Hi, just joined up, have an old mountain bike

[Mr Rippington]

Hi, everyone, thanks for all the comments.

Here is my issue with taking the shifters apart.

a .. don't know how
b .. afraid won't be able to put back together
c .. might strip or destroy delicate screws or threads

I figure a degreaser, I used WD - 40, combined with an oil, I used 3 in 1 will clean and lube. If dirt gets in over say 6 months or so, can repeat the proces over and over. My wife has a Specialized Stumpjumper circa 1999, and I tried to fix those Shimano LX shifters after the front derailer for some reason would only work on the 2 lower sprockets, wouldn't shift up to the top ring - I tried unscrewing the allen bolt on the Shimano LX paddle shifter it just turned in a binded way and wouldn't unscrew, also couldn't screw it back together tight either, it's a little loose but still functions as before - bottom 2 gears it shifts OK, but not top ring.

I'm glad to get the GT Zaskar running again, the bike was very thrilling for me when I first got it, used to carry it up and down 5 flights of stairs in NYC to ride it almost everyday. LOL, I remember once when I first had it was in Central Park and stopped for a pretty girl to cross the road, but couldn't get my shoes to unclip from the pedals and fell over, still had to struggle for several minutes to get the shoes to unclip even lying there on the pavement, pretty amusing in hindsite. Cut my knee up pretty good, and the girl came running over, are you OK? etc.

 

[IDB1]

Another Zaskar fan here.. one of the bikes on my wishlist

The 'bike looks lovely mate, hope you enjoy riding it again

The frame has a little sticker on the bottom of it, "Built by Anthony".

Love it!!..

 

[Agency_Scum]

That is a work of art Mr. R. The best GT with the best looking ( and best working ) drivetrain and nearly all original. What a minter!

 

[jimihendrix]

I've always liked the look of the tripple triangle on GT frames, but is there any real world benefit to the design, or is it purely cosmetic?

In addition to the cable routing problem mentioned above, I couldn't fit my friends on my car boot cycle rack, the rear stays made the top tube too short to fit over the horizontal parts of the rack and surely it must be slightly heavier than having 100mm shorter stays joinging the seat tube. That's quite a few negatives if it is purely cosmetic. :?:

Funny, we had this discussion at the last MacRetro meet, GT would probably claim that it makes the stays shorter to aid climbing/traction etc, we decided that the design is purely cosmetic, i have the same boot rack problem, end up with one pole of the rack under the seat stays between the tyre and the seattube instead of under the top tube, this puts the bike at a 45 degree angle on the rack, not a problem though as i only ever have one bike on the rack at a time, i find multiple bikes on racks always results in damage of some kind.
Had plenty of people flash and shout "Hoy, mate, you're bike's falling off"

 

[D_XZ]

I've always liked the look of the tripple triangle on GT frames, but is there any real world benefit to the design, or is it purely cosmetic?

It was supposed to stiffen the rear triangle by shortening the length of stays between supports. An idea born out of the days when flexy steel was a design issue - remember 'brake booster' plates which joined the canti mounts together to stop the stays flexing apart under braking?

Don't know if it really made a difference but now its just cosmetic as modern frame materials are plenty stiff. I personally like it although it can look a bit wierd in 20" plus models.

 

[FMJ]

I've always liked the look of the tripple triangle on GT frames, but is there any real world benefit to the design, or is it purely cosmetic?

It was supposed to stiffen the rear triangle by shortening the length of stays between supports. An idea born out of the days when flexy steel was a design issue - remember 'brake booster' plates which joined the canti mounts together to stop the stays flexing apart under braking?

Don't know if it really made a difference but now its just cosmetic as modern frame materials are plenty stiff.

Apply the brakes on an old lightweight frame and you can visibly see the stays flexing. Boosters also helped keep the brake bosses from twisting outwards as well, helping with pad squeal. The worsts frame I've seen for it was my old Rocky Mountan Edge. Even with a TWP brace, they still flexed. My solution was a custom 7075 booster. Worked great.

Oh, and anyone who's ever had a go at a manual Bridgeport mill, the booster was cut out of billet entirely freehand.