Show us yer old MTB(s)

[purpurite]

My current "project" is a '93 GT Xizang. I have wanted one since I bought my first mountain bike in '92, and I finally was able to recently acquire one.

It was a bit neglected when I got it, and I promptly tore it all down, refinished the frame in a bright brushed finish, and applied a full set of reproduction decals. Turned out fantastic.

It's going to be built up with mostly contemporary components, wherever possible. Should be light and stealthy, and freak out all of the kids with their 6" travel full suspension 29ers.









Here's what she looked like when I found her... dry rotted, covered in dried paint splatters, neglected and forgotten:

[Villgaxx]

Originally Posted by upon3

My current "project" is a '93 GT Xizang. I have wanted one since I bought my first mountain bike in '92, and I finally was able to recently acquire one.

It was a bit neglected when I got it, and I promptly tore it all down, refinished the frame in a bright brushed finish, and applied a full set of reproduction decals. Turned out fantastic.

It's going to be built up with mostly contemporary components, wherever possible. Should be light and stealthy, and freak out all of the kids with their 6" travel full suspension 29ers.









Here's what she looked like when I found her... dry rotted, covered in dried paint splatters, neglected and forgotten:

Sweet.

[Netdewt]

Love that Xizang.

I've got this Tachyon waiting to be finished.

[eric01]

This thread needs more purple anodized parts!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[retrofit]

Originally Posted by bobswire

1997 GT Zaskar fun as all get out and ride.

Bob, are those tires Maxxis Holy Rollers or Creepy Crawlers?

[bobswire]

Originally Posted by retrofit

Bob, are those tires Maxxis Holy Rollers or Creepy Crawlers?

Holy Rollers, love'M. Handles most anything well except mud. Since most of my rides are both pavement and dirt trial ( GG Park, Presidio, Marin Headlands) these work out great though I wouldn't hesitate to use them for commuting.

[crankles]

Of all the bikes I've owned, this is the only one I've kept that's over 20 yrs old...how odd.

[bobswire]

[QUOTE=upon3;2034131]My current "project" is a '93 GT Xizang. I have wanted one since I bought my first mountain bike in '92, and I finally was able to recently acquire one.

It was a bit neglected when I got it, and I promptly tore it all down, refinished the frame in a bright brushed finish, and applied a full set of reproduction decals. Turned out fantastic.

It's going to be built up with mostly contemporary components, wherever possible. Should be light and stealthy, and freak out all of the kids with their 6" travel full suspension 29ers.

Well done,great bikes,yours is particularly nice.

[retrofit]

Originally Posted by bobswire

Holy Rollers, love'M. Handles most anything well except mud. Since most of my rides are both pavement and dirt trial ( GG Park, Presidio, Marin Headlands) these work out great though I wouldn't hesitate to use them for commuting.

Cool. Thanks.

[RFC]

Originally Posted by upon3

My current "project" is a '93 GT Xizang. I have wanted one since I bought my first mountain bike in '92, and I finally was able to recently acquire one.

It was a bit neglected when I got it, and I promptly tore it all down, refinished the frame in a bright brushed finish, and applied a full set of reproduction decals. Turned out fantastic.

It's going to be built up with mostly contemporary components, wherever possible. Should be light and stealthy, and freak out all of the kids with their 6" travel full suspension 29ers.

Wow! That is a beautiful bike! How long did it take you to refinish? Scotchbrite?

Given the year and the distinctive bullet stays, my bet that it was built by Litespeed for GT. I would love to get my hands one of those.

Old MTB's are just plain fun to restore / mod and use for bombers. A number have gone through my hands, with several ending up in Thailand.

I still have a mid 90's Litespeed made (may be an Obed), note the bullet stays, and a mid 90's Titanium Red made out of surplus MIGs. The Red is set up as a bomber SS. The seat is flat, but the rear wheel raised in the photo. I recently sold a 1989 Fisher Procaliber to a guy who actually welded these frames for Fisher.

[purpurite]

Originally Posted by RFC

Wow! That is a beautiful bike! How long did it take you to refinish? Scotchbrite?

Yeah, 3M ScotchBride pads (tried both red and green—green was a finer shine), cut into 2" x 10" strips, then "shoeshined" perpendicular to the tubing.

The original Xizang frames from GT were all hand polished, so I started to restore the polished frame. After about an hour of polishing, I realized how useless that was to me for a finish that I didn't even really like. So I went with a finish similar to the old Merlins, which I love.

The whole refinishing process took about 3 hours for me over a few evenings in the shop, maybe a little longer.

Here's what it looked like before I started on refinishing it...

[RFC]

Again, nice job!

Are those Fat Boys in the background?

[purpurite]

Originally Posted by RFC

Are those Fat Boys in the background?

Yup! Old trainer and urban assault MTB tires.

[RFC]

I wish they were still being made.

[Kunk]

Hey guys! Pretty new to the site, been lurking for a couple of months. This is my Serotta TiMax (pretty sure it's around a 2000 or so). Sorry for the bad quality and lighting, it's getting dark so I had to take some photos indoors