Winter Commuter

I finally got this up and running as a winter commuter.  Its been in my hands for a few months and came to me via AQUA and the Phoenix Craigslist.  $65.  Plus $20 for the delivery.  It came to me almost all original with very few miles but I went ahead and swapped out some parts to make it a little better riding.   Best I can tell its a 1989.  GT was one of the first companies to start pushing 1 1/8" headsets in 1990 or so and this is a 1".  The lead sled frame weighs in at about 6 and a half pounds but the tapered uncorrected fork and matching stem are sweet.  Its even got an internal brake cable.  The BB is super low--11 inches--so I scrape pedals even on my commute.  It barely clears the 2.0 street tires that came but this thing is super fast and very stable on the pavement and my feet are never far from the ground which is kind of nice when you hit the ice patches.  Came with mostly Suntour XCE and plastic coated Diacompe U brake/canti combo.  I swapped out those for some parts made of metal and swapped the "Oval-tech" (Suntour's cheap knockoff of Biopace) cranks for an LX with a 110 bolt circle and a sealed BB.  I swapped the flat bars for a bar with a huge rise and gave everything else a proper overhaul.  I think my favorite part is the seat...Its got a brown skin and a plate across the back that says TORNADO....yeah....the ass tornado.  Sometimes breathing new life into old bikes is at least as fun as building new ones.  I think I might just outfit this one with racks and make it my frame hauler as my powder coater is on the other side of town.