vosyer

I have seen these quite fequently on Craigslist they look reasonably priced are any intereseting enough to acquire one?

roccobike

Are you looking for an older bike to ride in the neighborhood, something for single track??? More info is needed.
GT was a good brand but the badge was sold a little while ago. If you're looking for a recent model front suspension hardtail bike for single track riding, maybe you should ask this question in the Mountain Bike forum.

bigwoo

But if you're asking about the vintage GT MTB's that pop up on CL once in a while, YOU BET THEY ARE WORTH CHECKING OUT! Here in the Rocky Mountains they hold their value really well too...

Here are a few random thoughts about some of the ones that were pretty darn nice in the late 80's/early 90's:

If you see anything that says "Xizang" or "Zaskar" for the love of God don't think, grab it right away, and then PM me as they are terrible and I will need to destroy them for you.

Cited from a few of the great GT experts over on MTBR: Some great ones to keep an eye out for are the Psyclone (True Temper GTX Utlra 3 double butted), Team Avalanche (Tange Prestige and Concept Tubing), Richeter 8.0 (Tange double butted MTB), Bravado (True Temper GTX Ultra 3 double butted), Avalanche (True Temper GTX double butted), Karokoram (Tange double butted MTB), Tequesta (Tange double butted MTB)

And some classic GT's that make wonderful daily commuters are the Timberline (True Temper maintubes later, Ishiwata maintubes on the very hard-to-find early ones), Talera (Tange maintubes) and the lowly (not!) Outpost (Tange maintubes)


The "Triple Triangle Design" was always so classic. And they had really neat advanced features back then too!
Here's my early 90's Tequesta w/ internally routed brake cable and internal stem routing:
https://

https://

https://


Most vintage GT's are BOMBPROOF and very smooth to ride....

This is a vintage '89 Timberline that was a blast to ride until I aquired the Tequesta. It had Ishiwata main tubes:
https://

Sadly, I believe that they were another good company that Pacific Bikes acquired and destroyed....

vosyer

Karokoram K-2 is the model the seller wants to show me - say it's been ridden about 5 times - not exactually sure of the age. He said he'll send me better pictures and a component list tomorrow - staring price is $250 - I am hoping to get it for $175.00, has fenders and a rack and lights. At heart I am a tourer so I am hoping to convert it to such. I suspect it's tange double butted - shimano lx all around.

mparker326

I've got a mid 90's Karakorum. Wonderful bike. I use it as a commuter/haul kids/pull trailer/utility bike.

bigwoo

I like those fenders mparker326!
By any chance, do you remember what brand they are or where you purchased them?

mparker326

They are SKS's from Nashbar. Easy to install & have been trouble free for 2 years now.

bigwoo

Sweet! Thank you for that,
I'm having some clearance problems with the cheapo REI full-fenders that I purchased for my old Cannondale MTB and would like a fender upgrade. I'm gonna try those because they look like they will clear my big fat semi-slicks.
Thank you!

jgedwa

I won a Tequestra on Ebay last year for $30. But then the evil seller decided that was not a high enough price. I have been looking for a good one since then.

jim

GT2005

Tequestas rock! -GT2005

WNG

I've been searching and searching for a good sample here in New England. No luck yet.

Thumpic

I found a "GT" bike at the thirft store 2 days ago; $15......but it does not have the "triangle" frame at the seatpost.......I passed on it as it had really crapppy components; but it did have all the right GT markings...are there fake GTs out there????

mstrpete

Oh sure, everybody's suddenly in love with GT Tequestas! Where were you when I was trying to sell mine on CL for $50 and hardly got a nibble?

I ended up swapping the wheels, along with the 7-speed hub, onto my Trek 830, which just fit me better. So it was set up as a 15-speed. Then one day someone was test-riding it down my street, and he over-shifted the rear gears and ended up destroying the rear derailleur And then it looked like this:

The damage was extensive. I ended up giving it away. Someone got it from the front yard, and good luck to them.

well biked 

As has already been noted, GT was a nice brand. They went bankrupt in 2001 or 2002, kind of disappeared for a year or two and sometime along the way the brand was purchased by Pacific (same company that currently owns the Schwinn brand). I have no idea about the current line of GT's; I think some of them may be bike shop quality and I know some are sold in Big Box sporting goods stores, and maybe even X-Marts. The bottom line is that a new "GT" doesn't mean what it used to. And even with that being said, before the bankruptcy there were low end GT's and high end GT's, and pretty much everything in between. But at least all of the old ones were sold in bike shops-

Thumpic

thanks!!!!!..........I won't rush back to Goodwill...............

vosyer

So when I got home this what the seller sent me - don't know to much about
Suntour stuff so I don't how this fit into their component line up or what age,
any help would be appreciated.mw

Here are the components for the GT. Please let me know if you have further questions.

The bike is part of GT's Competition Mountain Bike Line. It cost me several thousand dollars.

- Rear derailleur: SunTour XC 9010 Accushift

- Front derailleur: SunTour 9000

- Brake: DIA-COMPE 994

PBR Streetgang

Several thousand dollars? It's a mid-level GT, not bad, but not the best either. I see them on CL here (hot market) between $100 and $200.

On the history, I thought Schwinn bought GT and then Schwinn went bankrupt. Pacific bought both brands.

sonatageek

I am in the process of setting up an old GT Karokoram as a single speed. Got the bike for $10.00 from a CL listing for just the frame. It is a well used bike, but the frame has no dents and looks to be solid. The drive train is worn, so I decided to take the rear cluster apart to select a still usable sprocket, and set up a quickie SS. The rims are worn, but still have a bit of life left in them, so I it seemed like a reasonable bike to experiment with.

It has working Deore thumbshifters (6 speed) that are going to go up on ebay.

I have another GT, an Outpost that is in nice shape, except for 2 totally non-working rapid fire shifters. It also cost $10.00. I tried the flush with WD-40 (which has worked wonders on other rapid fire controls that have been trouble) but in this case -- no help. I have a set of friction thumb shifters that I am going to set it up with. It should make a nice campus/around town rider.

Sixty Fiver

I had a Karakoram for while and ran it as a fixed gear...it was a beautiful bike that I gave to my friend since I already had another fixed mtb and he now has a Zaskar Race which is a freaking beautiful XC bike.

Older GT's are well known for being overbuilt and are simply great bikes.

vosyer

I haven't seen this bike in person - he's asking $250 - I am thinking $175. According to what I can find they sold new $500 to $700 does that about right?
He say ridden 5 times or less probably 88 or 1989 pre Schwinn . Again according to him he was injured just after purchasing.Is there anyway it sold for a couple 1000 new? Oh yes confirmed it's double butted Tange tubing.

mrrabbit 

IMHO any GT from before the bankruptucy / pacific buyout period is a collectors item.

I've already told by brother who has 2 Tempests with all the original stuff on 'em not to sell nor to park 'em outside.

You won't believe how much original GT's seem to be specifically targetted by bicycle thieves here in the SF bay area. You can have a dozen comtemporary bikes parked in a rack with a lone lowly GT outpost among from the 90's and guess which one will get agressively targetted for theft?

It seems as though the thieves know the difference between the originals and the department stores ones pretty well.

It's also common for folks the last few years to pick up an old frame - have it repainted - and then rebuilt. Repainting with the old Karakoram yellow/blue scheme seems to be a popular repaint choice.

=8-)

Bikedued

I had a seafoam green Talera, it was a very nice machiine!! I sold it on CL for $150. It sold rather quickly too, maybe I should have asked more? My friend has an older Maroon GT MTB from the same period, but I cannot remember the model.,,,,BD

mparker326

Here is a link that lists GT's back to 93. The cost of a Karakorum then was $609. I doubt his cost several thousand. https://bike-alog.com/BikePedia/Quick...oram&Type=bike

vosyer

Thanks everyone - based upon all this information I made him an offer of $150. We'll have to see if he takes it

Thumpic

I tried the flush with WD-40 (which has worked wonders on other rapid fire controls that have been trouble) but in this case -- no help.


I had a pair of old shifters that I held in simmering water in a pot with a pair of tongs. I cooked out all the old dried up factory gunk and re-greased.......worked like a charm........