My Review For My New Bike - GMC Denali Road Bike
The GMC Denali Road bike is for real: a fabulous well-designed, durable road bike, with high-quality components for an economical mass-produced bicycle. that it was exactly what I hoped regarding and wanted. It performs flawlessly to do.
About me being reviewer: we're not a bike pro or "serious" cyclist or athlete, but alternatively an older cyclist who is a casual rider for about a year. i use a bicycle for commuting transportation and recreation, usually about 100-150 miles per week, well, i took this unique seriously. earlier than purchasing this GMC denali Road bike, I acquired read every review i really could find and most of the expert views which practically uniformly disparage "department store bikes" normally. I even informed myself within the physics and engineering of cycling (with a physics degree as an only qualification for this particular, other when compared with actually riding all of the time).
When you buy this bike, before you take a single pedal stroke adjust the brakes and derailleurs (gear changers) and get the seat and handle-bars height right. Take care to get the front forks installed right and not backwards (I'm not joking). These steps take care of at least 90% of the complaints and almost all of the rational for spending hundreds if not thousands more at a bike shop.
On to specifics. The bike weighs 29 pounds. That's about 10 pounds lighter than a mountain bike and about ten pounds heavier than top-line road bikes. Weight is all important to racers and people who own expensive bikes - they pay thousands of dollars to trim those pounds. How important is it for an entry-level bike? Only in two situations: it's noticeably harder to go uphill, and acceleration is slightly harder. It does not affect your top speed, a physical fact. At the faster amateur speeds (18 mph -22 mph) the only significant factors are: aerodynamic drag and friction. Air drag is dominated by the rider position (and not frame shape, aero wheels etc) while friction with the road is almost entirely controlled by the type of tires, mainly how much air pressure you can put in. So your Denali is respectable in these respects that influence your cruising speed: correct rider geometry, decent road tires and, less importantly, relatively light weight. The top speed is limited by the crank gears (48 teeth) and the cassette gears (14-28 teeth), which are actually mountain bike gears. Pedaling like mad at 90 cranks per minute you'll top out at 24-25 mph so you're not really going to be racing with this bike. One option I'd like to see is a double crankset and smaller cassette gears, but this stock setup is good for just riding in general. Recreational riders will be grateful for the low gears on those big hills.
The frame is relatively thick aluminum with solid welding. It weighs about four pounds. A super-expensive frame weighs a couple of pounds less. The difference is not significant for an entry-level bike in my opinion. For most riders the trade-off for greater strength is a plus in fact. The components (changers etc) are low-end well-known brands, which trades off lower cost for more weight. After several hundred miles, with minor adjustments they all work smoothly and flawlessly. The front forks are steel, which is supposed to absorb vibrations from the road, but unfortunately these are straight blades without the shock-absorbing forward curve of the higher end forks. You'll feel all of the bumps and rough road, and this is my biggest issue with the Denali. It's not a deal-breaker in my opinion but be forewarned.
My bike - GMC Denali Road Bike shipped with 32 mm tires (that's the diameter of the tire itself) rather than the 29 mm as advertised. The smaller tires with higher pressure would be considered a bit faster, but on the other hand the 32mm tires absorb shock a smaller better therefore personally I didn't really mind it. Another factor is which have not experienced the standard report from pinch flats (due to deep V rims and slipping rim tape), so typically the substitution could be a fix of that reported problem.
at last the saddle, shifters and pedals. Personally i have found the stock seat to function as the most at ease I've put into use, but larger riders complain that you'll find it too small and/or really hard. The pedals are narrow but just right for my size 9's. I actually for instance the revolving shifters over the handlebars, unusual for road bikes but largely it's a matter of asking for used to. The brake handles and shifters, certainly no complaints from me.
to put it briefly, for commuting, paved trails, exercise and basic transportation don't worry of this bike. learn do your individual adjustments, buy it right and also the GMC Denali Bike is a very good bike.
About me being reviewer: we're not a bike pro or "serious" cyclist or athlete, but alternatively an older cyclist who is a casual rider for about a year. i use a bicycle for commuting transportation and recreation, usually about 100-150 miles per week, well, i took this unique seriously. earlier than purchasing this GMC denali Road bike, I acquired read every review i really could find and most of the expert views which practically uniformly disparage "department store bikes" normally. I even informed myself within the physics and engineering of cycling (with a physics degree as an only qualification for this particular, other when compared with actually riding all of the time).
When you buy this bike, before you take a single pedal stroke adjust the brakes and derailleurs (gear changers) and get the seat and handle-bars height right. Take care to get the front forks installed right and not backwards (I'm not joking). These steps take care of at least 90% of the complaints and almost all of the rational for spending hundreds if not thousands more at a bike shop.
On to specifics. The bike weighs 29 pounds. That's about 10 pounds lighter than a mountain bike and about ten pounds heavier than top-line road bikes. Weight is all important to racers and people who own expensive bikes - they pay thousands of dollars to trim those pounds. How important is it for an entry-level bike? Only in two situations: it's noticeably harder to go uphill, and acceleration is slightly harder. It does not affect your top speed, a physical fact. At the faster amateur speeds (18 mph -22 mph) the only significant factors are: aerodynamic drag and friction. Air drag is dominated by the rider position (and not frame shape, aero wheels etc) while friction with the road is almost entirely controlled by the type of tires, mainly how much air pressure you can put in. So your Denali is respectable in these respects that influence your cruising speed: correct rider geometry, decent road tires and, less importantly, relatively light weight. The top speed is limited by the crank gears (48 teeth) and the cassette gears (14-28 teeth), which are actually mountain bike gears. Pedaling like mad at 90 cranks per minute you'll top out at 24-25 mph so you're not really going to be racing with this bike. One option I'd like to see is a double crankset and smaller cassette gears, but this stock setup is good for just riding in general. Recreational riders will be grateful for the low gears on those big hills.
The frame is relatively thick aluminum with solid welding. It weighs about four pounds. A super-expensive frame weighs a couple of pounds less. The difference is not significant for an entry-level bike in my opinion. For most riders the trade-off for greater strength is a plus in fact. The components (changers etc) are low-end well-known brands, which trades off lower cost for more weight. After several hundred miles, with minor adjustments they all work smoothly and flawlessly. The front forks are steel, which is supposed to absorb vibrations from the road, but unfortunately these are straight blades without the shock-absorbing forward curve of the higher end forks. You'll feel all of the bumps and rough road, and this is my biggest issue with the Denali. It's not a deal-breaker in my opinion but be forewarned.
My bike - GMC Denali Road Bike shipped with 32 mm tires (that's the diameter of the tire itself) rather than the 29 mm as advertised. The smaller tires with higher pressure would be considered a bit faster, but on the other hand the 32mm tires absorb shock a smaller better therefore personally I didn't really mind it. Another factor is which have not experienced the standard report from pinch flats (due to deep V rims and slipping rim tape), so typically the substitution could be a fix of that reported problem.
at last the saddle, shifters and pedals. Personally i have found the stock seat to function as the most at ease I've put into use, but larger riders complain that you'll find it too small and/or really hard. The pedals are narrow but just right for my size 9's. I actually for instance the revolving shifters over the handlebars, unusual for road bikes but largely it's a matter of asking for used to. The brake handles and shifters, certainly no complaints from me.
to put it briefly, for commuting, paved trails, exercise and basic transportation don't worry of this bike. learn do your individual adjustments, buy it right and also the GMC Denali Bike is a very good bike.
Source...