Frankenorange
Orange 🍊 Fan
Lovely finish to that paint now. This is going to look pretty sweet when it is done.
1990 GT Team Avalanche Restoration....hopefully...
- Thread starter PhillB
- Start date
Spankyfart
Marin Fan
Very nice, looking really good.
PhillB
GT Fan
I came across some Ritchey Megabite tyres too, less rotten then the ones that came with the bike, although I'm not sure I'd use them for normal riding as the sidewalls are not great/
First rainy afternoon in a awhile in these parts. so crammed into my overfull shed to start putting the Avalanche back together.
Still got a fair bit to do, but looking more like I hoped it would now!!
First rainy afternoon in a awhile in these parts. so crammed into my overfull shed to start putting the Avalanche back together.
Still got a fair bit to do, but looking more like I hoped it would now!!
PhillB
GT Fan
Over the last week, I have cabled-up the Avalanche, new cables and cable covers obviously. It's only taken a month, but I wanted to get to the point where I could ride the bike to see if I liked it. I have a 16" 92 Karakoram I ride regularly and love. It reminds me a bit of the BMX's I used to ride when I was a kid, size-wise anyway....kinda. The Avalanche is an 18inch. I guess my ideal bike size is a 17inch, so I'm SOL as far as GT is concerned 
. I have a medium modern GT Pantera 27.5 which is huge, how would the Avalanche handle?
I Fiddled around with the back wheel for ages, I stupidly forgot to record the order of spacers and nuts, but eventually found it through trial and error. The original derailleur has needed a lot of fiddling to get it to work right, not helped by the new cables. The front derailleur works fine, but I spent 3 or 4 hours trying to get the sifter to work, It's heavily corroded and despite my best efforts (It works for a bit then fails) It's gonna need replacing. So I have a 1x7 for the moment - but it is rideable!
So armed with a pocket allan key set and a screw driver, I took it on it's first post-rebuild ride (Probably it's first ride in a decade), just around the block...
It was great, but immediately felt loads of things that needed adjusting. plus the granny chainring kept slipping, the combination of the new chain and the worn teeth was not good. So back to base a few adjustments and a swap out of the chainring.
Then, back out for a proper 10km ride in the park. It was dark by this point so had to use my front light to illuminate it!!
It is such a nice bike to ride. Even with junker Hubs (They were seized, Finish Line Ceramic grease is a wonder!!) I know it's a race bike. But for my size it feels more like a tourer if that makes sense. I love it.
So what's next? Well phase two.I'll get a new shifter so hopefully can get all 21 gears working. After that I've managed to source a pair of NOS front and back original Hubs (M730) still sealed in their original packaging, so I'll be rebuilding the wheels. But that's a job for later in the summer, gonna continue enjoying riding this for now!!
. I have a medium modern GT Pantera 27.5 which is huge, how would the Avalanche handle?I Fiddled around with the back wheel for ages, I stupidly forgot to record the order of spacers and nuts, but eventually found it through trial and error. The original derailleur has needed a lot of fiddling to get it to work right, not helped by the new cables. The front derailleur works fine, but I spent 3 or 4 hours trying to get the sifter to work, It's heavily corroded and despite my best efforts (It works for a bit then fails) It's gonna need replacing. So I have a 1x7 for the moment - but it is rideable!
So armed with a pocket allan key set and a screw driver, I took it on it's first post-rebuild ride (Probably it's first ride in a decade), just around the block...
It was great, but immediately felt loads of things that needed adjusting. plus the granny chainring kept slipping, the combination of the new chain and the worn teeth was not good. So back to base a few adjustments and a swap out of the chainring.
Then, back out for a proper 10km ride in the park. It was dark by this point so had to use my front light to illuminate it!!
It is such a nice bike to ride. Even with junker Hubs (They were seized, Finish Line Ceramic grease is a wonder!!) I know it's a race bike. But for my size it feels more like a tourer if that makes sense. I love it.
So what's next? Well phase two.I'll get a new shifter so hopefully can get all 21 gears working. After that I've managed to source a pair of NOS front and back original Hubs (M730) still sealed in their original packaging, so I'll be rebuilding the wheels. But that's a job for later in the summer, gonna continue enjoying riding this for now!!
DrDaveTampa
Old School Hero
Great job with the finish. You have inspired me to wade back into an old project
Wonder if the RD hanger is bent
Wonder if the RD hanger is bent
PhillB
GT Fan
Cool
go for it! (I did check the RD hanger but couldn’t see any noticeable bend… seems to be OK now, I think after cleaning and re-lubing it needed some use to free it all up again)
27motorhead
Senior Retro Guru
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Looks great put together! The Black Widow paint looks so good! 
I was going to say your front Megabite was on backwards, but you've got the wheel in back-to-front with the QR on the drive side rather than the normal LHS
How tall are you? Just wondering as the saddle seems set pretty low, buy you mention your 16" Karakoram feels like a BMX. I'm 5' 7"/170cm so a 16" GT was perfect for me.
Hope you have managed to resolve some of the gear issues...
I was going to say your front Megabite was on backwards, but you've got the wheel in back-to-front with the QR on the drive side rather than the normal LHS How tall are you? Just wondering as the saddle seems set pretty low, buy you mention your 16" Karakoram feels like a BMX. I'm 5' 7"/170cm so a 16" GT was perfect for me.
Hope you have managed to resolve some of the gear issues...
PhillB
GT Fan
Thanks, The paint renovation and clear coat came out much better than I thought it would. A couple of drips in places, but should be able to sort those out. And yes! Good spot!! The front tyre has the wrong rotation, I only noticed when I uploaded the picturesLooks great put together! The Black Widow paint looks so good!
How tall are you? Just wondering as the saddle seems set pretty low, buy you mention your 16" Karakoram feels like a BMX. I'm 5' 7"/170cm so a 16" GT was perfect for me.
Hope you have managed to resolve some of the gear issues...
I have since fixed this .I'm just over 5ft 7in too (171cm). I was worried the 18in might be too big, but it's not, and is great to ride, but I do have the seat right down. I think it is to do with proportions, I'm the same height as my brother (who is 5'10'') sitting down...I just have short legs
.A new shifter arrived today, so hopefully will see if that can fix things...
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