While we definitely love a top of the range, proper spendy full suspension mountain bike here at off-road.cc but there's just something that makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside when it comes to sub £1,000 bikes. The very same goes with GT's Aggressor Expert that's graced with price conscious kit and an accessible geometry.

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GT says that the Aggressor Expert is the brand's most off-road friendly bike for the more recreational rider. Although, we reckon that it'll be a great stepping stone into more serious off-road riding for those who are looking for something a little spicier than just their local canal path.

The brand has managed to pack some cool tech features into this bike which is impressive to see as it's priced at just £550. That tech, comes in the form of the floating seat stays that are welded onto the top tube, rather than the seat tube as usual. This has been done in an effort to introduce some compliance into the frame for comfort. Also found on the frame are two spots for water bottles and rather neat external cable routing that runs along the underside of the downtube.

The Aggressor is built around an 6061-T6 aluminium frame and gets a choice of either 29" for 650b hoops. On test, we've got the former wheel size with a large frame. It gets a 440mm reach, a 68.5° head tube angle, a 73.5° seat tube angle, and a 445mm chainstay. While those numbers aren't anything crazy by today's modern mountain bike standards, they definitely lend themselves towards a more leisurely bike that looks capable of handling life over dirt. 

Onto the spec and the Aggressor Expert rocks an SR Suntour XCM-DS coil fork with 80mm of travel. Then, there's a 3x Tourney drivetrain from Shimano with an Acera cassette. Braking is provided by a pair of Tektro M275 Hydro Disc brakes with a 160mm rotor at each end of the bike. The Aggressor finally rolls on WTB SX19 rims laced to unnamed hubs, but what's especially cool here is the WTB Ranger Comp tyres, that have been praised for their low rolling resistance and grip on loamy surfaces in our review.

With its 3x drivetrain, we're looking forward to getting back to our humble mountain biking beginnings which you can find out about in a full review of the GT Aggressor Expert coming to off-road.cc very soon.

• www.gtbicycles.com

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