'91 Zaskar FINISHED

[Coleman]

silver 231's sound great....will suit the frame too!....

+1 silver m231s are btter than the CDs IMO - they are going to look great on this.

Really looking forward to the finished bike

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

silver 231's sound great....will suit the frame too!....

Thank you

Any other views?

CV-7's are a mid level rim that were spec'd on Tequesta's, Karakoram's and even Timberline's one year. They are single wall and are heavier. Although the 91 Zaskar was not sold as a complete bike a period correct rim from that time would be a Ritchey Vantage Comp (which GT spec'd on the Team Avalanche and Avalanche in 1991) or perhaps an Araya RM-17.

 

[guysbikes]

... Ritchey Vantage Comp (which GT spec'd on the Team Avalanche and Avalanche in 1991) or perhaps an Araya RM-17.

Thanks GM - you are of course correct - I have both M231s & CV-7s (the former from my Explosif & the latter from my Karakoram), and although rare, 231CDs become available more often than either of the two strictly period options so I may have to compromise here...

 

[guysbikes]

Gutted! Velo-Tech just emailed to say the headset I'd ordered from them (the last one in their stock according to their webpage) isn't in stock after all & CK say 6-8 weeks before more will arrive.

& this was the one bit that was going to be easy!

So I think I'll go with a less sexy but more original Tioga sealed job from the Kara instead for the time-being...

 

[guysbikes]

Look what came in the post this morning...

A beautiful Syncros crankset with matching bolts & b/b
New SPDs
New grey Megabites

 

[Mr Duke]

This looks ACE, I've got mine ready for a rebuild this summer. Cant wait to see it!

 

[guysbikes]

This looks ACE, I've got mine ready for a rebuild this summer. Cant wait to see it!

Thanks

The brake cables & two flip-flop stems (135mm NOS & 105mm used - thanks Coomber) came today - I'll leave the NOS in its factory black paint & get the used one powdercoated with the forks whenever they turn up.

I've ordered a couple of replacement bearings for the syncros BB & serviced a third (it's a double row BB) and ordered black Stronglight outer & middle rings (46t & 36t), and a black BBB 26t inner - the syncros cranks are cd so the rings I'd earmarked for this project are no good. I'm happier to end up with black rings though.

I've got a black Kona 165 'bar coming from Ratbane which I think I'll put on my Kara in exchange for its original GT one, and there's a NOS GT headset lockring coming from eBay ready for fitting once I've definitely decided on a headset

The frame's looking okay but I'm thinking about sending it up to a metal polishers in Birmingham's jewellry quarter for some serious tlc. Not sure yet but the possibility of having it finished professionally is becoming increasingly appealing.

Finally I'm still toying with a rim selection & once that's decided I'll try a few sets of tyres until I'm happy. I've got various NOS Ritcheys in amberwall, blackwall, & a pair of amberwall grey treads that I bought for this, but I'll see what looks best in the end.

Interesting decisions to make over the weekend

 

[guysbikes]

Saturday morning update

This is really coming along now

The bottom bracket's ready to fit, I had an old red H20 bottle cage that I've "blackened", the Stronglights have arrived, along with the rear mech & brake levers, a Syncros seatpost, Ritchey Racing K amberwalls & two sets of decals from Gil.

Still waiting for the fork to clear customs & the inner chainring to finally turn up

In the meantime I've been busy & now have on the way;

NOS Tioga headset
Black Ringle wheel q/r's (missed out on a seat q/r when it went over £70)
Ritchey Vantage Expert rims (not Comp but for £12.50 I'm delighted with that purchase)
NOS Flite Evo carbon saddle (which makes me the most excited man I know)
various titanium bolts

& potentially a GT duraluminium bar & a front mech from RB'ers

Assuming those last two come off then that's all of the kit I need (exceptions - gear cables & chain)

I have decided on a wheel set-up;

Ritchey Racing K Force WCS amberwall
Ritchey Vantage Expert rims dark ano
NOS 735 hubs
Ringle q/r's
DT Swiss bits

I'm happy with that as a quality period arrangement without it breaking the bank

And finally (and most importantly) the frame goes off to the Jewellery Quarter on Monday for some professional hand polishing. I don't have the patience for doing it thoroughly but having spent a few hours on it, the potential is so obvious that I'm curious to see just how good it will get. I'll take some before pics for comparison.

 

[Dossa]

Wow, your attention to detail and desire to get it 'just right' is superb

If it'll be anything like your other builds, we're in for a treat! Oh, and your Clockwork is one of my favourite bikes on here as well

 

[merckx]

its going to look very very nice when you build it! those parts are really nice. sounds like it might come back seriously shiny!

they do patina off though you know..