That's me on the left in 1990 (I'm 50 now). I used to ride that GT (Outpost?) to school and always dreamed of owning an Avalanche, but later on I headed straight into dual suspension trail bikes (they were called "all mountain" bikes back then) and well I never got around to owning an Avalanche until now!
Saw this very neglected 1996 Avalanche on FB Marketplace and had to save it.
Frame came up OK. It's got a ding on the top tube and downtube too. At this stage I decided that this bike was not going to be a restoration, but instead a bike to hit the trails with for some seriously fun underbiking, as well as a pub bike and bike to do the weekly grocery run with.
Soon after taking this photo I raided some brake levers off another bike as I couldn't stand not riding it anymore. I've been riding road bikes since December last year just as a way to keep my body moving (also for mental health), but damn I felt right at home on this thing. It's so playful! I found myself rolling down stairs instantly (I live in an apartment close to the city), rolling up stairs, skids, wheelies, then I thought I'd huck some stairs and well, the front quick release skewer somehow slipped enough for the brake pads to lock against the tyre and I had a good stack in front of the local barber shop (he was very amused!).
SO so so so glad to be back on a MTB though, super nostalgic, and after a year of working on fragile weight weenie parts with a torque wrench it was just so liberating to strip and build this bike up with brute force to get the old stuff off, and feel to get the new stuff on. I've got a bunch of gear on the way for it (mostly just fun bling bits). Considering some silver wheels and maybe a lighter fork too. Specs below:
1996 GT Avalanche
Frame: 15" (1748g)
Fork RST Delta Comp (1850g)
Hanger: GT (19g)
Headset: Aheadset (110g)
Shifter: microSHIFT Advent Trail Trigger Pro (119g)
Brakes: Deore V-Brake + BBB VeePipe noodles (227g)
Brake Pads: Koolstop Salmon: (124g)
Brake Booster: Acor (g)
Stem: KORE (173g)
Stem Spacers: Ritchey (g)
Handlebar: KORE (168g)
Grips: ODI Ruffian (100g)
Crankset: TruVativ XX 170mm (530g)
Chainring: Wolf Tooth 120 BCD 36T (54g)
Chain: Shimano 10-Speed (252g)
Pedals: DMR V12 (415g)
Rear Derailleur: MicroSHIFT Advent X (313g)
Wheelset: (888g/1083g)
Quick Release Skewers: Zipp (77g)
Cassette: Shimano Deore 10-Speed 11-36T (365g)
Lockring: ZTTO (6g)
Seatpost: (230g)
Seatpost Clamp: (8g)
Saddle: Tioga MC Lite (198g)
Front Tyre: Kenda Small Bock 8 26" x 2.1" (619g)
Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Billy Bonkers 26" x 2.1" (533g)
Tubes: Maxxis Flyweight (96g/96g)
Bottle Cage: Tioga (55g)
Current Weight: 10.72g