91 GT Karakoram Elite - pic heavy

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Kona Fan
Hi Retrobikers

This is my first retro/old school mountain bike project - I've been building old school BMX bikes for a while but I've been hankering for something old school mountain bike - I figure it may make me ride more... Anyway a chance ebay visit landed this:

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It's virtually complete excepting the rear tyre - remarkable for a 23 year old steed!

I was so stoked that on the way home from picking it up I whipped it out of the PT and hit some roadside forest trails...what a hoot.

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No suspension, narrow flat bars, canti brakes and perfectly shifting Shimano DX gubbins. Amazing.

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Feels like old times on my '95 Borego.
:D
 
Looking good mate :D nice looking trail too , what have you got planned for it ?

Cheers Paul.
 
Wow, that's nearly all original as you say. It even has the original AME grips.
Looks like a 16" frame and I've not seen many in the black colour scheme.
Mine has the 'Night Sky' splatter paint.

They are great bikes and DX is brilliant.
 
niiiiiiiiice. the 91 and 92 era GT mountain bikes just had a really spcial quality. lovely bike looking forward to your resto work. should come up an absolute treat
 
Cool! I owned exactly the same one of these last year in this size and colour, bought for bobbins off gumtree. Mine was way more tatty then this though!

Karakorams are great for all purpose thrashing, the frames are pretty much indestructible...good score :)
 
Fantastic, that's the first Elite I've seen in the same colour scheme as mine was. I still want another, as mine was too tatty and had to be powdercoated.

Not many of those blue Tange MTB stickers about either. I've been looking for a replacement for mine and the pink are easy to find, but still not come across the blue.

It's great to see one looking so original :)
 
Thanks guys - first order of business is to tear it down and clean everything up. I'm hoping to keep the frame & fork in the original paint - we'll see.

Firstly I need to sort out this stuck seat post - well remains of it now :(

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After trying to free the post I eventually resorted to drilling a hole through it and attempting to lever it - that sadly just ripped the post...now I have a stubby
 
Nice to see the York Cycleworks sticker, got my first karakoram elite from them in the midnight sky colourway.

enjoy
RBG
 
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