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Hey up,
I'd like to get back into a bit of XC/Marathon racing this year and am looking for a new rig, the last time I raced properly was back in the 90's on an original Zaskar, hence when I saw this I fell in love immediately:
http://www.gtbicycles.com/deu/2012/bikes/mountain/xc-race/2012-zaskar-carbon-9r-expert
The question is, is my sentimentality to the GT/Zaskar brand blocking my better judgement? Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any in depth/long term reviews out there, in anyone has one please let me know how you're getting on!
I can get one of these for Two Grand, is there anything else I should be considering for the same money? I've had a look at the following but still seem to prefer the GT:
Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Carbon 29
GIANT XtC Composite 29er 0
Trek Superfly 29er
Cheers,
Allan.
eeeeh, I've got one of those KKF !
(are you sure there's no diff between a zaskar and LE frame? - I thought there was)
Seem like lovely frames, GT are going to a lot of effort to stop anyone buying them though, hardly anywhere stocks them, no frame only that I can see, absolute stupid website (geometry is either missing or wrong, loads of mistakes, even on that page "Available Colors: Pearl Wht, Pearlwht", nice). That said, it used to be much worse a couple of years back.
They just seem like a huge bunch of monkeys.
I had a Carbon 26" Zaskar frame a couple of years back, it cracked and had to go back, they had no stock for replacement and quoted me about 6 months, I took a refund. Even then the finish looked nothing like the website, the frame weighed about a pound more than quoted. I'm assuming the lack of reviews is due to them not bothering sending review bikes out.
Apparently the new frame is much better than mine was, this is their wording though, so god knows. Quite where they went so wrong I'll never know, still time to turn it around if they could be arsed to spend £100 fixing the website and sending out some review bikes. Rather than ALL their money sponsoring the Athertons.
@Toasty, yes, I have to agree with you about the distribution, I even used the find "Local Bike Shop" function directly from their website, not one of the listed shops even mentioned that they stock GT on their websites!
It would be a mail order job, if anything goes wrong it'll be a pain to set right, hence my interest in anyone else out there who may have run one, but apparently not... Hmm....
To the distributors credit they sorted out a refund for mine quite quick. Well after sending the frame off somewhere for CSI-style analysis, to tell whether I was lying and had secretly crashed or been in a gun fight.
scaredypants - Member
eeeeh, I've got one of those KKF !
(are you sure there's no diff between a zaskar and LE frame? - I thought there was)
No frame difference between the Zaskar and Zaskare LE. Zaskar came with XT gruppo and Judy XC forks. LE came with XTR, better finishing kit and Judy SL's.
Depends on age I think, there were certainly a few years where there were differences. It's more down to age/serial number, some were 6061 T6, some 7005, some USA made etc.
LE Ball Burnished pre bankruptcy USA construction . Possibly .
My '97 is still going strong and will be raced this year. Get an original.
my 96 is my lightweight SS 'Farmer Giles' special. silly quick on smooth uphill climbs . brutal on rooty / rocky tracks.
Mmm, great memories of my brace of Zaskars.
Rigid but damn quick, even with me on board.
sorry to hijack the thread and I realise it's not the legendary Zaskar but I have a 96 GT ball burnished avalanche, deore, Judy SL's Mavic wheel set which hasn't seen any serious use and is still has all original parts any ideas on the sort of dosh I could get for it?
GT Zaskar expert 2009 here. Love it. 🙂
I have a test run on that exact model tomorrow. First 29' I'll have ridden on and super excited. Just one more sleep & I'll let you know.
Still have my bent '96 Zaskar LE in mum's garage. Twas my first hooligan bike and I still miss it.
Would love to get it fixed up, put some decent kit and discs on it. But it wouldn't be the same. 🙁
Why wouldn't you get a modern lightweight 29er for XC-marathon type riding? I would.
A little late but just tested the 2012 gt zaskar carbon 9r expert. First 29er tried and loved it. Hate to agree with all the 29inch lovers but i really did enjoy it. Gonna put a deposit down now as only 2 left with suppliers
I loved my 96 Zaskar had DH bars (as risers were called then) on it and flatties - thought it was a proper hooligan bike, wonder how they compare to "modern geo" bikes like 456 etc?
Also I bought my LE as a frame only I'm sure there was a difference from standard at the time - maybe all tubes 6061 rather than some?
IIRC LE was built in the US which in reality probably meant that it wasn't as good as the Taiwanese built standard version 🙂
wonder how they compare to "modern geo" bikes like 456 etc
Shorter top tube, steeper head angle, less tyre clearance usually.
My 98 US spec zaskar is 6061 - its not an LE though.
Just thought the LE was slightly better specced, XTR instead of XT etc..
Ah yeah, as a full bike, no doubt the US built one was better spec'd
The difference in frames between the Le and standard zaskars ......nothing