Are you not reusing the original front fork? Ironically your inspiration pic has GT style bars. As it happens I am having personal issues at the moment, with regards too how original I should try and make mine, they werent fitted with especially good kit to begin with, but I dont want to fit a bunch of modern stuff to them. Although, even with v brakes and d521s and modern gear stuff on my timberline, its really the nicest xc bike i've ridden.
Older GT Restore/Build Project
- Thread starter monkey700
- Start date
Yojimbo":20fkvct0 said:
I really want to create something that functions well enough to keep up with my buddy on the trails over here in Southern California. But I just like the appeal of the older style frames. So I decided to do a modern version with the older frame to try and achieve this. Initially I was going to buy the red Karakoram pictured above for $220 and remove/replace some components on it(forks, bars, brakes) but the seller backed out and relisted on eBay. That's when I found my current frame. I am keeping all of the original parts and plan on cleaning them up incase I want to put it back to original. I thought that the Deore LX components would be good enough to keep on board though.
What GT's are you building? Do you have pics or a thread I can follow?
Re:
Well, decals came in and I decided it would be easiest to put them on now. I still haven't bee able to track down the Karakoram decal for the top tube if anyone knows were I might find it let me know. Sorry for the low quality pics in advance.
I'm pressing the headset in today, and all the other parts except wheels and tires should be here by Wednesday. I am adding a new cassette for the back, should I or can I even change the front sprockets on the crank arm? Or does that require a new crank?
Well, decals came in and I decided it would be easiest to put them on now. I still haven't bee able to track down the Karakoram decal for the top tube if anyone knows were I might find it let me know. Sorry for the low quality pics in advance.
I'm pressing the headset in today, and all the other parts except wheels and tires should be here by Wednesday. I am adding a new cassette for the back, should I or can I even change the front sprockets on the crank arm? Or does that require a new crank?
monkey700":3rf7ksep said:
A 1994 (i think) green timberline, similar paint job to yours but in green, and a black 96 Borrego, there isnt a thread as yet, i'm still basically collecting bits and tryig to figure out which way i want to go. The timberline ive had quite a while now, used it for commuting and aronud town etc so its got a lot of modern bits on it, but, I got it with some parts on it already, so I think using those parts I will do a sympathetic restoration to somewhat original condition. The borego though was frame and fork only with the original stem. That was off here a while back, I had other plans for it, but those have changed, so I am now mulling on that one. I'm thinking of building it into a kind of updated bike but keeping it in the spirit of what it is. I cant be bothered tracking down perfect examples of the factory components.
Dare
Senior Retro Guru
Hi and welcome to the forums!
1. I would suggest getting some cheap digital camera since even the cheapest camera takes better photos than expensive phone.
2. for the money you are spending on TK30 forks you can get nice bomber with v-brake pins and make it all about v-brakes; it is more appropriate and it will brake the same but will cost and weigh less than that bb7 you are planing to get (even tho BBs are great breaks). Also old bombers look and work much much better than TK forks.
3. most of your money should go to wheels. Get the best wheels (and lightest) since that makes all the difference as you ride the bike. After that get nice tires! Appropriate for the terrain you are planning to ride on.
4. you can get decals from mr. Gil. He resides in UK so I don't know if that is convenient for you and if it makes no difference than go for it. Here is his e-mail:
gil@thecycleshed.co.uk
5. Change your front sprocket (called chainrings) only if necessary. You can do that but you have to tell us which model of cranks you have so we can tell you what BCD your new rings should be.
6. Be on a lookout for used (but nice) parts on this forums trade sections. People here are really nice and honest. They all offer nice items at really low prices and I think you can find some nice parts that will fit your bike better than modern parts and most of them will work just as good if not better than those you chose to use.
1. I would suggest getting some cheap digital camera since even the cheapest camera takes better photos than expensive phone.
2. for the money you are spending on TK30 forks you can get nice bomber with v-brake pins and make it all about v-brakes; it is more appropriate and it will brake the same but will cost and weigh less than that bb7 you are planing to get (even tho BBs are great breaks). Also old bombers look and work much much better than TK forks.
3. most of your money should go to wheels. Get the best wheels (and lightest) since that makes all the difference as you ride the bike. After that get nice tires! Appropriate for the terrain you are planning to ride on.
4. you can get decals from mr. Gil. He resides in UK so I don't know if that is convenient for you and if it makes no difference than go for it. Here is his e-mail:
gil@thecycleshed.co.uk
5. Change your front sprocket (called chainrings) only if necessary. You can do that but you have to tell us which model of cranks you have so we can tell you what BCD your new rings should be.
6. Be on a lookout for used (but nice) parts on this forums trade sections. People here are really nice and honest. They all offer nice items at really low prices and I think you can find some nice parts that will fit your bike better than modern parts and most of them will work just as good if not better than those you chose to use.
Re:
I have a high end SLR camera, just a bit lazy with the pics and didn't want to get it out.
Thanks for all of the advice, I wish i had seen this earlier. Not sure why I missed the forum notification for the new reply. I had already purchased the XC30 forks. They ran $130 from Amazon. I installed them in the frame the other night along with a 10mm spacer for now. Everything is so smooth with the Cane Creek Forty headset! It's like butter!
I was looking at getting the Vuelta XRP Pro wheels. They seem to have good reviews and are around $200 for the pair. Any thoughts on these? I'll also look around in the trade section for some. Thanks for that tip.
I ended up getting a basic crank for now with the intention of upgrading to something nicer in the near future, maybe with an external BB. Or a nice used Hollowtech II. For now I have an SRAM that cost about $50 for the crank.
Thanks for the contact for the decals, I will be emailing him right away about some Karakoram decals! That would be ideal!
I have some pics below of the current progress on the bike:
Dare":2omgsd29 said:
I have a high end SLR camera, just a bit lazy with the pics and didn't want to get it out.
Thanks for all of the advice, I wish i had seen this earlier. Not sure why I missed the forum notification for the new reply. I had already purchased the XC30 forks. They ran $130 from Amazon. I installed them in the frame the other night along with a 10mm spacer for now. Everything is so smooth with the Cane Creek Forty headset! It's like butter!
I was looking at getting the Vuelta XRP Pro wheels. They seem to have good reviews and are around $200 for the pair. Any thoughts on these? I'll also look around in the trade section for some. Thanks for that tip.
I ended up getting a basic crank for now with the intention of upgrading to something nicer in the near future, maybe with an external BB. Or a nice used Hollowtech II. For now I have an SRAM that cost about $50 for the crank.
Thanks for the contact for the decals, I will be emailing him right away about some Karakoram decals! That would be ideal!
I have some pics below of the current progress on the bike:
Dare
Senior Retro Guru
To bad for the forks...ah well you can sell them to a "friend" and get something better.
I have no experience riding Vuelta wheels, I know they made some nice road wheels.
I would suggest to look for mavic crossryde with braking surface. If you are under 100kg and have enough money I would suggest mavic crossmax or look into Novatec hubs (for example SB 811 & SB 812) in combination with mavic 717 rims.
I have no experience riding Vuelta wheels, I know they made some nice road wheels.
I would suggest to look for mavic crossryde with braking surface. If you are under 100kg and have enough money I would suggest mavic crossmax or look into Novatec hubs (for example SB 811 & SB 812) in combination with mavic 717 rims.
Re: Re:
Both of my Karakorams have 2.3 Forte tires from Performance Bike. They fit, just barely, dare I say with the occasional rub when the rims aren't true. Also, I refurbed a similar frame/year and found that even an 80mm fork is going to negatively impact the handling. (when compared to the original rigid fork) Dont get me wrong, its not BAD handling, just not as sharp.
monkey700":c6qwfa2x said:
Both of my Karakorams have 2.3 Forte tires from Performance Bike. They fit, just barely, dare I say with the occasional rub when the rims aren't true. Also, I refurbed a similar frame/year and found that even an 80mm fork is going to negatively impact the handling. (when compared to the original rigid fork) Dont get me wrong, its not BAD handling, just not as sharp.
