1996 GT Zaskar 19" (Red Anodized)

[maroon113]

"The Tiger" -

1996 GT Zaskar 19": Saw this beast for sale online about 5 years ago. It was a little run down. Manitou Spyder fork, no decals, Alivio shifters, Deore rear derailleur, cheap Alex wheels. But the frame had caught me. It looked Mean and spirited. In the sale photo, it was inside a small storage room. It seemed confined and dangerous. It snarled through the computer screen. I made a move that same day. Met the guy and the frame was in good condition. It rode decent enough to tackle trails. Best $350 I have spent.

Cleaned it up. Got it tuned. Then over the years put a Marzocchi Z2 Bomber on it, Mavic m231 wheels/Shimano XTR m900 hubs, new seat/seatpost, new tires, decals, used but good XT shifters for cheap on Ebay, etc.

Anyway, this bike has been all that I believed it would be. Fast, agile, durable. The acceleration borderline maniacal . Only use it on the trail now. The red just catches the eyes of thieves. They have tried to wrestle it from its post at the supermarket. Someone tried to cut the u-lock at the library. Lucky I didn't see them though...because I would risk broken bones for it. Honestly I see another 10 years out of this frame. It has been put through many rough rides and doesn't seem to show any weaknesses yet. "The Tiger" IMHO catches the forces of balance between: simplicity, power, and lightweight. Love this bike.


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[coomber]

The Z2s look great, did the same on my ano red zaskar.

Nice to see it is being used!

I would prefer a better chainset to be honest and the rear mech is a dx (?) looks a little old for the frame, but otherwise looks spot on.

 

[maroon113]

Thank you. Yeah that was the derailleur on the bike when I found it. Definitely needs to be changed. It is beat up. Just says "Deore" on it. It may even be a 7-speed derailleur :facepalm:. You are correct as well on the crankset. Alivio cranks they are pretty blunt and giving problems. Both of those components are giving some shifting issues. They need to be changed asap.

But yes, the Marzocchi Z2's are excellent. A great combination to keep the geometry of the Zaskar. It is amazing how well they work considering age. Very smooth yet fast/stiff. Didn't expect the colors to match to my liking so much either. It was tricky to find a replacement fork. One that maintained the original low, prowling stance of the Zaskar. Rockshox Judys, early Sids, RST Mozos...? Tried an 80mm Z2 Bomber and it felt too tall and awkward so I sold it. The 63mm Marzocchi Z2 was like mountain bike nirvana. What a difference from the Manitou Spyder. It may have been abused or neglected but: it was flexy, leaked oil, then became a stiff metal bar.

 

[coomber]

Z2s are streets ahead of any other early fork. Just like you describe.. Stiff, solid, smooth. Easy to maintain too.

Deore/dx is 7 speed rear mech. Id go for a M738 xt rear mech. If your patient should get one for £15-20. And something similar on the chainset.

They do accelerate really well

 

[Twonks]

Looks very nice. I have just bought the same frame with the intention of making it a tarmac terrior.

However first I have to remove a nice coating of black hammerite it has been given (previous owner used it to commute in London and wanted to keep it looking tatty - that worked ! )

I'm in two minds whether to build mine as a rigid road based bike or a 'proper' mtb now after looking at the above.

Trouble is I already have two main mtbs - decisions decisions.

 

[maroon113]

Looks very nice. I have just bought the same frame with the intention of making it a tarmac terrior.

However first I have to remove a nice coating of black hammerite it has been given (previous owner used it to commute in London and wanted to keep it looking tatty - that worked ! )

I'm in two minds whether to build mine as a rigid road based bike or a 'proper' mtb now after looking at the above.

Trouble is I already have two main mtbs - decisions decisions.

That is awesome. IMHO they look mean in Black. Like a panther in the grass, or a stealth bomber flying low. Here are some pics from a guy who was selling one in my area. No decals, black, very Stealth.

Yes, the idea of a street GT Zaskar has entered my imagination before. Silver, black, or red with a rigid, black steel GT-Bologna Lite fork. Boom! On some high-volume, fast tires to mitigate the harshness. WTB Nanoraptors or Kenda Small Block 8's. That would be a bad-ass setup. My initial frustration with this frame was its inherent, harsh nature. Yet after the discovery of high-volume, low-psi tires it was a revelation. The first tires on it were some Panaracer Smoke Lite 1.9's. Didn't know much about psi-stuff back then and ran them at 45 psi on trails. (Shudders). Used to destroy my body after a couple hours. My back, neck, arms. Almost considered selling it because of that issue. Since then, the Kenda Excavator 2.1 up front (30 psi) and the Fast Trak 2.2 in the rear (32 psi) have done wonders to almost eliminate the issue.