GT Team RTS - reloaded

After building this up using modern parts a few years ago, I used it for my first London to Brighton ride, and little else afterwards. I recently stripped it of most of the modern tat (XTR M970) and used this on my GT STS-2 build.

Now the RTS was the bike I wanted as a kid, and I was lucky enough (if you count having two bikes stolen in 24 hours lucky) to own the lesser RTS-2 as a result of the insurance money. When I was looking for advice about restoration (I discovered it was cracked in the usual place), I found RB and the rest as they say is history (pardon the pun). Now the Team RTS frame was NOS when I got my hands on it, and I had it shipped over from the states at great expense and built it up in it's first guise (XTR M970, Fox forks, carbon bars (oversize too ) etc), which I thought was a good idea at the time (and it was). However, after stripping it down and pillaging the parts for the STS, I felt sorry for it, sitting there all naked, bereft of components, so I decided to have a rummage in the stash and see what I had that could be put to good use.

The rummage was fruitful, and so I set to work polishing the frame after it had sat in the shed/garage for nearly 2 years unused The results were stunning (all manual labour, elbow grease and Peek) and so I was enthused and threw this little thing together.

I'm not 100% sure about the crank arms, but I am sure that the spider is great, as are the amber walls on black rims - I forgot just how good they can look when they are new (need to try and keep them that way - another 2 years of low miles should do the trick :roll: ), and the rest is none to shabby either, well in my opinion anyway. Spec as follows. Comments, feedback etc welcome, such as - is my chain too short (in the pics it is in the top ring and half way up the cassette), should I put on the controltech decals on the post and stem, or leave it stealthy? Should the creanks be polished up or powdercoated black?:

Frame: GT Team RTS

Fork: Rock Shox Judy FSX, Styff carbon brace, Englund air cartridges

Headset: Chris King in black, Woodman headlock.
Stem: Controltech in black
Handlebar: Controltech in black
Grips: GT
Barends: N/A

Brakes: Shimano XTR M950, carbon XTR booster on the rear
Brake Pads: Shimano ceramic
Brake Cables: Shimano XTR in grey
Cantilever cable hangers: N/A (rocker removed for use later)
Brake Levers: Shimano XTR M950

Shifters: Shimano XTR M952
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR M953
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M952
Derailleur Cables: Shimano XTR
Cassette: Shimano M770 XT
Chain: Sram PC991 cross-step
Cranks: Shimano XTR M952 with Hershey Racing 5 bolt 110BCD spider
Crank Bolts: Shimano XTR M952
Chainrings: TA Specialties in black
Chainring bolts: Tec in black
Bottom Bracket: Shimano XTR M952
Pedals: Crank Bros Candy 2 (silver)

Hub Skewers: Mavic Crossmax
Rims: Mavic Crossmax
Hubs: Mavic Crossmax
Nipples: Mavic Crossmax
Spokes: Mavic Crossmax
Tyres: Panaracer Dart up front and a Panaracer Smoke hardcore at the rear
Tubes: Specialized

Saddle: Flite Ti
Seatpost: Controltech in black
Seatpost Binder: GT standard

Weight: ??

how cool is that!!! i love it as it is.....and maybe a bit jealous....but not a lot, i am a real man!!!!
(but secretly still jealous!!!)

That just about hits the spot dead on.

Very cool.

Fantastic looking bike.....

Looks almost exactly like mine I love it.

Goddd i rem gawping at poster of one of those in a shop in stirling years and years ago. Rear Suspension!!

Lovely Ian, not a massive GT fan myself but I would consider one of those one day. Much much cleaner lines than the STS IMHO.

From one rts owner to another Ian, I love it swap ya?

That looks ace! A fine bike.

Nice bike

Thanks for the kind words. Very pleased with it.

It does have cleaner lines than an sts for sure, in fact I'm not sure there are too many full sussers that are cleaner, aside from maybe amp and the variants?

The main reason I'm drawn to the RTS after all these years is that a) it still looks like a bike despite having rear suspension, b) its not that heavy despite having rear suspension, and c) it rides really well in my view. Oh and d) they look really good when polished (though a black one I had also looked nice).

Swaps? Unlikely I'm afraid, the RTS is a keeper/wall hanger I anything ever befalls it.