GT Sensor Carbon Pro review | Trail Bike of the Year contender

GT pitches the Sensor Carbon Pro at the rider who wants effortless control on the trail and a versatile bike that’ll take them anywhere on the mountain.

As the name suggests, this Sensor has a (near-complete) carbon frame, with this model sitting as the second-tier bike in the range.

At the rear, 140mm of suspension tames the trail, while the head tube is supported by a 150mm-travel fork.

During testing, I found the Sensor did a great job of smoothing the way, with quality suspension from RockShox.

However, that comes at the cost of some climbing performance, with the supple back end stealing energy input.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro frame and suspension

Carbon tubes are found throughout the Sensor Carbon's frame, other than alloy chainstays and an alloy rocker.

The front triangle’s swoopy form blends curves and angles, and has an attractive appearance.

In a nod to GT's heritage, there’s a triple triangle of tubes formed by the seat tube’s brace between it and the top tube.

Inside the main triangle, there’s space for a bottle, while ample frame protection is provided on the down tube and chainstays.

Cables run into the frame via ports on the head tube, while there’s a SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger at the rear, which should make tracking down a spare hanger nice and easy if you damage yours.

The shift to a carbon frame has saved 600g from the alloy frame weight, according to GT.

A Horst-link suspension system, dubbed ‘LTS’, with its defining chainstay-located pivot, delivers 140mm of bounce at the back.

GT claims it has tuned it to ensure plenty of traction under braking – handy on a bike that looks suited to gravity-fed adventures.

Overall, it’s a sorted frame package. However, the profiles around the lower shock mount lead to a puddle forming in wet conditions and when washing the bike. Fortunately, this puddle won’t get deep enough to submerge your lower shock mount.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro geometry

GT offers the bike in four sizes, from small to extra-large.

The geometry facts and figures are as we’d expect on a thoroughly up-to-date trail bike.

The 65-degree head angle is on a par with many trail bikes, and it hints at a ride that’s going to be no slouch on the descents, especially when merged with long reaches – 480mm on my size-large test bike.

This is balanced nicely by 440mm chainstays and a steep 77-degree seat angle.

Seat tube lengths are short, with minor jumps between the three smaller sizes, although I was a touch surprised to see the 20mm jumps extended to 40mm when going from size large to extra-large.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro specifications

GT has put money into the areas that matter most.

Carbon frames will always up the price, but it’s nice to see Select+ level suspension on this bike. At the fork, this means the 150mm RockShox Lyrik gets the Charger 3 damper, with individual high- and low-speed compression damping adjustment, as well as rebound adjustment.

In another nod to descending prowess, there’s a Super Deluxe shock from the US brand. This comes with a piggyback chassis, boosting oil volumes for more consistent performance on prolonged tracks.

The Select+ version comes with rebound adjustment and a two-position compression switch to boost pedal efficiency on smooth drags.

Wheels include WTB KOM Trail i30 rims and on my test bike Maxxis tyres – a Minion DHF at the front with the EXO casing and a Dissector at the back with the stronger EXO+ casing.

The drivetrain is a SRAM mechanical setup – a GX derailleur and Truvativ Descendant cranks take pride of place, although the chain, shifter and cassette come from SRAM’s NX range. This means there are no MatchMaker clamps, which would have led to a tidier cockpit.

Brakes come in the form of SRAM Code Rs, while the finishing kit is largely GT-branded.

All in, the Sensor Carbon Pro (size large) weighs 14.9kg.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro ride impressions

RockShox suspension is, in my eyes, among the easiest to set up – pop some air in the shocks to the desired sag (28 per cent at the rear, for me as a starting point), open any compression dampers to their minimum and add a couple of clicks, from fully open, of rebound damping.

Generally speaking, it takes me very little time to get it feeling good, and it was no different with the Select+ suspension on the Sensor Carbon Pro.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro climbing performance

There’s almost always a trade-off between climbing and descending performance, considering a multitude of factors, when it comes to designing a trail bike.

It feels as though GT has erred on the side of descending performance with the Sensor Carbon Pro.

However, it’s not a full-blown dismissal of the bike's climbing ability, fortunately.

The rear suspension is silky smooth, which helps the rear wheel track the ground, encouraging the Maxxis Dissector rear tyre to generate as much grip as it’s ever going to, moulding effortlessly over every imperfection in the ground.

This pays dividends on technical climbs and also on the descents.

Pedal smoothly and the Sensor, with its steep seat angle, will get up pretty much any hill you point it at.

However, it doesn’t necessarily do so with the most vigour.

That suppleness at the rear needs an equally smooth pedalling action to prevent it from oscillating with the cranks and stealing energy. Do so, and while it doesn’t wallow, it doesn’t encourage spirited efforts.

As such, when stood up on climbs, or when I wanted to put an effort in, I found myself reaching for the Super Deluxe’s lockout lever relatively frequently.

On techy climbs, the 440mm chainstays help balance out the moderately long 480mm reach, and with the steep seat angle, you’re placed nicely between the wheels.

However, the combination of the 642mm stack and the 30mm rise bar meant the front end of the bike felt higher than some of the other contenders in our Trail Bike of the Year category.

This meant I ran the stem almost as low as it could go on the steerer tube.

The mixed SRAM drivetrain doesn’t need much TLC, even in winter conditions, however the NX shifter is noticeably more agricultural than a GX shifter one might expect on a bike at this price.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro descending performance

Understandably, a bike that’s so smooth on the ups is no different on the way down.

RockShox’s Select+ level suspension has a lovely composed and comfortable feeling that copes well with big and small hits alike.

The Dissectors roll fast, which is a bonus on climbs and hardpack tracks. However, their low block height usually means traction is compromised in soft or sloppy conditions.

I like that GT supplied the Dissector in its EXO+ casing. This is slightly thicker than the EXO casing, adding a hint of puncture protection and a slightly better-damped ride feel, even if the weight is higher.

It’s impressive, then, that the rear end feels controlled and the braking effective, even through a UK winter – testament to GT’s LTS suspension and the Super Deluxe shock.

The control on offer from the GT is present through to the latter reaches of the suspension, with an unflappable progression deep into the travel.

When you land an awkward drop, or hit a rock garden at speed, both fork and shock seem to shrug it off, enabling you to carry that speed and exit unflustered.

Likewise, it all works well on steep terrain, too.

The fork stays propped up as you point it down a fall line, doling out its travel with composure when you reach the catch berm below.

The high-rise bar ensures you can stand tall over the bike easily, helping you remain in control on the steepest tracks, without feeling you might be heading head-first over the front.

So far, so good for the Sensor’s descending capabilities.

The downside is that on flowier terrain the Sensor can feel a little lethargic at times.

It can be pumped over and through rolling trails, however the support that generates speed comes a little later in the stroke, so you need to put a little more effort in to get the most out.

Running reduced sag helps in this department – I tried it down to 24 per cent. There’s always a balancing act to play with shock pressures, and I preferred the Sensor Carbon Pro with more sag to make the most of the bike’s performance on more technical trails

The moderately high stack and high-rise bar can leave the bike feeling a little vague through flat corners and on mellow terrain, requiring you to consciously weight the bar more in order to push the front tyre into the ground and generate grip.

At the front of the bike, the Minion DHF delivers good all-round performance. However, the gap between the central and shoulder treads can lead to a vague transition as you lean into a corner.

How does the GT Sensor Carbon Pro compare to the Whyte T-160 RS?

Both the GT Sensor Carbon Pro and the Whyte T-160 RS are confidence-inspiring descenders. Smooth transitions to the depths of their travel ensure that when you hit something big, they deliver their full travel with no pops or bangs.

The Whyte does, however, have Ultimate, rather than Select+ suspension. Ultimate is even more sophisticated over high-speed chatter, thanks to its ButterCups rubber bumpers, and with increased bushing overlap, even less likely to bind when you hit something hard.

The GT’s rear end is more comfortable over mid-sized chatter, making bike-park laps less tiring, but the Whyte’s pedal and pump responses ensure a livelier ride on a broad range of tracks.

It’s also stunning value for money at £2,999, whereas the GT (£4,199) is punchy in the pricing department.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro bottom line

Smooth, comfortable and well-proportioned, the Sensor Carbon Pro is a rocket ship on steeper and rougher tracks, easily seeing off small, medium and large hits.

Its climbing performance might not be as sprightly as some, but its supple rear end ensures it’ll scrabble up any slope you dare tackle.