Picked up a 2001? GT ZR-1 worth the build?
 

Unsure if i am allowed in the section
But in search of the bike that got me into biking (90s Karakoram) i came across this locally and just bought it, i remember seeing this bike and the red/white LOTTO version back in the day but it was more than i could afford and not into road bikes then, only MTB
Thinking about doing a small build, possibly more modern components.
I love the paint scheme but there are a "few" dings.


Repaint whole bike? Repaint yellow parts? Keep it original? Scrap project?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...37cf6b7f3.jpeg
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Top tube large gash
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...117ac8485.jpeg
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Classic & Vintage is a sliding scale. Pretty much everyone is welcome here, especially when you have something that other forums consider "obsolete". The road forum starts to get surly if you are more than one or two generations behind the latest thing.

I wouldn't repaint for such minor scratches. Find some matching touch-up paint and it will look fine. Being aluminum, check it carefully for cracks at all the joints.

That frame is worthy of a nice build. I have kept my eyes peeled for YEARS for a nice GT road bike. It's sorta in my grail category. Good luck!

Touch it up and keep the original paint job.
Nice find!

Yes, if the frame fits, build it up and ride the snot out of it. Your questions remind me of concerns I had myself when I first got into "vintage" bikes and paint condition. After you've seen enough bikes, your tolerance for nicks and scratches goes way up - I'd consider that to have pretty nice paint at this point. :)

Touch it up, build it up, ride it up!

Ditto on that sentiment.

Very cool bike. High end aluminum bikes from the mid to late 90s and very early 2000s are great. This was right before hydroforming started to become dominant in aluminum bike design so the bikes actually look good too as they generally have straight, unprofiled tubing.

I've owned two 90s aluminum bikes (95 Stumpjumper M2 and now a 99 Schwinn Homegrown hardtail) and they both ride great.

I never really like the GT mountain bikes (not sure why) but I always loved the way their road bikes looked. I say do it. I don't think you will regret it.

Sweet triple triangle GT! The paint looks to be in great shape. Touching up the chips should be no problem. Give it a wax if you have some and know how to, and that will shine it up and provide additional protection (I do this to all new-to-me frames that I pick up). Build it up with your favorite components and ride it as intended!

As to 2001 being C&V, yes, C&V is a sliding scale, though ~20 years tends to be a good minimum age. Welcome to the edge. '90s are definitely in, even if they're primarily composed of Cannondale examples it seems.

Easton Tubing was the prime beef of the aluminum world back in the day. It's a good frame. Like others have said, look for cracks around the weld, usually around the head tube to be safe. If that's all good, you can build it and ride it.

Don't even touch it up. Those nicks were earned.

Thanks for all the responses
Looks like its a go!
As i said before i love this frame/paint scheme so i know this will be a fun bike when done
I weighed the frame and comes in at 3.04lbs or 1.38kg on my feedback scale
Currently shopping for a donor bike to get the build started

Late to the party but in full agreement with responses here. Tubing great and iconic style. My 95 Force is a rocket. Do you have a CF fork with the frame or ?

It did not come with an original fork but i was given a CF fork that he said was from a Trek T1 or something like that, its in the backround of one of the pictures i can get some better pictures of it, unsure if its good or not or if i need to search out a GT fork to keep it original frameset. Looks like there is 2 different kinds of forks for the ZR line up depending on 1.0 2.0 3.0 etc....

i wouldn't touch it up either, nothing wrong with a little patina!

as for the fork, unless it's drastically different geometry, i would run what you've got. if you some how come across an original fork one day, it's a pretty easy job swapping it out.

A lot of aluminium bikes got aftermarket CF forks when that material became prevalent. Mine was aluminium with a chromo fork so I found an aftermarket CF fork very close to the specs and put it on. Lively ride indeed!

Love the painted livery on your model. Great colour combo. Mine came with fill RSX but thinking I will upgrade it to 10 speed 105 soon.

Let us know how the build progresses!

Got a few possible donor bikes i found in the $500-$600 area, trying to get a SRAM bike with decent wheels

Since i have no parts laying around maybe a donor bike is my best bet, then if i find i need different bars/stem i can change it out

Watch out for compatibility with components. I have been tripped up with the front derailleur a few times.

Very cool bike. Build & ride.

Karakoram was my grail bike back in the mid '90s. I bought a 1998 (I think) model, tore it down and built it with my preferred parts, and the frame broke in 2000.

If you are a SRAM guy, go for it. If you have never ridden with Dura Ace 9 speed, it is truly awesome and worth considering.

Are you suggesting a more time period groupset for the build?
I am on the fence, i like SRAM controls but i dont "hate" any other brand components (of the big 3)

$500 to $600 for a donor is way over my pay grade. I tend to either use Shimano 6400 8 speed (tricolor 600) or Shimano 7400 8 speed (Dura Ace). Sometimes you can find a donor where the sale of the frame covers the cost. That is my goal on donors, and I have done that several times. But I am patient.

Ya. I did a quick search and it seems that that GT came with the 7700 group which is truely fantastic as a drive train and looks refined. Parts are plug and play with your frame which s a bonus.

Pick up a donor bike today loaded with SRAM rival components
Its a pretty nice bike, after some google searching i guess it was the beginner $3200 bike below the racing BMC bikes


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