GT Zaskar Ink blue build. Coda magic. manitou. purpleness.

[lowntegra]

hey gang, thought i'd share my latest acquisition to the fleet:

96 ink blue zaskar. really gorgeous color in the daylight, still not my grail bike (aqua blue), but really great color, in my size 16", and the price and timing were right.

i have removed the original decals as they were pretty ripped up when i got it. a good cleaning and she looks pretty nice. i eventually will get some repro's on there, but what color??? i was thinking something like these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GT-ZASKAR-L-E-S ... 4180fcbde6

they are obnoxiously bright and i love it. haha

so the build started out mostly with some parts i just had laying around, notably the front wheel which i scored a while back for a ridiculous deal. also the fork/stem combo-very nice condition manitou 4, which i rebuilt with all ti bolts. elastomers are near new. really low serial number fork too, #25 IIRC.

still searching for some complimentary bits now, mostly a purple seatpost i think would look sweet on there.















PARTS:
-manitou 4, rebuilt w all ti hardware
-manitou CNC stem
-cane creek c2 headset
-Profile bar none flat bar
-ONZA purple grips NOS
-control tech control stix 3dv bar ends NOS
-shimano LX m560 shifter/brake lever combo's (would like to replace w something more bling)
-dia compe VC2 canti's
-Coda Magic m900 crankset (long story of how i got this, for another day), NOS. 3dv purple, 175mm, 110/74mm BCD. almost too gorgeous to ride..

...came with everything, BB, cups, spindle etc...but i tweaked it to get a slightly better chainline / q-factor. believe it or not, you can run any new external bottom bracket cups with the old coda magic bb spindle. they are exactly the same as all the newer shimano, race face, FSA, etc. i have a shimano hollowtech drive side cup on there, with a few spacers to get the drive side where i wanted. the original coda cups & bb spindle are fairly specific to each other, and also specifically designed for 68mm frames, but as you know, the zaskar is 73mm. so i had to get creative, and it works like a charm. if anyone wants further info/pics on this, PM me. i know the BB cups are very hard to find, and when you do - they are expensive.
-WHEELS:
-front XTR m950 hub, mavic 217 ceramic, tie dye titanium rainbow spokes
-rear Nuke Proof Bombshell carbon/ti hub (NOS), mavic 217 ceramic, still have to buy the ti spokes
-tires: tioga psycho butterscotch, kevlar bead, NOS. love these.
-XTR m952 rear derailleur, various purple bits bolts pulleys etc..
-XT 8 speed cassette w alloy carrier

still need to sort a front derailleur, seatpost, seat.

 

[lowntegra]

Re:

UPDATE:

ti-dye rainbow spokes have been ordered! should be here late tomorrow, or monday. i will start building up the rear wheel shortly. also threw some 3DV purple nipples on the order too..... just because.

hope to have this bike up and running in about a week, still need a seatpost though.

cheers!!
~bryan

*if anyone else is looking for ti spokes, colored or otherwise, i have found the least expensive supplier here in the states.

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

I really like this colour, it should wear the purple nicely

I have an aqua zaskar I'm currently working on, here's the thread http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 3#p2264093

Sean

 

[lowntegra]

thanks for the kind words!

yeah, i think it looks pretty cool with the purple bits on it. i wasnt too sure at first, but now i'm on board. the cranks really bring everything to another level. i have been following your zaskar builds for a while now, and am envious of your aqua frame

if you're still looking for a flat GT bar - i remember there was one on ebay not too long ago. for cheap too. ill see if i can find it...

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

Cheers... I usually watch the other zaskar builds on here too

I've actually got some GT bars now and some GT forks as well, just waiting for a day off and some nice weather now so I can get it finished and some pics up

Interested to see what you do with yours, ink blue is my 2nd favourite zaskar colour

Sean

 

[dalecooper]

Nice Zaskar! Love the blue, coda cranks and ti spokes! Was wondering how does a wheel ride with ti spokes compared to normal steel ones??

 

[lowntegra]

thanks! to me, it is a bit more "lively", compared to steel spokes. mind you, i am pretty light at 145 lbs, and have been mostly riding my other ti spoked wheels for many years, and only recently built up a steel-spoked wheelset for my ricochet build. so take it as my .02 cents.

cheers!

 

[lowntegra]

spokes and nipples have arrived! they are beautiful.....going on the NOS nuke proof bombshell carbon rear hub, with a mavic 517 ceramic. i cant wait!

ill lace this up tomorrow morning.







now i need a proper seatpost..... have to decide if a cheap-o kalloy style in purple, will be cool.

 

[lowntegra]

been a while since an update. i finally got time to lace up the wheels. i think they came out beautifully.

front: XTR M950 hub, rainbow ti dye spokes, alloy purple nipples, mavic 217 CD ceramic, 32 h
rear: nuke proof carbon/ti, rainbow ti spokes, alloy purple nipples, mavic 517 CD ceramic, 32h

since last time, picked up a turquoise seat collar, chainring bolts,and a kalloy-type purple ano post. a week after i got that post, a ringle moby purple popped up and i won it for not too much!

since finding 27.0 posts was not too easy, i decided to buy a reamer, and make the frame fit a 27.2. worked like a charm!

have to put on the NOS purple onza grips, XT cassette, and chain. still looking for a 31.8 bottom pull front derailleur, and a cool seat. selle italia im thinking...

on with the pics:

 

[konaben82]

Almost too nice to ride!?