'New' old ZaskarLE build
twonks
Posts: 352
Thought I'd best make my own thread instead of jumping on another 
After a few years of being just my second bike with mediocre kit on, I thought I'd create a viable alternative to the FS (which will always be my first bike due to back problems)
So, below is a rubbish camera phone pic of my 'new' Zaskar LE build.
It needs a few bits finishing off, namely the disk brake adaptor shaping and fitting the the rear dropout, a pedal, a wash and setting up
Kit list as is.
99' ZaskarLE frame in Cosmic Sunrise.
RST XMO air forks
DT 4.1d rims on LX c/lock hubs.
LX Disks. 180mm front, 160mm back
Truvativ Stylo Team c/set (2001 model)
XT front, XTR rear mech
Deore 8sp cassette and shifters.
Hutchinson pirahna tyres
Easton Monkeylight bars
Easton EA70 seatpost
WTB something saddle.
XTR spd's
At a guess, I'd say it weights around 23lb at the mo.
Still undecided on the forks. Those RST XMO that are on have Englund air cartridges in as standard. They are light and suit the bike well imo, but I also have some Pace RC36 evoII that can go on after a refurb.
Will post again when it is fnished and cleaned, but comments are welcome. :P
After a few years of being just my second bike with mediocre kit on, I thought I'd create a viable alternative to the FS (which will always be my first bike due to back problems)
So, below is a rubbish camera phone pic of my 'new' Zaskar LE build.
It needs a few bits finishing off, namely the disk brake adaptor shaping and fitting the the rear dropout, a pedal, a wash and setting up
Kit list as is.
99' ZaskarLE frame in Cosmic Sunrise.
RST XMO air forks
DT 4.1d rims on LX c/lock hubs.
LX Disks. 180mm front, 160mm back
Truvativ Stylo Team c/set (2001 model)
XT front, XTR rear mech
Deore 8sp cassette and shifters.
Hutchinson pirahna tyres
Easton Monkeylight bars
Easton EA70 seatpost
WTB something saddle.
XTR spd's
At a guess, I'd say it weights around 23lb at the mo.
Still undecided on the forks. Those RST XMO that are on have Englund air cartridges in as standard. They are light and suit the bike well imo, but I also have some Pace RC36 evoII that can go on after a refurb.
Will post again when it is fnished and cleaned, but comments are welcome. :P
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Comments
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Beautiful cable work there :P
Lovely bike Definitely needs the old Pace on though if possible! the RST stand out a bit on such a classic bike. 0 -
Lovely bike! Gotta comment on the spaghetti junction top tube too! ;-)
XMO were pretty good forks with Englund carts. lighter than SIDS of the time, under 3lbs.0 -
Toasty wrote:Beautiful cable work there :P
Lovely bike Definitely needs the old Pace on though if possible! the RST stand out a bit on such a classic bike.
Took me literally seconds to get the cable routing as is
Think I'll sort the Pace forks out and see what it looks like.
At first I thought the red of the RSTs' looked good against the frame, but in the pic they do seem a tad OTT.
Still, which ever forks I don't use will find a good home for my next project, building the OH's Orange Gringo back up 0 -
The late 90s Zaskar LEs were the pick of the alu Zaskars. Very tough, sub 4lbs - a good reason you see so many about still!0
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I regret not building it up properly some time ago.
I've only really had about 10 hours riding on the Zaskar with it built up to a level it deserves, as I ventured into FS shortly after buying it.
Then all the good bits were transfered onto the FS and the Zaskar was built up with rubbish bits as a knock around bike.
Now I am actually really looking forwards to giving it a blast around the local trails.
I was going to keep it all original as I have some XTR v's free, and an old XT crankset, but disks are so much more appealing that I couldn't resist.
Once I get the rear brake sorted out, I think it will look very well too,
Might swap the hubs for something more special when they fall to bits, but as the wheels were only £80 new as is, I couldn't turn them down.0 -
very nice m8 this will be a awsome retro once finished.0
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looks great - but needs the pace forks!0
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A bump for my thread as I finally got round to sorting the rear disk out.
Take a A2Z disk adaptor.
Dremmel it to fit the LE machined dropouts.
After 2 hours messing around, decide it's just not going to happen and resort to rear XTR V brake. :roll:
I know others in the USA have done the rear disk mod no problems on this frame, but for me it seemed too wobbly, obtrusive and not in keeping with the rest of the bike so it went.
Shame, but safety is my main concern and I don't fancy a rear end failure at 30mph downhill.
So now needs a final clean and tweak before the first real ride, although I did have a blast round the street and it feels very solid and flickable. 0 -
Nice Zaskar, they're timeless bikes, as in they always look great, irrespective of the year.
Love the way you screwed the dropout into the chair.. genius
To keep it retro and not worry about brake failure, why not fit some Magura HS33's?
The elegance and efficiency of rim brakes with the brute power and reliability of hydraulics..0 -
Cheers for the commentsRaymondavalon wrote:Nice Zaskar, they're timeless bikes, as in they always look great, irrespective of the year.
Love the way you screwed the dropout into the chair.. genius
To keep it retro and not worry about brake failure, why not fit some Magura HS33's?
The elegance and efficiency of rim brakes with the brute power and reliability of hydraulics..
My garage vice had faled so I needed to hold the work somehow, hence the screw into the garage chair
I've thought about hydraulic rim brakes, but I'm hoping the V will suffice until I have another think about the disk.
I don't like rim brakes as they wear rims out very fast in winter so whilst the power of a Magura would be welcome, the rim wear rate wouldn't.
Going to finish it off this week, give it a good wash and wax and post a few better pics taken with a propper camera 0 -
Please for the love of god get rid of those forks. Its making me cry.
Bloody lovely bike otherwise though. Nothing wrong with a V at the back how much braking force do you need on the rear wheel? And how often is it used? Keep the weight down!!0 -
batch78 wrote:Please for the love of god get rid of those forks. Its making me cry.
Bloody lovely bike otherwise though. Nothing wrong with a V at the back how much braking force do you need on the rear wheel? And how often is it used? Keep the weight down!! Is it the colour of the forks or the fact that they are RSTs'.
The colour doesn't look too bad in the flesh and as mentioned above the forks are actually very good and lighter than most others, as they were £500+ top of the RST range some time ago.
However i will try the Pace forks as well once they have had a service. Ideally I'd like some black sids on there, but need them to be in good nick and work well - oh, and cheap
Will see how I get on with the rear V, but as said it should be ok.
Bike will be ridden about 4 times a week once done, ad might take over as my fave ride for a while till I feel the need for FS again 0 -
Yeah just the colour, shallow I know! A black SID would be nice though.
Nice, I do like it when bikes are bought out of retirement.0 -
Bit of an update for this thread, following my first proper ride on the Zaskar.
All was going well and the ride was good.
A few things became clear very quickly.
1. The bike is light and flies uphill
2. It is very responsive.
3. The forks are not suited for me (too hard) and probably best suited to a racer.
Some of the route is over fields and the FS is a lot better suited to this, hower through the good stuff in the trees it is immense.
Now to the bad part. After an hour of smiles and looking for hills to climb, I heard a crunch then everything stopped.
Doh.... After a quick google it seems you can get the replaceable drop out for years 2000 onwards, but nobody seems to do the 1999.
Will have a better look after dinner, but I certainly don't want to moth ball it again so one has to be found.0 -
:shock:
Damn, you made you hanger and derailluer feel the pain!
:twisted: Boo-yah mofo
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke0 -
Another update
Fixed the mech hanger and installed new chain.
Also got fed up with rear V brake the instant I went through something wet. I'd forgot just how annoyingly useless rim brakes are when wet.
So I had another mess with the rear disk and now it is on and working.
Just had a fly round the estate and it is a lot better.
Going to give it a blast around Cannock Chase this evening and see how it compares to my full suss.
Just need to replace the headset bearings, jockey wheels and neaten (shorten) up the brake hoses and that will be that.
Have also let some air out of the forks and they feel a lot better. Stll not 100% on their looks but this is supposed to be a ssecond bike and I can't justify £300 on some forks at the mo.
Will post more pictures up when I get back 0 -
Pics from the ride yesterday.
All went well, but the crankset and pedals are creaking and not happy. Maybe time for another purchase
The HT experience was very good. Extremely stiff and precise and it went exactly where I wanted.
Even down the rough and rutted chainslapper downhill bit on the FTD I was in full control. Only used the brakes once and was railing berms etc.
Awesome
Even my shoes are 10+ years old
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