)

Two things I love about GT: 1) They've been R&D'ing like crazy the last few years and now have several category-leading bikes, and 2) They still keep their prices a couple grand cheaper than most other manufacturers' comparable models. The Helion Carbon Pro lists at $5400.

Even though it's a race-able "XC" bike (heavy quotes on the XC), the Helion is a super-functional 27.5" light trail bike. The one I got had a Rockshox dropper, though I'm not sure the standard Pro build comes with one. If it doesn't, put one on. It'll make you happy.

Also, ONE chainring, thank you very much. I am forever bothered by too much crap for my hands - so the less concentration I have to allocate twiddling things with my thumbs while riding the better. 32:42 gearing from the E*thirteeen 42-tooth cog is just fine for most hills, east or west coast. And kudos for using what are usually cool after-market parts as standard spec.

One chainring

There's a hard line for ROI on handlebar space for me: Dropper-post levers make the cut, front derailleurs and lockouts do not. I'm appreciative of everything manufacturers try to provide for my price point, but I have NEVER understood handlebar-mounted lockouts when good suspensions now climb great with their shocks wide open. Maybe we can carve an exception for a 165mm enduro rig, but if I need to lock out a 100mm suspension for a bike to climb, then it sucks. And you don't on the Helion, it climbs great. So, please, enough with the lockouts. Conversely, if the terrain you're riding is so smooth you can lock out your frame for long periods of time, maybe you should try mountain biking.

I love wide bars. I'm a wide-handlebar evangelist, not just because I'm fuller-of-frame but because they allow you to widen your your riding position, engage your core and lean into turns with more gusto. GT understands this and the 740mm bars are part of what makes the bike fun.

The rest: Shimano XT, DTSwiss and Stan's - all great spec. no issue.

Moving on: The Helion is beautiful - clean, elegant lines, very fast looking - matte black with nice blue and yellow accents, GT grips, short head tube. You will be proud to throw a leg over it or chat it up in the parking lot.

sweet looking ride, but if you say 'braaap' i'll punch you.

RIDING:

I met Jason and Heather in the Merlot lot at Vail Lake and we headed up to ride just about everything in the area. From Tunnel of Love to Tarantula, Marlin to Marine Corps Hill and even a couple brand-new Enduro trails he had just cut.

Aside from being light, the Helion is a natural right out of the gate. Though the 69.5-degree head angle could be slacker on paper (it's an XC bike, remember), the bike feels wonderfully balanced and smooth, both up and down. It climbs like an XC bike should, effortless with no perceived pedal-bob, just keep pushing and you'll be fine. Wide or singletrack, the bike goes up straight and doesn't weave. And because it's XC light, you can pop it up and over most obstacles.

For downhill, the Helion definitely punches above it's weight. Kind of what you'd expect from the makers of the Fury, Force and Sanction. GT's AOS suspension design frees the bottom bracket from the seat tube to move rearwards, in sync with the rear axle - allowing the suspension to travel very smoothly and effectively over hits and rocks. I NEVER bottomed out, got hung up or jarred by a larger feature or obstacle. The suspension felt deeper than it was and I was able to flash descents I'd never seen before. For turns, just lift the outside elbow, drop the inside hand, look around the corner and, za-zing, there you go. Most of the suspension's engineering hoo-ha sits very low on the frame, which gives the bike a low center of gravity and helps it corner well.

The lower hoo-ha. Notice the bb and shockmount are housed within the massive Pathlink assembly.

Temecula riding is fast; you can do 10-15 miles without stopping. And because Jason was training for the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo, we really didn't. The trails are flowy, with some interesting granite features - no roots because it's SoCal, and you need water for roots. They got some fluke snow the week before so things were a little tackier than normal - except for a few random ‘gotcha’ sand-spots in fast corners. Descents go from fast to sketchy very quickly and without warning, so having a bike that can hang with that is great.

Top of the ambulance road climb.

The Helion just seems to work without a lot of messing around. Last season when I reviewed the Santa Cruz 5010, it took a month for me to get every setting on that bike to feel properly balanced (after which it was great) - and I love the VPP suspension. I mention this because the two bikes feel similar, even though the 5010 has 15-20mm more travel. The Helion is also similar to the Pivot Mach 4, which I had the opportunity to ride last season.

Now, there have been a few complaints in various reviews of other bikes about 32mm forks being out-gunned by good, stiff frames and modern suspension designs. Here the parts spec seems perfect for the frame. Maybe if I was on some fistfight east-coast roots n' rocks trail I might be 120mm curious, as it would slacken the head angle a bit. But I'm just saying that - the bike never felt out-gunned all day on anything I took it on. And Jason made sure I rode every new and awesome trail he'd cut.

The next day I only had about 90 minutes to ride. Jason was prepping the race but Rachel Throop was around (I get precious little opportunity to name-drop, forgive me), we skipped lunch (well, I shoved a wrap and some fruit salad into my face in 40 seconds) and did a couple laps on Vail's signature XC trail 'Tunnel of Love', which, if ridden fast enough, is almost a jump-line.

Rachel riding.

This is where the bike just FLIES, it accelerates immediately, likes to leave the ground and when you're landing on the backside of a tabletop it just begs for the next one. I would LOVE to take the Helion to a race and show it a good time. It counters the pain reflex I have to most XC bikes and reminds me how much fun the sport can be. It's a FUN bike. Be that guy everybody gripes about for passing downhill and talking on the climbs.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The Helion works great from the get-go, is smooth, quiet, climbs like an XC bike (without bending you over) and, as advertised, is fun to play around on. It could not only be your XC race bike out of the box, but your daily driver, stopping just short of anything super knarly. I love its maneuverability and, because I never reached its limit, I kind of wonder where that lies.

THE TAKEAWAY:

The Helion has that magic alchemy of somehow being greater than the sum of its parts and frame angles. Reviewing it was pretty hard because it disappears beneath you and the only time you really think about it is when you ride over something that 'should have felt harder.' The AOS works perfectly, the high pivot gives the wheel great rearward travel and low C.O.G makes it quick. And unless you're riding something that needs a full-face helmet, this bike can hang. It's FUN. If you're a high-end bespoke sort of gal/guy, the frame is a-list enough to build with carbon wheels, a NEXT crankset etc. to drop a little more weight to build a total rocket.

Keep the dropper post, though, trust me.

Pair this bike with a nice pilsner or light amber ale.

LINKS:

SocCal Endurance

GT Bikes

Enduro and 12-hour registration

5010 Review

#GTbikes #helion #SoCalendurance #mountainbiking