Yet another retro MTB - GT Karakoram 1991

Inspired by some recent threads on here, and the GTs I wanted as a kid in the 90s, I bought a 1991 Karakoram Elite frameset. I thought I would do my first CP too.

Going to build it up into a practical commuter bicycle and occasional MTB with sram 1x11. Flat bars at the moment but might try it with drops in the future. Most bits are ordered/arrived/in the parts bin already so this should be a quick build, once I have built the wheels (Kinlin ADHN on Shimano Deore hubs)!

One thing I have never done before is set up canti brakes (rear is a U-brake, no idea on that either) so any tips on those are very welcome. Also haven't mounted mudguards before but will give that a go too, and will add mudflaps in some sort of forum-approved way.

Anyway, some pics...

Frameset:

Rims:

Hubs:

im always fan of GT this will endup rad

That frame looks great! Interesting to see how it'll end up

Yet another retro MTB

The more the merrier!

Off to a good start with that frame. Looking good.

Nice !

Sub'd

Sub'd
Info on those rims, need a new set for my bridgestone.

Got them from cyclebasket, so you can order them and your alpina spokes together.

https://www.cyclebasket.com/m9b0s542p3590/Kinlin_ADHN_Rim

They built up nicely and are wider than the mavic alternatives. Forgot to weigh them before building but the wheels come in under 2kg.

That paintjob is stunning!

Indeed it is. Great condition too!

Sub'd!

Built the wheels and threw some bits at this. I hope the marathon supremes are as good as everyone says because they were a bastard to get on.

Went at the mudguard stays with a blunt hacksaw, lost the will to live and ordered a dremel instead. Guards are Contec from Planet X (£8). You (don't) get what you pay for though as they were missing the frame mounting bolts. Luckily I have some spare.

Not that happy with the quill adapter and stem/bars but I had them lying around (stem and bars came off a modern GT actually). I think it will look better once the cable hanger is under the stem and it's all cabled up. If anyone has a nice old MTB quill stem (1 1/8 steerer) that might be better though. I also think it needs a Flite, even though I do find fabric saddles very comfortable. Comfort is temporary, style is permanent.

Pic below.

Pic doesn't show, I guess it's set to private

Aha I'll sort that later, hopefully this works.

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I have an old 1 1/8 Girvin Flexstem you can have if you want it. Not sure i’d ever describe it as a nice stem though.

GT flip flop stem is what you should be looking out for. Fairly rare though.

Haha those look cool but I will probably just leave it as it is. I went for the adapter partly so I can switch to drops more easily as well. The GT stems look awesome though so will look out! Cheers for the tip. The bike would have had a matching splatter stem originally. Shame it got lost along the way.

Have you got a U for the rear? This guy has some cheap U's at the momemt.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMX-U-Brake-Rear-Tektro-Black-907-twin-pinch-bolt-NOS-/182931035418?

I bought a Raw GT frame on here a few back and bought one. I've hooked up the brake, seems quite easy to centre but I've not put bars/levers on yet to test any further. I'm gonna run a V up front with one of those Travel Agent gizmos and see how I get on with it. If it's pants I'll go with a canti.
Have a search M_V wrote something about centring the U brakes, you need a spanner to hold a part of the brake in place on the stud and then you tighten the allen key to lock it so it works like the screw on a V brake by applying more pressure on the internal spring.

Following this thread with interest.

That is precisely what I bought! Arrived yesterday. Seller was excellent too after his first attempt got lost by Hermes (there's a thread for that right?).

Stuck them on this morning and worked out that thing about the internal spring, after it was pushing the pad onto the rim the first time I tightened the bolt (without holding the brake like you say). Glad to hear they seem ok to set up. I'll finish it off tonight.

Does yours have internal cable routing for the rear brake? Mine does and I managed to get a cable through, but only the wrong way round (using an allen key that I magnetised with some cadence magnets to grab it). Going to try gluing/taping a cable the right way round to that one and pulling it through!

Front on mine will be Tektro cr720, but I did look into a travel agent as V brakes just seem simpler.

Just read that @M_V post and it is excellent.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/220141/

My brake routing is external under the top tube with a cable stop near either end, internal is much neater solution though.

I fancy the V brake up front as I've never been a fan of cantis and as I've never used a U so I wanted one guaranteed brake!

I predict you'll have put a few miles on yours before I make any more progress I don't have much time to devote to this.

good luck

Gahhhhh I finished putting this together only to realise my sram knowledge has let me down! I seem to have bought an 'x-actuation' shifter and 'exact-actuation' RD. I have ordered a new (NX) RD after seeing one going cheap, so that will sort that out.

Also need some longer bolts and appropriate washers for my SJS front rack.

Here is a (not very good) pic of how it looks though.

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looking sexy

Thanks! It's getting a flite too which will look better.

how's the rear brake working out?