BMXmuseum.com Bikes / GT Bicycles / 1989 GT Pro Freestyle Tour

GT purists beware! ..as this is not a factory-correct-OEM-NOS-era-correct build to meet the stock factory specifics in the GT catalog. And hey, don't blame Me for the "wrong" year decals, that's how i got this frame & fork but i'm fully happy with them! This f&f set was purchased from AJK in barely used condition in november of 2004 and completed in early 2006. It has its original paintjob all the way. Few small marks here and there doesn't amtter. Closer look at the serial number showed that the bike is a 1987 model with 1989 decals applied by the previous owner. I decided to keep them on because i've always prefered the '89 decal graphics best of all GT decal styles anyway.
It was very easy from the beginning to decide the overall color combo for this build, thanks to the beautiful shades of blue, purple and pink in the '89 decals/graphics. The 1989 decals seem to be very rare these days while you can still find 1987 style decals more easily. That was another good reason to keep them '89's although some GT purists might consider it a blasphemy to have wrong year decals but who cares really about what they think, right?

There used to be "Team" decals in the seatpost of the frame applied by the previous owner but they obviously didn't belong there so they had to go. The "100% Cro-Mo" sticker was also in the wrong place, under the downtube, but i managed to move it where it belongs at the seatmast tube. 
According to the '87 Freestylin' review of this bike there is no way the steering angle is 75 degrees. Instead it's more likely 73. Anyone who's ever ridden freestyle bikes can easily verify that by just looking at the pictures.

I chose the second generation Odyssey Flying Wedge handlebars for this build because their curved and unique contour which goes well together with the contours of the frame. There's an interesting small detail on the Odyssey Flying Wedge handlebars which caught my eye. A weight limitation sticker saying "CAUTION - Not recommended for riders over 130lbs". Indeed, those bars are very light weight and feel like they would snap easily if there would be enough weight applien on them. However, considering they were among the standard FS bars back in '87-88, the limit sounds a bit exaggerated. However.. there might be some truth to that - who knows. The bars are noticeably tall with 9" overall height and 27" wide. They're remarkably well manufactured with clean, smooth welds and high quality black finish. There's chrome plated plastic end caps at the ends of the clamping tube for those posh looks.

The Peregrine Master wheels w/Suntour coaster were purchased NOS from the UK as 2nd quality leftovers "with some color fading" but to this day i haven't noticed any difference in the color tone whatsoever and believe me, i have inspected in and out. The Suntour coaster brake has been modified to a freecoaster by adding an un-brake inside the hub simply for more convenient pedaling. The NOS pink Tioga Toll-On pegs might be incorrect for a GT build but hey, i think they bring nice colour highlight with the pink matching the pink in the decals.

The rear Dia-Compe 994 U-brake is something you don't see very often. It accepts any regular threaded brake pads and it has special quick-adjusting spring cones for adjusting spring tension in a snap and keeping things centered without major hassle of different tools. Setting up the lower gyro cable thru the openings in down tube was easier than i remembered. On the other hand, routing the front cable housing thru the opening in the fork tube was pain. I had to assemble it the otherway around, that is up fromthe bottom thru the bottom of the hollow stem bolt and so forth but it wasn't any major issue really, just took a bit longer and some patience. The 175mm GT Power Series cranks (manufactured by SR Sakae Ringyo) are stamped '89 and have been restored from polished to original matté finish. They still need the stickers though ..or not, because they didn't originally come with no stickers remember? The Mallet stem has chrome quill so it isn't from the old batch made by SR, but, it is nice tone of purple color so once again, who gives rat's ass about who manufactured it. All that matters is that to me it's "the correct one" for this bike.

Overall the bike is very light weight and very comfortable to pedal. The only thing which required some getting used to was the height of the bars, cause they are really tall for my taste. They would require an inverted stem to balance out the enormous height. Imagine if those bars were used together with an ACS Rotor.. sheesh, that set up would be scraping the sky! Atleast now the Gyro keeps things a bit lowered but i wouldn't mind if they were slightly lower. But in all, i am very pleased with this bike and how it has turned out.

Parts & Specs:

• Frame: 1987 GT Pro Freestyle Tour (w/ 1989 decals)
• Serial#: 9873180
• Tubes: 100% Cro-Mo
• Forks: GT 1" threaded w/openings on the back of the fork legs for front brake cable
  
• Handlebars: Odyssey Flying Wedge 27" X 9" 2nd generation
• Stem: GT "mallet" (NOT made by SR)
• Grips: A'me Tri bubble font
• Seatpost: Stylizer "snake" layback 22.2mm OD
• Seat: Dyno by Viscount
• Seatpost clamp: GT single bolt w/GT wings logo
• Levers: Odyssey RX-5's (Tech-77's pictured)
• Front brake/pads: Dia-Compe 883 Nippon w/Weinmann -micro adjuster/Skyway Tuff pads
• Rear brake/pads: Dia-Compe 994 U-brake w/quick adjusters and Skyway Tuff pads
• Gyro: Odyssey 1" original
• Gyro cables: Odyssey
• Brake cable, front: Dia-Compe
• Headset: GT epoch style
• Cranks: GT Power Series 3pc. (by SR - Sakae Ringyo stamped '89) 175mm aluminum arms, Cro-Mo axle, restored to original matté finish.
• Pedals: Victor VP-555 DX copies
• Front sprocket: GT Powerdisc/42T Tioga CR-1 Compact Disc chainwheel with custom painted GT-blue chainring bolts to match the colors in the frame decals
• Bottom bracket: Tioga BB-220ST "Sealed Tech" 24T rubber coated dust shields
• Chain: generic, named "Joint-all" (made in taiwan) ½" x 1/8"
• Rear sprocket/cog: 15T
• Wheels: Peregrine Master -Graphite composite mags, with Suzue BB in front and Suntour Coaster/freecoaster hub in rear with Pulse un-brake device
  
• Pegs: Tioga Roll-on 26T front, 24T rear
• Tires: Panaracer Freestyle 20 x 1.75 black/skinwall
• Tubes: Kenda 20 x 1.75-2.125
• Original retail price: $550 (source: Freestylin' september 1987)
  

Previous updates:

• Odyssey RX-5 levers spring 2007.
• Purple/lavender A'me Tri grips summer 2006.