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Just got this one, 1994-1995 GT Karakoram I can't wait to get it all put together.


 
A GT dies so a Diamondback may live better.


I ripped apart the GT and put the wheels, brakes, derailleur, and a few other things on my Diamondback.

1987 Diamondback Accent
Mavic double wall rims
Parallax Hubs
21 speed twin trigger shifters
Shimano Deore LX derailleur
Shimano Deore LX brakes
Sugino Cranks
Diamondback BMX caged peddles
O'Neil grips with flanges cut off
alloy handlebars from the GT
New gear cables
new kickstand
Kenda 26 x 2.125 smooth tread tires
two water bottle cages
and a rack I got at a yard sale
 
I think I goy yous all beat! My uncle is the original owner of the 23rd purpose built mountian bike ever! It was brazed by tom ritchey and assembled by gary fisher.

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On the left is a first year stumpjumper
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Pretty much any USA-made Schwinn is my MTB grail. Here's the '98 LX/XT I picked up a couple of months ago. No, it's not the alcohol, so sorry for the blurry pictures and my failure to pick up the Bass Boat Red...


 
Here's some shots of my 82 Ridge Runner.
Guy I got this from bought it at an estate sale from some guy's dad who apparently bought it brand new, rode it for 2 years, upgraded bikes, took off the tires, and there it sat, for 30 years. Given that there is no local market for collectable MTB's, traded him a 95 Hardrock and a T-bill, and off I went on my giddy ways.


This guy is immaculately clean for a 33 year old mountain bike, or bike in general. Other than chain slap, I can count the number of chips on 1 hand, this even has the original reflector, seat, grips, even the kickstand and OG specialized stainless cage from the shop. Pads and 7x rims are barely used.

Apparently only the earliest Ridge Runners had the rack mounts, and even earlier were they "solid" bi-plane type forks.

Just put new rubber on it. Era Correct Repop CST Snakebellys.









 
I guess my Mesa Runner qualifies.. I don't know the year. Mid 80's?
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I need to do something with the cassette/hub/axle/chain/ derailleur.... Tends to hop the chain and the cassette wobbles as the wheel spins. Still trying to straighten this too.. I ride it almost everyday anyway!
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Good chance of it being bent...That was my first thought. Is there a better axle to use?

I checked out a couple of youtube videos about the diff between cassettes and freewheels and now I know the difference...and that some wobble is fairly normal.:blush:

Update: 8/31/15 This bike gets ridden about an hour most every day now.. The more I rode it the better it has gotten.. I put a rack on the back and now it is the preferred method for going to Walmart, the bank, or the bike paths. I've even started shining up the chrome. The handlebars are peppered but the rims clean up nice..

And tonight I swapped around a couple of freewheels on a 24 inch kids bike...this time with the right tool, not the one the bike shop claimed would work.. and I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference now on cassettes...:happy:
 
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The wobble may be normalish, but its annoying, and pretty straight forward and cheap to swap in a straight one. Prob half or more of the bikes i find have a bent axle. Most layfolk dont notice.

Even after having numerous ball bearing mishaps, i still get confused w/ freewheel vs cassette. Getting a shimano freewheel tool has proven to help.
 
I can finally contribute to this awesomeness. I present to you a 1989 Fisher Advance!



This was my dad's daily driver back in the day when he bought it brand new in 1989. He gave it to me to use as a commuter bike because he hadn't ridden it in probably ten years. When he gave it to me it was 100% original including the Fisher Fattrax tires!

The rear tire was dry rotted quite badly but the front is actually in remarkably good shape! I bought a set of brand new commuter type tires for it and snagged some 3/4 good knobby tires from a friend for cheap that I could throw on when I wanted to go single tracking on it. I also replaced the grips because they were quite deteriorated.

Here's a picture of it in commuter setup



and another with the rack and bag on it that were bought with the bike in '89

 

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