GT KARAKORAM, 1996

Finally, I get to own a legend of its time. A GT Karakoram. Back in the 90s, this bike with the unique tripple triangle took the MTB world by storm with this radical and yet sturdy,solid design. The design lasted till today. Although the new GTs are aluminium or alloy frames, the good old steel is still my favourite.
I bought the frame together with the stem online for SGD$200. The frame has been sun baked, thus the colour faded unevenly. I'm still trying to find the right rigid fork to complete the bike. Hopefully, fate will let me ride this legend again....

The previous owner changed the headset to a threadless one. I'm still trying to find a rigid fork, hopefully something similar and replace the headset to one meant for threaded fork.

Love the stickers that screams 'Tange"...

Managed to find a pair of NOS Diacompe centre pull brakes. FS990. Going to find another pair, which I believe to be AD990 originally used by this model. 

Bye-bye Alpinestar!!

Finally, after months or maybe a year or two keeping the classic Alpinestar, I decided to let it go. It was a decision which I have to live with. Time, personal commitment has prevented me from taking it out for spin. It just sits there, collecting cobwebs. With a heavy heart, I put up an online advertisement. Less than a week, it's has found itself a new home.... T.T

1991 Alpinestar Cromega LX T26......Part 1

Recently, feeling kind of bored and looking through my past and present collection of vintage / classic bikes, something seems to be amiss. I have actually missed out in a MTB or BITDs it's called 'ATB' collection. Flipping through my old school MTB Action magazines, a strange feeling rushed through me. It's none other than a picture of an Alpinestar. I have always love this bike the moment I set my eyes on it. The unique design and that EOS ( Elevated Oversize Stay ) system was way advance back then.
With that 'sudden rush', I immediately scan through the web for information regarding this bike.
It seems that in UK, there is a huge following for the Alpinestar Cromega DX. Since there is a huge following, why follow then? Well, if everybody has one, that means it not so 'rare', right?
So, I dug further and found that Alpinestar also produced another model, frame smaller in size, meant for short riders.

This saddle comes orginally with the bike. I presume it's the ORIGNAL set up.

Look at those tyres from Alpinestar. After 20 years, it's still soft and no sign of hardening or cracking. That's what I call 'QUALITY'.

Chromoly is actually an alloy, made up of Chromium and Molybdenum or also know as CRMO. It is easy to weld and the best thing is that it's stronger and harder than standard steel. It also possesses excellent strength to weight ratio, thus suitable for making high-end bicycles. This bike's frame and fork is made entirely of this material, CRMO.