Dating a GT Avalanche

[severnthheathen]

Any GT experts around? Just picked up an Avalanche frame?? no sticker. Ball burnished. Black "GT all terra" decal on seat tube. 6061-T6 tubing decal. V-brake bosses, no disc mounts. Welded plate instead of a bridge between seat stays. Curved plate at end of top tube. All expert guesses gratefully recieived. My guess for starters would be 1995.

 

[Mr Crudley]

Re:

Probably wouldn't be too far away from being at 95-ish model.
Any photos?

It won't be a Pantera as they were 7075 tubing from memory, but you probably knew that one already

 

[severnthheathen]

Thanks. I'm collecting it on Sunday. I'll try to post some photos later.

 

[severnthheathen]

Here's a link to a photo on Flickr... hope it works. I found a burnished Avalanche in the 1994 GT catalogue - and one in the 1995 catalogue but that had 7005 tubes, mine has 6061-T6. I hope the photo helps.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelely/16379997931/

 

[T'boo Ted]

er...side on pic woudl be better?
Can you find the serial number?

 

[severnthheathen]

Sorry, hope this side view helps. The frame no. is AS7090364. Seat tube is 18.5" (bb to very top of seat tube). Top tube is 21.5". Head tube is 110mm.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelely/16207039470/

 

[T'boo Ted]

I'd say 97. Going by the serial number (guessing the first digit is for 97) and the catalogues, the 97 looks the most likely...may be wrong though.

 

[severnthheathen]

Thanks very much buddy. The '97 German catalogue has the ball burnished Avalanches as "7000er" tubing which I assume is the 7005 aluminium. Mine has a decal on the seat tube (down towards the btm bracket) indicating 6061-T6 tubing. The '97 Zaskars had this tubing but the curved end plate at the back of the top tube on mine sort of rules Zaskars.

There's an Avalanche LE in the '98 catalogue with a 6061-T6 ball burnished frame. And that seems to tick the boxes except for the frame no. theory. However, I suppose it could be possible for the frame to have been stamped in 1997 and built as an Avalanche LE for marketing in the '98 catalogue - in fact the '98 catalogue might even have been published in 1997.

 

[T'boo Ted]

Well I would have said 98, only I think they have the integrated post clap (unless its the same colour in the catalogue)... could be sep-97 (AS709...) and that would be early release for 98 and therefore didn't get the seat clamp on the frame...

 

[severnthheathen]

Well spotted. I didn't notice the integrated seat clamp in the catalogue photo. I have a couple of 2000 frames from Ava 0.0s and they have the integrated clamp and disc mounts - the tubing is 7000 series and takes a 27.2 mm seat post. The frame in question is 6061 tubing (if the sticker's right) and a 27.2 mm seat post is too narrow - I suspect 27.4 mm will fit but not tried one yet. It also comes from the V-brake era as there is no canti brake hanger thingy on the seat tube.

Could the 27.4 mm seat post be a determinant for age and/or tubing? Perhaps I might have to settle for "an Avalanche from the back end of the 1990s" I'm not going to have any decals on it, other than the discreet ones on the seat tube and I'll run it as a shiny retro GT Ava from the last millennium. Unless there are any Zaskars knocking about with curved end plates