For $850, You Can Buy The Volkswagen GTI Of Bikes

Volkswagen is quite obviously a powerhouse in the automotive industry. However, keen readers will know that the German automaker also dabbles in building bicycles. Its most recent creation is a GTI branded hardtail mountain bike.

Coming in at $850 and tipping the scales at 33 pounds (15.1 kilograms), the two-wheeled GTI bicycle looks like quite a good deal. Sure, it lacks quite a few of the GTI staples like plaid seats, red brake calipers, or even a golf-ball-shaped shifter, but there’s still quite a lot to get excited about. Unlike many other bikes in this price range – which use cable-operated disk brakes – the Volkswagen special uses hydraulic disk brakes.

Gallery: Volkswagen GTI Mountain Bike

While the bike doesn’t feature the same red brake calipers as the car, it does have ruby red 29-inch wheels. The hoops are wrapped in a set of WTB Ranger tires, which are tubeless compatible, to lower the risk of getting a flat on the trail. However, we’d wager that the wheels and tires aren’t set up tubeless from the factory.

Shifting is accomplished through a 27-speed Shimano groupset. We were surprised not to see a single chainring up front – a trend that is quickly becoming an industry standard – but we’d wager that it would have been too expensive.

I Like To Ride My Bicycle:

The aluminum frame only allows for a suspension fork up front, but it looks to be perfectly adequate for anyone wanting to start mountain biking. The front shock offers 120 millimeters of travel and a lockout feature that temporarily stops the suspension from compressing.

While it’s hard to be certain if this is a bespoke Volkswagen frameset, the GTI bike would be an incredible gift for any young petrolhead who aspires to own a GTI later on in life. It looks like the German automaker will soon be accepting orders through its online stores.

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