2003 GT Avalanche 3.0

[pink poodle]

Water dampened from memory...


Good to see they aren't elastomer! As long as the spring isn't busted they will go up and down.

 

[2DIE]

Took her out today and the forks are working properly now, no more notching/stages in the travel.

Although because I'm heavy and the shocks only have 50mm travel I'll be keeping a eye out for used forks on here.

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[Mr Crudley]

Took her out today and the forks are working properly now, no more notching/stages in the travel.
Although because I'm heavy and the shocks only have 50mm travel I'll be keeping a eye out for used forks on here.

A great result, well done. 50mm will do you fine to get you out and about. Be wary to overcapitalise a low to mid range bike.

 

[2DIE]

A great result, well done. 50mm will do you fine to get you out and about. Be wary to overcapitalise a low to mid range bike.

Yeah, I've though of that. I've bought a few parts but I'll also be keeping the old parts to put back on if I ever get something else and want to sell it. Aside from the new chain, freewheel and cables.

I still haven't bottomed out on the shocks just riding on the road since I cleaned them up, I though it was going to today on a bad road but it didn't.

My 7 speed shifter started playing up today, I noticed if I press the lever all the way in to shift down it goes 2 gears down and a light press just changes 1 gear down. I'm not sure if that's a feature but after I did that a few times to figure out what's going on the shifts were all shitty since and could take a couple full crunchy rotations to settle. I'll try and adjust it tomorrow.

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[wesdadude]

Some shifters can jump two gears with the thumbs, it's pretty common.

 

[2DIE]

Some shifters can jump two gears with the thumbs, it's pretty common.

Cheers for the info, good to know it's not rooted.

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[Mr Crudley]

Yeah, I've though of that. I've bought a few parts but I'll also be keeping the old parts to put back on if I ever get something else and want to sell it. Aside from the new chain, freewheel and cables.

It is too easy yo get carried away, I'm hardly the one to preace.

I spent $30 on Gumtree and prompty spent more than I should have turning into an SS compared to the purchase price.
Oh well, It came out ok in the end and probably saved it from beign turned into scrap metal.

I still haven't bottomed out on the shocks just riding on the road since I cleaned them up, I though it was going to today on a bad road but it didn't.

They will do fine for riding around and will get you out on trails and back. Also being easy to service is a bonus.
Just enjoy them and make the most of them. he path to schmancy bike bits has no end :heh:

 

[Mr Crudley]

Some shifters can jump two gears with the thumbs, it's pretty common.

+1, and can be pretty handy to shift down a few gears at once.

 

[2DIE]

It is too easy yo get carried away, I'm hardly the one to preace.

I spent $30 on Gumtree and prompty spent more than I should have turning into an SS compared to the purchase price.
Oh well, It came out ok in the end and probably saved it from beign turned into scrap metal.







They will do fine for riding around and will get you out on trails and back. Also being easy to service is a bonus.
Just enjoy them and make the most of them. he path to schmancy bike bits has no end :heh:

That's a bargain, I've always had a soft spot for GT bikes since my Kuwahara BMX frame got bent and my friend let me his GT for a few years, I even bought 3 spoke GT tuffs for it which set it off.

From another thread on here I've got some inspiration and have been googling along the lines of "polished GT aluminium MTB frame" and have found a lot of insperational pictures.

This is seriously making me consider stripping my frame and figuring out how to get that level of polishing without paying for it professionally.

 

[Mr Crudley]

This is seriously making me consider stripping my frame and figuring out how to get that level of polishing without paying for it professionally.

I *really* love how this one looks - very nice .......... I think I have a thing for silver/Ti and black with splatters of red. I'd put some gears on it though.

 

[2DIE]

I *really* love how this one looks - very nice .......... I think I have a thing for silver/Ti and black with splatters of red. I'd put some gears on it though.

I'm considering a single front chainring on mine because I only use the middle one, although I'd probably have to get a "mega range" freewheel for $20 or so and making it a 7 speed.

At the moment I just want to do things that are free or cheap but I'm not ready to strip the bike and have all the parts piled on the floor for a week while I polished the frame, ideally I'd like to come across another large Avalanche frame to do it to then swap all the parts over.

Do you know the differnt between the same year model Avalanche and Agressor frame? Going by pics I can't tell the difference, and the only difference I can spot with the Outpost is the shorter tube that the steerer passes through (*edit: just looked it up again and I'm not even 100% is a shorter tube now).

I know the Avalanche is a higher model than the Agressor but I'm not sure if it's just the same frame and I don't know where the Outpost falls.

 

[Flow-Rider]

Do you know the differnt between the same year model Avalanche and Agressor frame? Going by pics I can't tell the difference, and the only difference I can spot with the Outpost is the shorter tube that the steerer passes through (*edit: just looked it up again and I'm not even 100% is a shorter tube now).

I know the Avalanche is a higher model than the Agressor but I'm not sure if it's just the same frame and I don't know where the Outpost falls.

The Aggressor is a lighter duty frame with a few small differences like the rear dropouts and the slightly different front gusset but still quite strong.

This is an old outpost I converted to disc brake and I regret doing it as the quality of the frame build was exceptional compared to a later model GT Telera I had also done. The outpost frame looked to be fully chromoly once it was striped back.

 

[2DIE]

The Aggressor is a lighter duty frame with a few small differences like the rear dropouts and the slightly different front gusset but still quite strong.

This is an old outpost I converted to disc brake and I regret doing it as the quality of the frame build was exceptional compared to a later model GT Telera I had also done. The outpost frame looked to be fully chromoly once it was striped back.

View attachment 333777

View attachment 333778

Thanks for that, I'll keep an eye out for any larger Avalanche going for cheap based on the info. I see a few now for $80-120 but no L or XL frames, hopefully I'll spot one with flats and a bad driveline or something and get it for next to nothing.

 

[Knuckles]

Mmmmmmmm......polished stanchions. Do you even bushing slop, bro?

#knuckleswasadrunkenchunt

 

[2DIE]

Mmmmmmmm......polished stanchions. Do you even bushing slop, bro?

#knuckleswasadrunkenchunt

I was thinking about stripping and polishing mine just to see what I'd be up for before deciding to do the frame. Do you mean bushing slop in the forks? I just tried to move them and there is zero play.

Found another sweet looking GT for insperation.

I also found some old Oury grips that I bought about a million years ago, I won't use them on the GT though unless I get really desperate.

 

[Mr Crudley]

I'm considering a single front chainring on mine because I only use the middle one, although I'd probably have to get a "mega range" freewheel for $20 or so and making it a 7 speed.

Fair enough, that is one good thing not buying off the shelf. You can put together whatever suits you best. Find nice hills if you have no bail out gear

At the moment I just want to do things that are free or cheap but I'm not ready to strip the bike and have all the parts piled on the floor for a week while I polished the frame, ideally I'd like to come across another large Avalanche frame to do it to then swap all the parts over.

You are doing it the right way. Free is good 4 letter word and much better than work.
Keep an eye out for donor bike too that might pop up Gumtree / Ebay / For Sale / Cash Converters forums etc that you can use to graft components onto you new steed. The unfashionable 26" stuff can be had for bargain if you are patient and don't mind scouring places to find.

Do you know the differnt between the same year model Avalanche and Agressor frame? Going by pics I can't tell the difference, and the only difference I can spot with the Outpost is the shorter tube that the steerer passes through (*edit: just looked it up again and I'm not even 100% is a shorter tube now).

I'll have to admit that GT's product line sure did get confusing. The alloy Avalanche's Agressors and Panteras were made in Taiwan but some of the cheaper and later model ones again could be from China.

Some bikes were much the same but different features such at the Richter 8.0 which was one of the first with Rock Shox front suspension but had plain gauge tubing (much like the Timberline and below) to keep the costs down.

The serial numbers can give some hints too and the leading 'H' like on my green Justin Timberline signifies the Hodaka plant http://www.hodaka.com.tw/ that made them for GT among other companies. They did a good job since I think the only way to break that frame would be to run over it with something heavy.

I know the Avalanche is a higher model than the Agressor but I'm not sure if it's just the same frame and I don't know where the Outpost falls.

I think the Outpost was the bottom line then the Talera. I had a Talera as my first ever MTB when I lusted after the more expensive stuff but couldn't afford nor justify saying to the folks 'it only cost me $2.5k' without getting sent to doctor immediately afterwards.

Saying that, I had loads of great times on the Talera and wouldn't have changed it for anything as it introduced me to messing around in the mountains on a bike.

Here is link to the GT catalogues that listed the bikes and model pecking orders for each year in the 90's. They did make some great stuff when you look back at it all.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/v/Manufacturer+Archive/GT/Catalogues/

Stuff like this made be dribble for the 92 Avalanche which I pulled the trigger on eventually.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/v/Manufacturer+Archive/GT/Ads/Avalanche/GT+Avalanche+1+800.jpg.html

 

[Mr Crudley]

This is an old outpost I converted to disc brake and I regret doing it as the quality of the frame build was exceptional compared to a later model GT Telera I had also done. The outpost frame looked to be fully chromoly once it was striped back.

Came up pretty darn good. The disc mount looks ok, what don't you like about it? The early Outposts were plain gauge Tange Cro-mo and 'stout ' is the word, really, stout. I could really notice the difference from my Talera and the Timberlines to the higher grade GT's.

 

[Mr Crudley]

Found another sweet looking GT for insperation.

Nice, one of those colour schemes I can't resist. I think the Bomber X Flys like these are great match for an build. Marzocchi's in that era aren't the most sophisticated forks but work well and were plush and durable. They also look just right like these..

I also found some old Oury grips that I bought about a million years ago, I won't use them on the GT though unless I get really desperate.

Hey, I have them on the Zanger, although might be a bit newer. If they haven't turned to rubbery goop and colour suits you build then you are on a winner :heh:

 

[Mr Crudley]

Thanks for that, I'll keep an eye out for any larger Avalanche going for cheap based on the info. I see a few now for $80-120 but no L or XL frames, hopefully I'll spot one with flats and a bad driveline or something and get it for next to nothing.

I just saw this on the Retro MTB group on Facebookerie........ It looks sensational in a wacky GT way.
How couldn't anyone not like this one? Not a candidate for paint stripping. It echo's the GT Team Scream paint job.

 

[2DIE]

Nice, one of those colour schemes I can't resist. I think the Bomber X Flys like these are great match for an build. Marzocchi's in that era aren't the most sophisticated forks but work well and were plush and durable. They also look just right like these..

View attachment 333788



Hey, I have them on the Zanger, although might be a bit newer. If they haven't turned to rubbery goop and colour suits you build then you are on a winner :heh:

Those forks are sweet, hopefully I'll come across something like them oneday. Either white or silver would be nice, any other colour and I'd probably strip and polish them.