peterduerden
Dirt Disciple
Today after six months of work I finally finished overhauling my beloved 1994 spec GT TIMBERLINE. I ended up doing so much it turned into a restoration project.
I bought the bike back in late 1993 from Rayment Cycles in Brighton with my student loan! It's been used regularly ever since but I'm ashamed to admit I never did any maintenance on it in 23 years except to change the brake blocks... after 20 years! The bike still rode great so testament to the build quality. But after a 5km walk home due to a puncture I realised the flat had finished off the original Tioga Psycho II tyre, so it was time for some fresh rubber. That lead to new inner tubes (Slime Smart tubes) and cleaning the rims and that lead to cleaning the bearings which lead to new bearings, etc, etc.
The biggest issue was a jammed aluminium suspension seat post. I managed to snap it off using a large Stilson wrench! No amount of drilling or hacksawing freed so eventually I resorted to dissolving it in caustic soda. That meant stripping the frame of everything so at that point I thought I'd make it a total restoration rebuild rather than overhaul.
After removing the seat post I lightly keyed the frame and forks with 1500 wet and dry, and sprayed with 1K automotive clear lacquer. It was then a case of cleaning and polishing as much as possible, and replacing what couldn't be saved or was worn out.
New parts included:
The GT saddle was a result. The original had a few splits and I'd misplaced the original black seat post too, but I picked up a brand new GT saddle from a bike shop vie eBay. The Brand-X seat post also looks pretty close to the original and just like some used on modern GT bikes, which was the same reason I chose the Schwalbe RAPID ROBs. I removed the original GT horned handlebars years ago after they got hooked around a small tree hurtling down Ditchling Beacon, so although the blue ones aren't original they are almost as old as the bike and therefore retro/vintage too! I needed new grips though and went for plain black with a waffle pattern with lock-rings on both ends - a bargain reduced from £15 to £5 in SportsDirect!
I think everything else is pretty much like for like, e.g., Shimano brake and gear cables. The 5mm SP-51 gear housing was hard to find (I have another thread on here about where to get it). The 1994 model was fitted with Shimano Alivio Ugrade Edition parts and Rapidfire Plus shifters. Everything has always worked flawlessly and never needed adjusting in 23 years!
I just took the bike for its first ride this evening over the army training ranges near Deepcut/Aldersot and it was amazing! New HYPERGLIDE chain and 7-speed cassette was so smooth and quiet. The Schwalbe tyres were great on the loose trail and hard pack. Tioga pedals much better than the original beartraps but quite in keeping with the style I think. Going to have to get used to not having toe clips!
Next thing to do is fit a pair of ROCK SHOX QUADRA 21Q forks I picked up on eBay. The Timberline came in an "FS" version which had QUADRA 10 shocks I think but I couldn't afford them back in the day, but I thought the bright yellow 21Qs might be a respectful retro upgrade. Never had shocks before so we shall see! I may even try a modern set of wide handlebars too...
In the meantime here are some photos of the work over the last six months:
The flat tyre that started it all.
Looks awful but still ran really well! The spoke guard was brittle toast though.
Grips were originally totally clear.
Dismantling the handlebars.
The ruddy ******* suspension seatpost that got stuck.
First new parts to arrive - tubes and tyres.
General grot inside and out on the front wheel before I started cleaning.
Thicker and wider than the original rim tape.
Much shinier!
I bought the bike back in late 1993 from Rayment Cycles in Brighton with my student loan! It's been used regularly ever since but I'm ashamed to admit I never did any maintenance on it in 23 years except to change the brake blocks... after 20 years! The bike still rode great so testament to the build quality. But after a 5km walk home due to a puncture I realised the flat had finished off the original Tioga Psycho II tyre, so it was time for some fresh rubber. That lead to new inner tubes (Slime Smart tubes) and cleaning the rims and that lead to cleaning the bearings which lead to new bearings, etc, etc.
The biggest issue was a jammed aluminium suspension seat post. I managed to snap it off using a large Stilson wrench! No amount of drilling or hacksawing freed so eventually I resorted to dissolving it in caustic soda. That meant stripping the frame of everything so at that point I thought I'd make it a total restoration rebuild rather than overhaul.
After removing the seat post I lightly keyed the frame and forks with 1500 wet and dry, and sprayed with 1K automotive clear lacquer. It was then a case of cleaning and polishing as much as possible, and replacing what couldn't be saved or was worn out.
New parts included:
- Shimano M-System brake cables and housings
- Shimano SP-51 gear cables and housings
- Shinamano HG 7-speed cassette (NOS)
- Shimano HYPERGLIDE HG-50 chain (NOS)
- Shimano BB-UN55 sealed bottom bracket
- Ball bearing sets for front and rear wheels
- Headset ball bearing races
- GT MTB saddle
- Brand-X 6061 Aluminium seat post
- Brand-X M947 Cantilever Post Brake Pads
- Tioga Surefoot Slim Pedals
- Slime SMART TUBE inner tubes
- Schwalbe High Pressure Rim Tape
- Schwalbe RAPID ROB 26 x 2.1 tyres
The GT saddle was a result. The original had a few splits and I'd misplaced the original black seat post too, but I picked up a brand new GT saddle from a bike shop vie eBay. The Brand-X seat post also looks pretty close to the original and just like some used on modern GT bikes, which was the same reason I chose the Schwalbe RAPID ROBs. I removed the original GT horned handlebars years ago after they got hooked around a small tree hurtling down Ditchling Beacon, so although the blue ones aren't original they are almost as old as the bike and therefore retro/vintage too! I needed new grips though and went for plain black with a waffle pattern with lock-rings on both ends - a bargain reduced from £15 to £5 in SportsDirect!
I think everything else is pretty much like for like, e.g., Shimano brake and gear cables. The 5mm SP-51 gear housing was hard to find (I have another thread on here about where to get it). The 1994 model was fitted with Shimano Alivio Ugrade Edition parts and Rapidfire Plus shifters. Everything has always worked flawlessly and never needed adjusting in 23 years!
I just took the bike for its first ride this evening over the army training ranges near Deepcut/Aldersot and it was amazing! New HYPERGLIDE chain and 7-speed cassette was so smooth and quiet. The Schwalbe tyres were great on the loose trail and hard pack. Tioga pedals much better than the original beartraps but quite in keeping with the style I think. Going to have to get used to not having toe clips!
Next thing to do is fit a pair of ROCK SHOX QUADRA 21Q forks I picked up on eBay. The Timberline came in an "FS" version which had QUADRA 10 shocks I think but I couldn't afford them back in the day, but I thought the bright yellow 21Qs might be a respectful retro upgrade. Never had shocks before so we shall see! I may even try a modern set of wide handlebars too...
In the meantime here are some photos of the work over the last six months:
The flat tyre that started it all.
Looks awful but still ran really well! The spoke guard was brittle toast though.
Grips were originally totally clear.
Dismantling the handlebars.
The ruddy ******* suspension seatpost that got stuck.
First new parts to arrive - tubes and tyres.
General grot inside and out on the front wheel before I started cleaning.
Thicker and wider than the original rim tape.
Much shinier!
![gt-verb-elite-2016-mountain-bike-orange-EV242576-2000-1[1].webp](/data/attachments/252/252329-7a4a82b09b64ea5e8104030cf55b83af.jpg?hash=RgzVDHSBm1)
