which GT frame is this and which year?

[Wold Ranger]

Zaskar

Had a dig into my past and I remember that the Zaskars being built from Easton tubing in the US and had an "E" etched/engraved into the top tube. Somewhere they changed from 6000 alloy to 7005, when it became available as the 6000 series cracked a lot on the top tube around the seat tube insert.

 

[orange71]

so could it be a later Zaskar non-USA 7005?

 

[LTS Biker]

Zaskars were in the USA time made from 6061T6 aluminium. The laters versions had different tubes.
The Avalanche (and maybe some others) ware made of 7000 aluminium
All zaskars had flat rear tube-ends. In the frame was stamped 6061 aswell as frame number.
The 7005 series had... 7005 in the dropout.
So I think it is a Avalanche, they look mostly like a Zaskar.

And the later non-USA Zaskar frames look different. The rear drop out, discbrake mounts, seatpost clamp. And the downtube is smaller.

 

[cce]

so could it be a later Zaskar non-USA 7005?

it has the cable routing for a canti, so i'd doubt it.

 

[Wold Ranger]

Zaskar

It looks like it has the early, short top tube geometry, which suggests pre 96, as well as the Canti stops. The 7005 stamp on the drop out, may only indicate the drop outs are 7005 as these would need to be harder, 6000 series aluminium back then being light but soft.

 

[orange71]

Over on MTBR they think it may be a 96 Avalanche... :cry:

 

[cce]

http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/Bikekataloge/PDF/GT/1996.pdf

definitely has an avalanche LE with that colour/decal scheme. there's a zaskar in the same scheme too, but it's 6061

the avalanche isnt too shabby - it came with XT kit. i guess it depends what you paid for it.

 

[alpinestar222]

I'd think weighing it would be the answer, I had one and the frame was sub 4lbs as opposed to nearer the 5lb mark for the 7005 frames at the time.
Never seen one with a rounded top tube end cap either.
6061 and being US made was the big deal If I remember right.
You don't see many of the coloured ones knocking about these days, where have they all gone :?

 

[Wold Ranger]

Gone bust

Most of them will have broken at the top tube piercing, 6061 has a very low fatigue life and as the triple triangle design effectively left the top tube/seat tube interface not particularly well braced, especially where you had a lot of seat tube out! (fine for the original crmo steel frames!) They cracked just in front of the piercing. GT alloy was never very good and breakage has always been an issue. I saw lots of the Carbon/Alloy Lobo frames break but across the alu' lugs not the square carbon tubes.

 

[Russell]

Re: Gone bust

Most of them will have broken at the top tube piercing, 6061 has a very low fatigue life and as the triple triangle design effectively left the top tube/seat tube interface not particularly well braced, especially where you had a lot of seat tube out! (fine for the original crmo steel frames!) They cracked just in front of the piercing. GT alloy was never very good and breakage has always been an issue. I saw lots of the Carbon/Alloy Lobo frames break but across the alu' lugs not the square carbon tubes.

Most of them? I think that you're making a sweeping generalisation based on a couple of broken frames that you saw. The Zaskar has a reputation for being one of the most bombproof frames you can get (could get) I'm not sure that it would have gained that rep if 'most' of them had fallen to bits by now.

Also, in a previous post, you said that the 6061 models were made with Easton tubing, which has a pretty good reputation.