'91 Zaskar FINISHED

[guysbikes]

I took delivery of this yesterday from Kaya (top man thanks) so it's time for a new thread.

I've stripped the decals & have started polishing. I'm going to spend a fair bit of time at this stage - it's just got the usual scrapes but nothing serious so I'll get a good shine & not worry about a few signs of weathering.

This is pretty much my unicorn having had a '91 Karakoram & desperately wanted the Zaskar but it was totally out of my league at the time.

The decals will be a bit of a mission to replace - I'm working to the original '91 brochure which shows differing stickers to those that Gil has on file so I'll get creative to somehow create them - they're all black (other than the fork) rather than the white that seemed to make it into general production. But the brochure's what I pored over for hours all those years ago, so that's how it's got to look.

I'm going to take the opportunity to weigh each part as I add it to the frame - more out of interest than obsessive gram-cutting.

The build will look something like this (I imagine, although as always I'm expecting some changes as I go along...):

frame: '91 Zaskar 16" 03910115 (weighed at 2084g inc brake bosses & bb cable guide)
fork: GT 3D
stem: GT flip flop
'bar: I have a silver Yeti Easton but I'll look for a period black (maybe Syncros)
grips: GT AME
seatpost: Syncros
brakes: XT U (364g) + 732 front with 733 levers
gears: XT thumbies, 735 mechs (short cage rear cos I like them)
hubs: 735 (392g+140g without skewers)
pedals: 737 spd
headset: maybe a black King 2Nut dolce vita
saddle: not sure - maybe flite
cranks / bb: not sure - maybe Syncros or Cook Bros
...and various other bits

So now the fun begins. I'm going to take my time & enjoy this but look forward to getting out on the hills on it before too long.

 

[guysbikes]

Destickered

T-Cut at the ready...

 

[merckx]

sound like a great build! understand your thoughts on the catalogue decals. they do look a lil strange though in all black...the white and black really looks good i think. helps give a little visual lift. ie:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GDSSAXHaASI/S ... 150002.JPG

 

[guysbikes]

sound like a great build! understand your thoughts on the catalogue decals. they do look a lil strange though in all black...the white and black really looks good i think. helps give a little visual lift. ie:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GDSSAXHaASI/S ... 150002.JPG

Thanks. It's funny how what you're used to just looks right, as I agree with you about the white, but it's just not what my head thinks it should look like!

 

[feetabix]

your tool board has made me do a bit of wee in excitement!........nice bike by the way.....

 

[coomber]

This is going to be good

 

[guysbikes]

This one's for you feetabix

 

[guysbikes]

A couple of updates;

So far I have:

XT U-brake (NOS)
737 SPDs (NOS)
732 & 730 hubs (NOS)
GT / AME grips
XT thumbies (NOS) (need some replacement clamps as I stole them for a previous project)
M231 silver rims
DT Swiss Rev spokes & alloy nipples
Yeti Easton EA70 'bar (silver - hoping to replace with similar black bar)
Bullseye jockey wheels (NOS)
Shimano SG 46 & Pace 36 & 25t chainrings
HG-50 (E) 12-28 cassette

On the way:
GT flip-flop stem 135mm black (NOS)
GT 3D fork yellow & bent dropout - will need some "coaching" back into place & then powdercoating black
2 sets of decals from Gil - 91 & 92 from which I'll make 1 set as per the catalogue pics
Ritchey Megabite Z-Max 2.1 grey, amberwall (NOS)
M737 rear mech
Syncros cranks cold-forged aluminium 174mm
Syncros crank-o-matic ti crank bolts
Syncros bottom bracket
XT brake cables (NOS)
Chris King 2Nut Sotto Voce headset with titanium baseplate

Looking at (hoping to buy on the bay):
Ringle q/r black (hubs & seat)
M733 brake levers
M734 cantis (NOS)

Still needed:
gear cables
XT front mech ( I have a DX in the meantime)
Black handlebar (to replace the silver Yeti)
saddle

The polishing's going well - just playing with how far to go...

 

[Nostromos]

The polishing's going well - just playing with how far to go...

I am curious as to when you say how far to go are you referring to. I ask because I just started some basic work refurbing my old Pantera and have made a lot of progress polishing but there are some deep gouges and scrapes that I imagine would need some serious sanding to get out.

Not to hijack your thread entirely but is that the best way to proceed with these imperfections? I have gotten my bike 90% of the way using some 00 steel wool and 1200 sand paper.

Thanks!

p.s. your bike looks great so far.

 

[guysbikes]

Thanks

I think the answer to how far I'm going to go is "not too far". I think there'll be far more buffing than anything else going on. I don't want to file the metal down to remove any gouges (particularly around the chainstay) simply due to the amount of additional, and I think unnecessary, material that would resultantly be removed. That said, the following link gives some good tips on generally polishing aluminium;


http://www.finishing.com/109/17.shtml