Some bikes just have a place in history. If you were there and riding at the time, chances are you either had one or you wanted one. The GT Zaskar is, without question, one of those bikes. While we stay fascinated by some bikes because they looked like the future yesterday, the appeal of the Zaskar is much simpler. They were clean, simple, fast, tough. Lord knows, all I wanted at 15 was a baby blue LE version with a bright orange Marzocchi Z1 Bomber poking out of the front...
www.gtbicycles.com
I wonder sometimes why I carry a multi-tool with me on rides sometimes. Stuff is so solid and secure that it never needs tightening or adjusting. Then I remember it was because of old stuff like this, where I had to tighten quill stems and bars and seats a few times a ride.
1991 Cannondale M700 with LX
1994 Kona Hot, flat black with Mag 21 SL, full Ringle blue ano parts, and XTR. Stolen from my living room in 1995, f***ers.
Other than Tom Ritchey and the Fairfax crew etc the real first game changer was Joe Murray and the sloping top tube design on the first Bicycle group bikes (which became Kona).
Always thought the GT triple triangle thing was more marketing than anything though.
Check my albums for a sweet 89 Kona Lava Dome Ltd, which still gets ridden every week.
If anyone wants a great movie that caputres the (imo) real spirit of mountain biking the watch Klunkerz
Those where the days... *takesalookathisbansheerune* na baby... it's all okay... I love you!
Was the most amazing bike I'd slung a leg over.
Good times for sure
My Zaskars still going strong... Rigid forks and some slick tyres, she's been given the less stressful task of commuting/run around bike duty.
1984 Rocky Mountain Fat City Flyer (selling it, too small, never ridden it off-road once since I bought it).... yoda.densan.ca/kmr/bikes/fcf1.jpg
1988 Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt (selling it, too small and I haven't ridden it myself in 5 years)... yoda.densan.ca/kmr/bikes/thunderbolt1.jpg
1991 Rocky Mountain Stratos (my first "good" mtb, what got me started on doing custom builds and wrenching for a profit)... yoda.densan.ca/kmr/bikes/strat1.jpg
1997 Amp Research B-3 (also to be sold, lack of use in 26ers happening now with me)... yoda.densan.ca/kmr/bikes/b3f.jpg
The lever to switch off the indexing was really helpful after a bash to the rear derailleur or cable, meant you could still put the bike in gear without all the chattering that came from a misaligned indexed shift.
It was a cool rigid bike at first but the Zaskar really emerged around the same time as front suspension did, and faded a little when full suspension emerged. A Zaskar with a Mag 20 (92-93?)represents the high point of this iconic models existence; that was such a lusted after bike. By the time the Mag 21 came around attention was turning towards full suspension and that's when I wanted a GT RTS, a cool looking but marginal suspension design.
The Triple Triangle is what makes the GT hardtail such a unique bike, and the Zaskar has always been one of the best looking hardtails out there. The design makes sense, the way in which everything in the rear of the bike is reinforced, and it helps minimize side to side flex. It's a nice blend of function and aesthetics, and sets the brand apart. I always liked the way the seatstays parallell each other.
I just wished they had experimented with detatching the seatstays from the seat tube and created a more shock absorbing ride the way Volagi did with road bikes, that would work for the dirt too.
gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb5488175/p4pb5488175.jpg
was very heavily involved in R&D, World Cup DH race and bike frame production during the exciting era of the 1990's, where the old 1980's mountain bikes were starting to turn into something much more exciting and specific to what rider were doing
really miss those days with MBUK magazine, Steve Peat, Rob Warner, JMC on the Hardisty's Team before his move to SBC USA, and the wide open potential of that future with lots of energetic entrepreneurs like myself heavily involved in the "scene"
gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9285933/p4pb9285933.jpg
found this for you:
gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9286061/p4pb9286061.jpg
the mount was made before Rockshox released a disc brake compatible fork lower on their Judy DH forks
We machined an aluminium bar to accept the Sachs hydraulic caliper, and then used 2 x Sachs New Success front derailleur clamp bands in 34.9mm, which we found were the perfect diameter for the Judy's lower leg! We used epoxy adhesive to bond those clamps in place, and it all ran perfectly for months
here's another shot from the Bombproof days of our 5" travel bike:
gp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb9285926/p4pb9285926.jpg
This is my GT Avalanche 1993, still in progress, project just started.
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I will return on it to Świeradów just on singletracks
Another way to circumvent the issue was to weld the pivots on the back side of the fork and make the pivots react the same way as on the seat stays. Or do both as on my 1994 custom ti fork with 'purple and blue' anodizing please!
www.pinkbike.com/photo/5967997
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9550158
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9550155
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9550152
Once you ripped the ugly stickers off, a mid Nineties thing to do, the gleaming silver bike was a Zaskar to the masses.
The bike is amazing! I still have it, with riser bars and a late 90’s set of upgraded parts. The fit is perfect. And it’s name is missbike.
That big hunk of metal in the seat stays was genius, the bike was completely stable hitting river sand or other hazards, and it climbs like an elevator. (Past tense cause no more off trail fun for me. Too many ugly neck injuries on bikes).
The Chris King headset, amazing! You gotta try one sometime.
I scored a mint original purple Karakoram with the "Groove Tube" that I now use as my drinking bike, and a beater blue Agressor for locking on the street. Lastly, I have a sweet raw aluminum road bike that needs a little love.
Thanks GT for all the good times and thanks to Hans for being an inspiration to many so us " old guys."
Namely an odyssey areator seatpost pump which still works great, a huge 54 tooth spesh front chainring and scott AT4 off road bars.
I had some custom road wheels built for it 14mm sun mistra rims with xt hubs, triple butted spokes with 32rear and 28 front..
with those wheels and spesh turbo S 1 inc tires it is very fast....
early Rocky Mountain Blizzards and that alu frame with the raised seat stays
Any classic titanium hardtail
Manitou FS bikes (Riding friend has one that is mint!)
Amp research (he has one of these two!)
Old Concord MTBs
Anything Fat Chance
I have odi Longneck's on my stumpy, exact same pattern as those and they work excellently.
hope she served you many happy years man !
1992 Kona Explosif I just finished
Seems to me a lot of the guys commenting on this article remember lusting after the Zaskar when it first came out. At that point you were probably just a baby. We respect this bike because we loved it "decades" ago...
I was never able to buy one back then, I only bought my first "real" bike in 1997 (a Specialized Ground Control A1)...
There's one sitting with a pile of old bikes from the 80's-90's just up the road from me, I could get it for next to nothing.
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151271418305474&set=o.106840982723662&type=1&comment_id=10577731
my 91 Zaskar in 94/5, fkng loved that bike. held up to ANY abuse i threw at it! wheels, forks an seat posts... not so much
the original jump/free ride bike ???
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/LTS_DH3.JPG
Sean
Missed out that time.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8091904
www.pinkbike.com/photo/8091900
My Old Trek 9000.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/2615147
The Hard Tail that rocked the 90's...
Alot of the suspension was bad, the first reliable fork was the Mag 21, but then they made the horrible Judy.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/7601430
www.pinkbike.com/photo/9548573