My GT STS -98

xam1

Old School Hero
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Hi all,

I thought to share this STS project summary here at Retrobike.

So, last fall (2013) I saw this stripped frame hanging on the sealing at my job`s basement, and since that kept on talking to my boss over to sell it for me, and finally he did in december. I kind of salvaged that GT, cause he had planned to build the electric monsterbike from it! And I can tell you that i paid price was right. I don`t know the bike`s exact history but before it was stripped down it was equipped very poor entry level parts and the previous owner obviously didn´t know much about these bikes.






The RS super deluxe rear shock was pretty shot, so I replaced that with RS deluxe, at least for now. I also planned for fitting the Brain shock but that´s maybe later.



Also the rear suspension bushings were worn out, so I replaced those with new bushing kit.



Measured that the Brain hose reaches to near the axle.



For the front fork i choosed -98-99 Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Bam with 130mm travel and bought it from by this forum. (R.I.P. Petr, Aka IGOTTASEROTTA) It wasn`t seen a service for a long time and oil seals were leaking, so I did complete service and fitted new o-ring, oil-seals and dust seals. Stanchion tubes and the internals of the fork was in very good condition. The fork is also equipped with ETA-lock-out system on the other leg. When turned on, the fork locks itself in ~100mm position and leave still about 30mm:s suspension available. It also came with the Blackspire EMBrace arch but its not fitted at the moment. The suspension is very smooth. I also have -02 Bomber DirtJumper 1 in 100mm in vgc, which was the other fork option.



Little bit progression.





For the wheels I got nice pair of little used Mavic Crossrides for free because both hubs had a broken spoke flange. So I disassembled the wheels and friend of mine tig-welded them. Rebuilded them and they´re fine now. I also have a pair of XTR M965 disc wheels waiting, but I choosed to run on the rim brakes for now.





So little by little I collected parts and doing some assembling in one day and thinking and tinkering in another. Before started this build, I had decided to do this up with the mix of old/modern quality parts and many of them found from by this forum. The pics can speak for themselves.

First test drive night.



I have ride it only couple of times yet(due the bad weathers here), but I´m very happy how it rides and accelerates. The Bombers smooths out just about every bump out there and the rear follows nicely. Just waiting for the summer to come and get that bike to the forest trails and paths. All in all I´m very pleased how this bike builded up!













Couple of pics from the snowy ride.





Here`s some part list at the moment:

Frame: GT STS 1998 16"
Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z1 130mm
Rear Shock: RS SuperDeluxe
Wheels: Mavic Crossride UB
Tires: Schwalbe Nobby Nic Evo 26x2.25
Brakes: Avid 25
Brake levers: Avid Speed Dial 7
Crankset: Shimano XT M770
Chain: KMC X9SL
Front mech: Shimano XTR M970
Rear mech: Sram X9
Shifters: Sram X9
Cassette: Sram PG990
Brake/Gear cables Nokon
Stem: Scott Components
Handlebar: Easton Monkeylite CT2
Headset: Cane Creek Forty
Grips: Specialized XC
Saddle: WTB Pure V (GT)
Pedals: Wellgo V12 Copy
Seatpost: Mounty?

And to everyone here who have helped me with this build, I´d like to say thank you! Great people,great forum!
 
You have one of the rare STS frames that have disc tabs and you should be using it! Otherwise that looks like an awesome bike. You can still get STS decals on eBay.
 
Re:

Thanks for your comment! I might be fitting discbrakes at some point, I already have NOS Magura Marta calipers in black which would match the black/silver colour theme.. Or other option is M965 calipers. And I'm working on decals, even though I'm starting to like that madmax-black-frame looks. Btw, does anybody recognise that headtube batch in the first picture?
 
Re:

An update here so few new pics.

Since last time I´ve changed the rear shock to SuperDeluxe, added new sticker-set and new pedals.
Now when I had a chance to tune the suspension on a proper trail, I really like how this thing rides!









 
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