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Fullies made their entry in the nineties and manufacters experimented a lot with different types of concepts. Think of the Cannondale Delta/Super V or te Manitou FS. GT already had the RTS and later on they added the LTS/STS. Everybody who is into retrobike recognizes the LTS from a mile away. The frame is just as eccentric as the Zaskar.
GT started with the development of the LTS (Links Tuned Suspension) in '93 and this concept would be used untill '98. Basically it is a horst link system which is designed by Horst Leitner (The AMP guy). Specialized later bought the patent for this concept which eventually caused GT to stop producing the LTS/STS. GT then used the I-Drive system.
When I was younger I used to dream of a GT LTS. The LTS was top notch given the reviews in different types of magazines. Back then I used to read the German Bike Magazin and they were blown away by the handling of the bike. In fact the bike was so good it got the award for best bike in '95. Even in downhill it perfomed very good. Nicolas Vouilloz has won from Shaun Palmer on a LTS. And even Steve Peat started on a LTS.
Innovations were nothing new back then and GT started to experment with Thermoplast. Voila... The GT LTS Thermoplast was born. This frame would be stiffer and lighter than a normal LTS. In reality i doubt this but nevertheless it was one hell of a good looking frame. Price dictated back then that I would never own one.
fast forward 20ish years. I saw an STS on the Dutch marketplace and picked it up immediately.
Basically I did nothing to that bike and did a small ride with Suravida (another Dutch Retrorider). In my mind I was reminescing all the nerdy but funny facts andd I was so sure that this would a nice little tour. But unfortunately I couldn't be more off. The bike couldn't give me confidence during the ride, there was the inevitable play on the bearing and both the shock as well as the damper didn't do anything except absorbing my energy. Needless to say that when I had the opportunity to sell the bike I didn't hesitate.
To be honest I always regretted selling that bike because I didn't really gave it a chance. A few month ago I spotted another one and bought that one as well. That bike was the basis for this project.
This bike is a GT LTS Thermoplastic. Not a GT STS. The difference between these two is in the linkage. The LTS has Ti linkage and the STS has alloy. The STS has a CNCed rear brace as well.
I had learned from my experience with my STS and eventually decided to thoroughly do this project. First I wanted to make sure that the suspension was working properly. I found a NOS rear Shock in the US and treated the frame to a new shock. The Pace RC36 Pro Class I had laying around in the shed was send to JustBackDated and they came back like new.
The rest of the build was going to be a mix of new and oldschool parts:
Frame: GT LTS Themoplast
Fork: Pace RC36 Pro Class
Shock: Rock Shox Super Deluxe
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Shifter: Shimano XTR M950
Levers: Kooka
Brakes: Shimano XTR M950
Stem: Roox
Bar: Easton Monkeybar Carbon
Headset: King
Seatpost: Roox
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite
Cranks: Kooka
Cassette: Shimano XTR M950
Rims: Mavic X517 Ceramic / Hugi 240 hubs
Tires: Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph
Intrincycles re-anodised the Kooka stuff. They look brand new! I can highly recommend him!
The cables of this frame go through the frame via a small tube. In the past somebody thought it was a good idea to loose the extra weight of this tube and bin that tube. During storage some of the cables 'fell' in the frame which left me three days trying to get the cables through the right holes in the frame.
This is what the bike looks like now:
Today I had the first little spin on this dreambike. It immediately became clear that this is a better bike than the STS was back then. It took me a while to get used to the rear suspension though. You can clearly notice the rear suspension requires some energy compared to any hardtail. It isn't as nimble as thought it would be either. But when I was riding the bike for 10 minutes I was getting used to the feel and even managed to bunny hop a few times. During the ride confidence grew and loved the bike more with every kilometer.
I do wonder though... Does anyone happen to know how I can make my fork stiffer? Are there other springs available?
Anyway, here are some pics of todays ride:
GT started with the development of the LTS (Links Tuned Suspension) in '93 and this concept would be used untill '98. Basically it is a horst link system which is designed by Horst Leitner (The AMP guy). Specialized later bought the patent for this concept which eventually caused GT to stop producing the LTS/STS. GT then used the I-Drive system.
When I was younger I used to dream of a GT LTS. The LTS was top notch given the reviews in different types of magazines. Back then I used to read the German Bike Magazin and they were blown away by the handling of the bike. In fact the bike was so good it got the award for best bike in '95. Even in downhill it perfomed very good. Nicolas Vouilloz has won from Shaun Palmer on a LTS. And even Steve Peat started on a LTS.
Innovations were nothing new back then and GT started to experment with Thermoplast. Voila... The GT LTS Thermoplast was born. This frame would be stiffer and lighter than a normal LTS. In reality i doubt this but nevertheless it was one hell of a good looking frame. Price dictated back then that I would never own one.
fast forward 20ish years. I saw an STS on the Dutch marketplace and picked it up immediately.
Basically I did nothing to that bike and did a small ride with Suravida (another Dutch Retrorider). In my mind I was reminescing all the nerdy but funny facts andd I was so sure that this would a nice little tour. But unfortunately I couldn't be more off. The bike couldn't give me confidence during the ride, there was the inevitable play on the bearing and both the shock as well as the damper didn't do anything except absorbing my energy. Needless to say that when I had the opportunity to sell the bike I didn't hesitate.
To be honest I always regretted selling that bike because I didn't really gave it a chance. A few month ago I spotted another one and bought that one as well. That bike was the basis for this project.
This bike is a GT LTS Thermoplastic. Not a GT STS. The difference between these two is in the linkage. The LTS has Ti linkage and the STS has alloy. The STS has a CNCed rear brace as well.
I had learned from my experience with my STS and eventually decided to thoroughly do this project. First I wanted to make sure that the suspension was working properly. I found a NOS rear Shock in the US and treated the frame to a new shock. The Pace RC36 Pro Class I had laying around in the shed was send to JustBackDated and they came back like new.
The rest of the build was going to be a mix of new and oldschool parts:
Frame: GT LTS Themoplast
Fork: Pace RC36 Pro Class
Shock: Rock Shox Super Deluxe
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Shifter: Shimano XTR M950
Levers: Kooka
Brakes: Shimano XTR M950
Stem: Roox
Bar: Easton Monkeybar Carbon
Headset: King
Seatpost: Roox
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite
Cranks: Kooka
Cassette: Shimano XTR M950
Rims: Mavic X517 Ceramic / Hugi 240 hubs
Tires: Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph
Intrincycles re-anodised the Kooka stuff. They look brand new! I can highly recommend him!
The cables of this frame go through the frame via a small tube. In the past somebody thought it was a good idea to loose the extra weight of this tube and bin that tube. During storage some of the cables 'fell' in the frame which left me three days trying to get the cables through the right holes in the frame.
This is what the bike looks like now:
Today I had the first little spin on this dreambike. It immediately became clear that this is a better bike than the STS was back then. It took me a while to get used to the rear suspension though. You can clearly notice the rear suspension requires some energy compared to any hardtail. It isn't as nimble as thought it would be either. But when I was riding the bike for 10 minutes I was getting used to the feel and even managed to bunny hop a few times. During the ride confidence grew and loved the bike more with every kilometer.
I do wonder though... Does anyone happen to know how I can make my fork stiffer? Are there other springs available?
Anyway, here are some pics of todays ride:
