1996 GT Zaskar LE 13 year old boy’s dream

[Dan_Trials]

Fork decision time…. It was always going to be Rockshox SIDs, I know the LE came with Judy’s but I would have “upgraded” these to SIDs. This is my version of what the bike would have ended up like if I had bought it in ‘96 and then treated it to all the nice bits that came along later. I know it’s not period correct, but it is “My Bike” correct.

Anyway, the forks… I have two to choose from, one set is in need of restoration but crucially has an unmolested steerer tube, the other set is in much better condition but there’s something funky going on with the steerer:






As per the seat post, I will be using Easton bars and stem. I suppose I probably would have gone for an early Hope XC stem, but this would have been more of a Hope fan boy move more than anything else. I remember the Easton adverts in the bike magazines being quite to the point yet provocative, and I always remember thinking ever since whenever I saw a full build with Easton stem and bars that they mean serous business.




Here it is with the worse condition SIDs fitted. Stem height isn’t final, I’ll need to get some miles on it first to figure out where I want it.




As fantastic as it is to see this dream build finally coming together, I really do feel that the condition of these forks is letting it down, and it will be even more so with the new decals on the frame.

I know I could just swap the lowers over from the other set, but I’m kind of reluctant to strip two forks to make one good set and end up with one worthless set. I think I’ll get the rest of the bike built up first and see what I think, but I can see me coming back to these forks yet.

 

[malt]

If the unmolested steerer is the correct length, just swap the lower legs over.

Good call on the SID though, back in 97 the first thing I did with my Zaskar LE was to swap out the Judy for SID

 

[petitpal]

I'm just dropping a note to remind myself to follow this. I was lucky enough to manage to scrape together enough cash to buy a bare Zaskar LE frame in 96 (16" because I'm very short!). Still have it, still love it. Good luck with the build (loving it so far) and even better luck when you get to ride it!

 

[Dan_Trials]

If the unmolested steerer is the correct length, just swap the lower legs over.

Good call on the SID though, back in 97 the first thing I did with my Zaskar LE was to swap out the Judy for SID

I'm kind of reluctant to end up with one set of forks that require a CSU, lower leg repaint and decals, and therefore seals + bushes etc. Although ultimately that is what will end up happening, I'd just rather have all the bits first before opening them up.

I'm going to have a tinker with the better condition but funny steerer ones at some point this week and see what I can come up with.

Looking ahead, I'm probably not going to get it finished this year anyway, so I can bide my time for a replacement CSU or something.

 

[Dan_Trials]

I'm just dropping a note to remind myself to follow this. I was lucky enough to manage to scrape together enough cash to buy a bare Zaskar LE frame in 96 (16" because I'm very short!). Still have it, still love it. Good luck with the build (loving it so far) and even better luck when you get to ride it!

Nice! I will go and have a look at your thread.

 

[Dan_Trials]

I finally got five minutes to have a look at the better condition forks, and having stripped all the gubbings out of the steerer tube and a good inspection of everything, I am happy with how it works at that it will be safe to use. It is basically a quill style stem with a hefty bolt clamping it together, the top portion of which is drilled and tapped for the stem cap bolt.




In all the excitement I didn’t get any pictures of the bits and pieces, but here it is assembled on the frame:



I cut the steerer down to the same as the other set, at least that way I have a setup to revert back to if required. It looks so much better with just simply having good condition paint! Although this set doesn’t have the stanchion boots, which I’m sure caused more problems than they solved, but they are one of those things from back in the day that sticks out in the memories.

Now that the forks dilemma is solved, I can allow myself to move onto other areas now.

 

[Dan_Trials]

As XTR M95X is the theme, given this is what I would have ultimately changed everything to, I can begin to bolt some bits on. I need to resist the temptation to fit any parts that would restrict fitting the new decals.

There will however be one non-XTR item, the Bottom Bracket. The prices of M95X Octalink V1 BBs is rather crazy, so I looked at other options. In the end I settled on a 105 model, more so due to availability in a suitable size. It is a 68mm shell width, but the non-drive side cup is recessed quite deep, so it still supports the cartridge. I did consider machining a spacer to fit inside the cup to preload the bearing, but I’m not sure that lateral loading required, it’s more up and down support that’s needed.



Next up I installed the rear mech, after a good strip down and clean. M952 I think, I will need to check. The inside of the cages has some wear, more so on the paint that anything else. Bearings, linkages, etc all lovely and smooth:



And the rear V-brake, M951:




Unfortunately there is a terminal failure with one of the front V-brake arms, but more on this next time…..

 

[Dan_Trials]

There is a bit of a lesson to learn here: always very throughly check parts you buy, don’t leave them for so long that by the time you spot a problem it’s too late to do anything about it. Such as this V-brake arm:



I did look for a replacement, but for various reasons I couldn’t justify the cost for such a small part, and then trying to sell on an incomplete set of brakes etc (although this was before I realised I didn’t have any brake levers and the gear levers require attention, but more on that later).

To me, the answer was simple: make my own part. With some gentle leverage the broken part could be removed and then copied.






It is a shade or two darker for a decent colour match, but given how small it is and kind of out of the way and semi covered by other bits, I think it will be okay.

 

[malt]

That’s a great fix!

 

[Dan_Trials]

The parts are coming in thick and fast now!

New frame decals:



I stuck the left over 7005 decal on the bike bus so as to cause suitable confusion


Front mech and chain set:




Wheels:






Tyre(s) I do have a Dart for the front, but didn’t get a picture:



Pedals, I do have some M959 SPDs, but I have never ever used SPDs in my life, so I’ll use these trusty Wellgo’s to bake sure the bike is working okay etc and then begin the journey of learning to use SPDs