Thanks for all the work, this is a lot of super useful information. I have a frame number of a GT which I can't identify. The bb shows T9211 on the non-driveside and A018 1085 on the driveside. The frame has a 27.2 mm seatpost, the groove tube and the replaceable derailleur hanger that was used from 93 onwards. I guess the frame was made in November 92 and is an early 93 model? Is A018 the colour code? The frame has been oversprayed with black paint but I found red paint below. I am not sure if red was the original colour or if it has been resprayed several times. Unfortunately no decals and no other original parts are with the frame.
I don't think the red was the original colour - you'd be looking for blue and yellow:
The good news for you (assuming my records are correct) is that you have a 1993 Bravado LE. Seatpost size (if correct) also indicates this.
You are correct that the fram was made November 1992. Most the frames at this point were made at the end of the year ready for the next year.
Photos would be great! What are your plans for it? My 1993 Richter 8.0 is my favourite riding bike and is a similar frame with a different mix of tubing. You could start a thread in the Reader's bikes section so we can see your build:
Thanks for the quick replies. Below some pictures of the current build and a picture of the serial number.
I have owned this bike for 10 years. The frame belonged to a friend of mine who passed away because of cancer. He was a big GT fan and owned various different high end models. This was by far the most beaten up frame he had. It was painted black with cheap paint, and the left fender mount was cut off (it wasn't me). I build it up with an old Pace carbon rigid fork with a magnesium crown which had a steerer that was slightly too short. I didn't installed the headset top cap, and I filed down an Easton EA stem with a single bolt clamp. The steerer extended far enough to reach the center of the single bolt. Three years ago I replaced the Pace fork, since I didn't trusted it anymore. I gave it to a friend who kept it as decoration. Luckily I got the Soma fork with sufficient steerer length. This allowed me to install a short stem, which helped me to fit better on the bike. I have a short torso and long legs, so most of my bikes are a bit smaller than this frame.
I got the XTR hub from the same friend, and recently rebuild the rear wheel. Everything else is a wild mix of whatever parts I got with the exception of the XT drivetrain which I bought new for this bike. Luckily Sram Rival 1x chainrings fit the old Shimano BCD, so I can run a solid 1x drivetrain that is perfect for the city. I used to be a bike messenger in Cologne, and Cologne is quiet flat, so I never needed a wide range cassette.
However I mostly ride dropbar bikes (brevets, cyclocross and track), so this bike never got used as much as it should have. For this reason I finally decided to part with this bike and put it onto German classified adds. This is also why I investigated the frame number, as I am currently talking with another GT fan and didn't wanted to sell it labelled as the incorrect model. I always thought it was a 94 Karakoram Elite, so I am glad I found this thread and am finally able to know the correct year, model and colour.
Here is a picture of the GT with the Pace carbon fork. For most of the time I didn't run it with a rear brake. This was also before I installed the narrow wide Rival chainring, I dropped the chain several times with this setup. I tried to use as many leftover parts from different bike messengers as possible.
