My new GT Karakoram, 1989?

[JoeG]

I bought a GT Karakoram off of Craigslist today. The zebra like cracked black over white paint was all that it took!

Seller thinks it is an 89, but wasn't certain. I've trawled the archive, but the GT catalogs only go back to 1990. Can anyone provide me with an 89 GT catalog of confirm the year of my bike?

It looks mostly original with Deore components. I'd say that the tires, grips, and saddle have been replaced. The front shifter cover is missing, and the seatpost is rather disfigured. And there is white reflective tape on the bars and a bunch of weird wires for some fancy computer system on the chainstays, too. I never had a U brake before, either...

See below for photo (Thanks)

Flickr starts with an "F" for a good reason!!!

 

[drystonepaul]

Sorted your image for you.

It does indeed look like a pre 1990 Karakoram. Could well be a 1989 but I'm not entirely sure. The Deore MT-60 mechs suggest 1988 though perhaps...?
Good condition and an incredible paint job.

EDIT: I had sorted your image until you edited your post.

 

[drystonepaul]

Another image.

 

[pjr]

cool

 

[Hotwheels.]

That's amazeballs, love it!

 

[JoeG]

Thanks for the nice comments. More photos below.

I got reeeally frustrated last night as Flickr ain't the easiest & most intuitive to use!


DSCN1807 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1804 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1799 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1798 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1822 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1820 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1817 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1808 by Joe____, on Flickr


DSCN1801 by Joe____, on Flickr

 

[Double-E F]

That is lovely, awesome lacquer !

If you stare at it long enough :shock: , it creates an optical illusion: the top tube in one of your pics appears to be a bit wobbly

The frame has quite some similarities to that of a bike I bought recently (a 1990 Image Cycles Innovator Pro-Am), such as the extra bridging bits in the rear triangle, the internal cable routing towards the rear U-brake, and so on.

This makes me wonder whether it was really GT that introduced the triple triangle design at the end of the 1980s, or another frame builder (Keith Rylance?). Does anyone know?

Enjoy that beauty!

 

[jaypee]

That's one of the coolest paintjobs I've seen

Must be pretty rare too, plenty of karakorams about but I've never seen one like that.

 

[cherrybomb]

That's awesome. Looks like a zebra.

My K2 is plain blue :roll:

 

[JoeG]

Without a doubt, the paint is why I bought it. If it would have been just a normal paintjob, it probably wouldn't have caught my eye.

Now I think that its an '88; thanks to drystonepaul for the tip! I've looked around the web, and others are saying that the black over white crackle finish was 1988. I even found someone that posted a catalog page; wish the resolution was higher, though. I have a few threads to read through at mtbr.