Originally Posted by velcro
I also wrote to GT (who have an awesome customer service dept, by the way) who replied:
"The top/head tube butting and 2-bolt derailleur hanger give it away as a 1995 model, but the Zaskar LE, Zaskar and Avalanche all had Competition Series decals on the seatstays. Unfortunately, all three were available in a ball-burnished finish, so we can't be any more specific than that."
Regarding the forks, there is indeed a damping adjustment dial on the top. Thanks for the link to seals, and all the info, Bike_13! I'll talk to Rockshox and see if they can help me with bushings, but I've heard that they won't have anything to do with pre-2001 units...
Velcro, I would be pretty sure that there would only be some slight tubing differences (if any between these three models - all had identical geometries though) and now that we know it is a US built model, you can be sure you have a quality frame on your hands there!
Yep, Rockshox are now owned by SRAM, so they might not bee very helpful. The only thing that could be difficult to get is the bushes, and if the fork has not been abused/ignored, they should be OK.
Good luck with that bike. I remember that it was a model I lusted over at the time.
Tip: use a massive rear tyre. Oversize 6061 tubing and the triple trioangle design produced an extremely NON compliant ride. A big fat tyre will allevaite some of that!
Good luck, and get out there ......