👋 New here: GT LTS 1996. Advice welcome!

[getoutofbed]

Does anyone happen to know the if the admin for the Facebook LTS & STS owners group are on RB?

 

[mk one]

I’ve gotten a little bit carried away here (kind of out of necessity which I’ll keep telling myself).. the WTB headset on the bike was completely shot. It either rattled, or the steering was near locked. So I searched for a headset and ended up striking a deal on eBay for a red CK. I’ve seen countless bikes on here with really cool anodised components and I want in.

I also didn’t like the fact that the Bomber fork on the bike was too new for it, so in RB spirit I looked around for a 90s bomber rather than the ‘Atom Z2 Bomber’ one that was on it. I’ve ended up with an insane ‘Superfly’ which is a few hundred grams lighter!

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I’m kind of at the point now where I need everyone’s recommendation and advice on the following:
- A more suitable stem as this one is ugly and low quality. I thought one to match the post would be cool.
- Where can I find a red seat clamp which will fit this frame
- Where can I find a red coil for the rear shock
- And the most important thing (which I’ve been avoiding clearly), the bike creaks like no tomorrow when riding. I assume it’s the bushes(ings?) which are making noise? Where can I find and how do I replace these?

I did open up the chainstay from the dropouts and it was super dirty. I gave it a clean and fresh grease in what I presume was the ‘friction’ area and actually made the problem worse.

Help!

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Just to answer your questions.

Yes, a Control Tech stem would go well with the seatpost.
Seatpost collar, either put a wanted ad up here or should be easy to source from ebay.
Rear coil, same as above, or paint it.
And the first thing I would check regarding the creaking would be the bottom bracket or the crank, notorious for coming loose on full suspension frames.

 

[Paul R]

Looks much better with the middleburn setup

Old anodized kore stems used to look good on these

Hope seatpost collar.

Bushings ebay maybe?

 

[getoutofbed]

Very slow progress on this as I had some time off (all) my bikes this summer due to being in a bad crash..

However I snagged some nearly new Rene Herse slick tyres for the bike which cruise so well. TBH I think they are basically just Panaracer tyres but I've read that they have a different casing. I also put some aliexpress TPU tubes in. Saved the bike something daft like 120 grams for less than £10. (hey, I'm a weight weenie on all my road bikes so why not here! )

I have got the project tingles coming back (always happens around this time of year..) - ordered a silver Syncros stem and a silver Controltech seat pin from @Fatboy1974 which should freshen the build up a bit.

I'd like to find a new 'deluxe' decal for the rear shock as it's peeling, and I still want to get the frame polished up with new decals. I follow @d8mok on Instagram and I'm constantly get wow'ed by his shiny builds.

 

[getoutofbed]

Could I ask everyone their thoughts on the following:
- Cantilever calipers vs the XT V brake for stopping power
- Canti vs V's for the period of time the bike was released. Which is more suitable?
- If Canti is recommended, which calipers should I be looking at?

Reason I ask is that the frame has got a cantilever brake cable stop which sits behind the shock. Seems a shame not to be using it. I've seen that I could get a @Dr-Zocchi canti hanger for the fork too, which IMO looks bad-ass and super retro.

 

[sam_white]

For stopping power, V brakes. For your era LTS, should be cantilevers. The MBUK team were using Onza HO back in the day, you should definitely watch Getta Grip.
Also, have you shared your frame number for the record?

 

[markoc]

Cantis open up a whole world of anodised trickery, not lest as cable hangers are one of my favourite things in Chill Pill form - but (shoot me now) they will realistically never match the V's.

That said, I'm a sucker for a PC5 lever and some 987's. We all rode cantis quite happily until we saw what V's could do - well set up they'll be more than adequate. XTR cantis are a nice colour match for the frame and what looks like a titanium top plate thing on yours. Shouldn't break the bank if you shop around.

 

[d8mok]

I think I’ve got some Super deluxe decals but not deluxe

 

[getoutofbed]

For stopping power, V brakes. For your era LTS, should be cantilevers. The MBUK team were using Onza HO back in the day, you should definitely watch Getta Grip.
Also, have you shared your frame number for the record?

Wow - core memory unlocked. Gettagrip. Watching this I must have been no older than 5 years old.

The frame number is 001964100LTS 18
Where does it need to be shared?

 

[getoutofbed]

I think I’ve got some Super deluxe decals but not deluxe

Would you be able to send me a pic in direct message?