Zaskars and Xizangs

[legrandefromage]

Some of you are over thinking it!

My own Zaskar was M735 and an 'LE' decaled frame from new - there was nothing special about it

Shops sold what they sold - one persons bargain 'last years' model may have been anothers' load of old tat

There was plenty of oddballs on this site that have slipped in over the years, prototypes for one and extremely early examples too.

Suntour XC was an option but I have only seen one or two in good condition

 

[Archangel]

Yeah, interestingly GT offered XC Pro MD for Zaskar at least in 1993 but I reckon quite many went with Shimano anyways.

Regarding that '89 steel Xizang, I think the issue was that Browning could deliver the parts so those bikes couldn't be put together with intended components.

 

[Gtpulse]

According to the 1996 retailers guide I’ve got the following was available

Zaskar LE Tech Shop - frame only so could have been built up with anything
Xizang Tech Shop - frame only as above
Zaskar LE off the peg bike - full XTR
Zaskar off the peg bike - full XT

Even in GT’s own sales guide there are discrepancies between LE/XT/XTR on the list and in the description. I would hazard a guess that while it may be in the catalogue it isn’t necessarily what reached the point of sale. What then happened to bikes at individual dealers in terms of spec is anyone’s guess! Clear as mud innit.

Anyway some quick shots from the sales guide.

 

[mtbdave]

I was lead too believe the Zaskar and the Le were the same USA made frame difference was the parts fitted when bought as a complete bike from GT

 

[d8mok]

Not sure if it helps but I’ve got a late 96 date stamped Frost red Zaskar (97MY) which is NOS and it’s XT/Judy XC/ Hadley/217 /Kore. It’s exactly the same as the brochure.

I owned a 98 LE back in 98 and that was a frame which I built to the spec I wanted. 98 was the first time the frames differed between a normal and a LE.

 

[Archangel]

Actually I think '97 was the first time the LE was different with CNC'd bridges, seatpost clamp + dropouts.

 

[mtbdave]

Actually I think '97 was the first time the LE was different with CNC'd bridges, seatpost clamp + dropouts.

What was the last year they were made in the USA?

 

[Archangel]

1999

 

[malt]

Actually I think '97 was the first time the LE was different with CNC'd bridges, seatpost clamp + dropouts.

Yup, that is correct

 

[Spanky22b]

This is my 1991 Zaskar i bought a while back off the original owner he decided to spec it with all Suntour XC Pro and Comp. According to the catalogue they only done frame and forks for that year.