I’ve been lurking around on the RB forum since the end of last year trying to decide what to do to scratch an itch for a ‘new’ retro bike. The last one I built up was about 8 years ago and was a lovely mint Fat Chance Buckshaver that in the end was never ridden in anger as when I finished it looked too nice and in the end it made way for another new, new, bike.
Funds don’t allow another fancy bike so I decided to scale back my expectations and went back to my mtbing roots which all started in 1989 and quickly progressed from a heavily upgraded Raleigh Mustang to my first GT. It was a ‘91 inferno red Karakoram which got me into racing and riding properly, I then chopped this in for a ’93 Karakoram which fitted me a bit better and the rest is (my) history.
I’ve had countless bikes since these 2 GTs but have always had a soft spot for them so this time round it just had to be a GT.
After some trawling round the forum I decided that my one-time dream bike, a ’92 Bravado, was unlikely to happen in a hurry as they seem fairly scarce and would cost more than I wanted to spend given that I was looking for a full strip, respray and re-build route.
After picking up a ’90 Karakoram which I decided wasn’t right I came across a ’93 Borrego courtesy of charlieboy28 . A few quick checks and I decided this frame was the same as my ’93 Karakoram and I went for it.
The frame arrived and as described was well-used, I’d expected this and made a start on getting the frame prepped for a fresh powder coat. The pictures go some way to showing the marks from use and while I could have built it up as it was I really did want to get it looking just right.
So far then are the pictures of what it did look like, whilst I was dealing with rough bits I whipped the rack mounts off the back end and started contact with Gil m over some new stickers based on a different theme.
A couple of months on and the build is all but complete. I decided not to go with any real in-progress pictures as it is only a modest build but the remaining parts should arrive this week and I’ll get it photographed and posted up
A word of warning though, it’s not a faithful replica. Using my past favourite bikes and Gil’s ability to alter the graphics I’ve come up with a new spin on the look which is based on what I liked most from early 90’s GTs rather than copying the Borrego. Likewise the build is based on parts I used / wanted back then rather than the full Suntour grouppo the bike would have originally had.
Full update to follow this week…
Funds don’t allow another fancy bike so I decided to scale back my expectations and went back to my mtbing roots which all started in 1989 and quickly progressed from a heavily upgraded Raleigh Mustang to my first GT. It was a ‘91 inferno red Karakoram which got me into racing and riding properly, I then chopped this in for a ’93 Karakoram which fitted me a bit better and the rest is (my) history.
I’ve had countless bikes since these 2 GTs but have always had a soft spot for them so this time round it just had to be a GT.
After some trawling round the forum I decided that my one-time dream bike, a ’92 Bravado, was unlikely to happen in a hurry as they seem fairly scarce and would cost more than I wanted to spend given that I was looking for a full strip, respray and re-build route.
After picking up a ’90 Karakoram which I decided wasn’t right I came across a ’93 Borrego courtesy of charlieboy28 . A few quick checks and I decided this frame was the same as my ’93 Karakoram and I went for it.
The frame arrived and as described was well-used, I’d expected this and made a start on getting the frame prepped for a fresh powder coat. The pictures go some way to showing the marks from use and while I could have built it up as it was I really did want to get it looking just right.
So far then are the pictures of what it did look like, whilst I was dealing with rough bits I whipped the rack mounts off the back end and started contact with Gil m over some new stickers based on a different theme.
A couple of months on and the build is all but complete. I decided not to go with any real in-progress pictures as it is only a modest build but the remaining parts should arrive this week and I’ll get it photographed and posted up
A word of warning though, it’s not a faithful replica. Using my past favourite bikes and Gil’s ability to alter the graphics I’ve come up with a new spin on the look which is based on what I liked most from early 90’s GTs rather than copying the Borrego. Likewise the build is based on parts I used / wanted back then rather than the full Suntour grouppo the bike would have originally had.
Full update to follow this week…