GT Cirque - Talk to me

[N/B]

A local indy shop near me has a GT Cirque for sale, in what appears to be great condition.
I'm not sure on how 'original' the components are but the frame and forks look virtually unridden and the whole bike is generally in quite amazing shape. The bars, grips and seat look like recent aftermarket add-ons, probably specced by the shop as they do a brisk trade in well-prepared used bikes.
The frameset is made with Tange Infinity tubing, and the fork has those adjustable (slot) dropouts that allow the rider/mechanic to dial in trail adjustment.
Derailleurs are both Shimano 500CX but the chainset is a 400LX Biopace item I think. Can't recall the shifters.
The bike retains the original Exage rear U-brake and all the necessary hardware, with a nice canti up front.

What I want to know is... in the event that this bike is still rolling on its original 700D rims (I didn't look at them closely, but they looked a bit like Arayas), could this bike be mildly re-worked as a 650B Cyclocross machine with drop bars?
Also, what year is it likely to be from?

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

Sir, ummm...the GT Cirque was first introduced as a GT Hybrid/cross bike in the 1992 model year and it was never made with 700D wheels. Only 700C. The spec you quote is correct from the 1992 model year. 500CX with the 400LX crank set. In 1992 the Tachyon, Continuum and GT's first imported aluminum bike model the Virage all had 700D wheels but the other four cross bike models the Cirque, Vantara, Passage and Arette all had 700C wheels. So it's very questionable whether or not you could ever get the brake pads to line up on the rims. I'd say highly doubtful. Your tire choice width is probably limited to a 700x42 maybe 700x45 on that frame in order to clear the stays. see attachments

 

[N/B]

Wow, thanks for such a quick and detailed response!
The Cirque I saw is the exact same colour as your catalogue image. I had (wrongly) assumed that it might be a 700D bike purely on what little info Google threw back at me.
700c makes it a million times more appealing - straightforward CX tyres around the 700x35 mark should be fine, right?

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

On that ri you could probably run 25-45 in that frame.

 

[N/B]

Thanks again

 

[Chute55uk]

wow looks like the original 29er

 

[concordino]

Re:

Sir, ummm...the GT Cirque was first introduced as a GT Hybrid/cross bike in the 1992 model year and it was never made with 700D wheels. Only 700C. The spec you quote is correct from the 1992 model year. 500CX with the 400LX crank set. In 1992 the Tachyon, Continuum and GT's first imported aluminum bike model the Virage all had 700D wheels but the other four cross bike models the Cirque, Vantara, Passage and Arette all had 700C wheels. So it's very questionable whether or not you could ever get the brake pads to line up on the rims. I'd say highly doubtful. Your tire choice width is probably limited to a 700x42 maybe 700x45 on that frame in order to clear the stays. see attachments

Hoping to revive this thread even if it’s been a while. Would you please repost a better resolution scan of the GT 1992 catalog showing again the Virage and the other hybrid models with the specs chart as well.

Thank you

 

[jfsail]

Came here to post the following info: I was able to mount a 650b tire onto my daughter's GT continuum with the stock 700D rims, and the fit felt perfect, neither TOO tight (still tight) and not loose. The tire I used is a wider Specialized Crossroads 650b, but it fits perfectly in the frame. The bike will be good to go for many more years now... and the wider volume tire still has an efficient treat center but relatively aggressive lugs on the side and sticky rubber and has a good aspect ratio for the rims (not too wide for the rims)