# GT STS DH Lobo



## Gadro (Oct 23, 2008)

Posted this in VRC but thought I should also post it here.

Here's a few pics of my recently built Lobo. Sourced an unused frame and it then took me months to source the parts. Labour of love for one of my dream bikes BITD. Yep I know they're prone to breaking and there's far better modern builds out there BUT building this has taken me back 10 years to when I had no wrinkles or grey hair 

Here's the finished spec and a few pics

Frame: 1998 GT STS Lobo DH, Bonded Carbon fibre thermoplastic/aluminum
Fork: Marzocchi Monster T
Rear Shock: Rock Shox Coupe Deluxe Yank, 6.5" travel
Headset: Hope Industries Anodised Red with Head Doctor
Stem: Azonic Equalizer
Handlebar: FSA Carbon Pro Low Riser
Grips: Toxsin Lock-on
Brakes: Hope Enduro 4
Brake Pads: OEM Hope Sintered
Brake Cables: Hope Hose Black
Brake Discs: Hope 203mm Rear, 160mm Front
Disc Adapter: Therapy Components?????? (not sure as it came with frame)
Brake Levers: Hope Enduro 4
Frame Hose Guides: Hope Silver
Shifters: Shimano XTR M952 9 Speed Rear
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M960
Cabling: Shimano XT
Cassette: Shimano XT M770 9 Speed
Chain: Shimano HG73 9 Speed
Cranks: Adventure Components AC 7075-T6 175mm
Crank Bolts: Brand-X M8 Self Extracting Anodised Red
Chainrings: Adventure Components AC Holeshot 42T 110 BCD
Chain Guide: Adventure Components AC Pro Guide
Chainring Bolts: Brand-X 7075 Alloy Red
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN73 73mm x 122mm
Pedals: Shimano M424 SPD/Platform
Saddle: WTB Speed V
Seatpost: USE Sumo 31.6 x 300mm
Seatpost Binder: X-Lite Red
Hub Skewers: XT Rear, 20mm Marzocchi Bolt Through Front
Rear Rim Brake Mount Blanks: X-Lite Red
Wheelset: Mavic 321 Disc on Hope Hubs
Tyres: Maxxis Ignitor 2.1 Front, 2.3 Rear








































































































































Although the frame was mint the existing decals had gone brittle with age and had started to flake. Had a new set reproduced which are pretty damn good copies, not perfect but good enough. The frame had to be 'tweeked' for the rear hose guides. The existing cable guides were given the Dremel treatement and a set of Hope Hose guides fitted. Got a few little jobs to do. Extend front Brake Hose, fit rear cabling, fit chain and setup chainguide.

Slight problem though. Far too nice and mint to ride in all this winter mud and snow :nono: so it'll be kept for the Spring Sunshine


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## WingNutt (Jan 31, 2008)

Dude that thing is sick....very nice how an older bike doesnt look so old and outdated!!


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## PepperJester (Jan 2, 2003)

so dope! 

Just needs a big fat front tire (and a chain) and you'll have the sickist old school ride in town!


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## One_Speed (Aug 3, 2007)

Brings back memories. 

Except the XC tires on a dh bike.


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## Gadro (Oct 23, 2008)

2.3 is pretty much the max on the rear. Chainstays are very very tight.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

wow.....that is beautiful....belongs in a museaum ....it looks sweet


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## ruralrider528 (Nov 8, 2008)

That is a sick old school bike, if it was mine I wouldn't ride it. But if you're going to, enjoy it.


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## Topgun514 (Feb 2, 2008)

why 203 rear and 160 front for your brakes?

And which direction does the rear spring travel? no getting hung up on your seatposts right?


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## Gadro (Oct 23, 2008)

Topgun514 said:


> why 203 rear and 160 front for your brakes?
> 
> And which direction does the rear spring travel? no getting hung up on your seatposts right?


Old frame, rear wont take a larger disc as it would simply eat into the rear stays. 203mm at the front cause I'd like it to stop!!

The rear shock is termed a 'pull shock', it actually pulls the rear linkage up when compressed. Basically another flawed design by todays standards but when these arrived on the scene BITD they were like OMFG I want one. Cost around $4K out of the box though and thats without race upgrades. Problem was the linkages were very prone to breaking and the bonding could sometimes come unstuck causing problems around the headtube.

I built this up as a 'retro' passion just for myself. No intention of pushing this beauty down any Black graded slopes. Thought I'd share with some of the younger members (Oh god I'm getting old!!) how these bikes used to look and just imagine the WOW factor these had in the LBS 12 years ago


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## jhazard (Aug 16, 2004)

very sick build, thanks for sharing!


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## Karve (Mar 31, 2006)

Wow - beyond awesome - almost got the same feeling as I did the first time I saw those things - still look like a work of art


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## kreater (Nov 11, 2004)

nice...i like seeing some of the old vintage stuff coming back to life. looks very clean as well. have fun.


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## ianjenn (Aug 1, 2004)

I want your fork!


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

Siiiiickk


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## boogenman (Sep 22, 2006)

awesome bike! Brings back memories for me. 

All you need is a old school boxxer and some old Michilen DH tires.


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## NorKal (Jan 13, 2005)

Sweet! Need Gazaloddis for that real old-school vibe though.


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## rodH (Jul 12, 2009)

WOW, I serioulsy think that a lot of bike in that era look better than bikes now, not sure why, but I just do.

Very nice job. I would ride it.


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## Gadro (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks for the comments guys. Only just got this bike up to this stage of the build. Been working on it since August this year. Also sourced a lot of spare parts for the future including a full bearing and bush set and 2 NOS Shocks. Hint for any other Lobo owners - grab what you can NOW!

Yep I totally agree with the look of older bikes compared with modern hydroformed frames. Lots of nice CNC work and polished to a mirror finish. I will ride it, not too seriously though, more of a keeper as a work of art and historical importance.

The tyres (spelt with a Y as I'm a Brit) seem to be causing some concern. The rear is pretty mush already max'd out at 2.3, the chainstays are very tight on the rubber. It's simply not worth causing damage by risking a 2.5. I think the bike came originally with 2.2 Michelins. The front tyre does look a bit flimsy on the forks but with the Monster's I think anything would.



















Some on other Forums are saying that perhaps it should be setup with Boxxer 151's but these Forks are the the first Monster T's produced in 1998 so perfect for the age of the frame. OK they are heavy but are simply way ahead of the competition in build quality and IMHO looks. Match made in Heaven (or Hell!).

May not be too good around corners but with these baby's coners don't exist you just go straight


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## KavuRider (Sep 22, 2004)

That bike is t!ts. 
I have a soft spot for older frames.
My current ride is a '00-'01 Armageddon with a Stratos S8.
But boy, seeing yours...I need another Monster T.

Oh yeah, I used to lust after that same frame. In one of the Down vids, there was a guy ripping on one of those with a Boxxer, just absolutely flying. Then I saw the carbon - sold. Have fun with that!


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## bxxer rider (Jun 7, 2008)

im a sucker for the retro bike look, and well this is the holy mother of all retro awesomeness!


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## deoreo (Aug 26, 2005)

Awesome bike, I lusted after one of those when it was new.
It's a race bike - get that heavy-ass freeride fork off of there, and get a boxxer pro. :nono: 
And for the love of God, man, put the 2.1 in the back and the 2.3 in the front (yes that was DH tire sizes in '98)
You also need the original Kore B52 downhill stem.

Just fool'in with ya man - cool retro bike!


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

Can you show us a pick of the rear brake mount and that arm bolted to the canti boss?


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## rodH (Jul 12, 2009)

deoreo said:


> Awesome bike, I lusted after one of those when it was new.
> It's a race bike - get that heavy-ass freeride fork off of there, and get a boxxer pro. :nono:
> And for the love of God, man, put the 2.1 in the back and the 2.3 in the front (yes that was DH tire sizes in '98)


Are you talking about a new Boxxer or one from that Era, If you are referring to a boxxer back then, SCREW THAT!!! The Monster T was a MUCH MUCH better fork that anything RS and Manitou were offering at the time. I remember there was some whispers from some pro DH racers at the time that were riding Boxxers and were totally jealous of the Monster T. But RS payed them to race, so they rode Boxxers.


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## StinkyOne (Jan 19, 2004)

So nice! That was the bike that made me realize that my Amp Research bike was NOT a full suspension bike. Great work!


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## principiamacb (Dec 13, 2009)

It looks more modern than new dh bikes. sweet!


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## Gadro (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks for comments. Tyres......causing concern. 1998 Boxxers or Monster T's? No comparison, Monsters are in a different league.



Lelandjt said:


> Can you show us a pick of the rear brake mount and that arm bolted to the canti boss?


There you go. Seriously considering getting some disc tabs mounted though. It's OK for now but I have in the past seen some frames that used these get the Canti Boss ripped out



















Anybody else got a Thermoplastic Lobo? Any experiences of Racing them BITD?


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## rpet (Jan 27, 2004)

can't wait to see some ride pics of that bike!

I didn't know those Monsters had so much rake.


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## rodH (Jul 12, 2009)

why are people telling you not to ride it, because it might brake? I have heard people say similar things when people post pics of the old Specialized FSR's. I am riding my old FSR and have absolutely NO fear of it braking, NONE. They say that Aluminum doesn't last forever, etc, etc...

Not sure if they realize that the airplane they fly on ever trip is completely built out of aluminum and it isn't uncommon to fly in a plane that is 20-30 years old. A properly engineered bicycle that isn't built to be super super light, I am going to guess will last a LONG time. Especially a bike like yours (unless there is some sort of shelf life for the bonding process at the carbon/alum junctions, which I doubt.

I still say that the older DH bikes look waaaaaay better than most the stuff out there now, this Lobo DH, Specialized FSR team DH and Intense M1 are some good examples.


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## Internal14 (Jan 21, 2004)

Gadro said:


> Thanks for comments.


Just curious....there's a red aluminum bolt that is sticking out just under the caliper body....what's that for?? Can't wrap my head around that one....

Oh, and don't forget to run the nut up on the eyebolt on the brake arm. And lock it and the upper one down nice and tight too.


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## bxxer rider (Jun 7, 2008)

Gadro said:


>


the number 3 ont he side of the hope caliper, what does that mean? i have the number 4 on the side of mine and always though it meant 4pot, but yours is a 4pot as well?


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## Internal14 (Jan 21, 2004)

bxxer rider said:


> the number 3 ont he side of the hope caliper, what does that mean? i have the number 4 on the side of mine and always though it meant 4pot, but yours is a 4pot as well?


The number on the caliper related to the size of rotor.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Internal14 said:


> The number on the caliper related to the size of rotor.


Close. Back in the day if you changed bikes, forks or possibly rotor size. you needed a new caliper-half. The number is for the caliper-half, which obviously mounts to the bike/fork (and the other half of the caliper). I had the old DH4 brakes and they were great, but I was pretty much stuck because I was running them on a Boxxer and the Boxxer had it's own caliper-mount standard apart from everything else, so it had to have a specific caliper-half from Hope.


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## bxxer rider (Jun 7, 2008)

Jayem said:


> Close. Back in the day if you changed bikes, forks or possibly rotor size. you needed a new caliper-half. The number is for the caliper-half, which obviously mounts to the bike/fork (and the other half of the caliper). I had the old DH4 brakes and they were great, but I was pretty much stuck because I was running them on a Boxxer and the Boxxer had it's own caliper-mount standard apart from everything else, so it had to have a specific caliper-half from Hope.


ah yes that would explain it. i was wondering why my lbs ordered in a new calliper half when i had my boxxer fitted (amongst other things)
thanks


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## Gadro (Oct 23, 2008)

Internal14 said:


> Just curious....there's a red aluminum bolt that is sticking out just under the caliper body....what's that for?? Can't wrap my head around that one....:confused.......


That small Red bolt actually provides a small amount of adjustability and gives some extra rigidity when setting this up. Tightens down on the rear stay and locks it in place. It's Red, it's Bling and suprisingly does actually work. I am however looking at getting Disc Tabs mounted, just need to find a reputable welder close to home.

The numbering on Hope Calipers is specific to Rotor Size, Fork and/or Frame Mounts. Take a look on the Hope Homepage http://www.hopegb.com/

Although this bike will be ridden, it's not going to be seriously abused (got others for that  ). Due to the rarity of parts it would be a nightmare trying to source replacement rear linkages, etc. Somehow I don't think GT would cover this under warranty. I'm just happy that I've now finally got one of these. 12 years late perhaps but it's put a big smile on my face. 

Will definetly get some pics up of this out on the trail, just waiting for the sun to shine.


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## wildcard442 (Apr 8, 2012)

Very nice ride! I remember drooling over these things in magazines BITD. Any news, updates or recent pics?

What does that brake arm on the rear seat stay do?


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## pvflyer (Dec 7, 2004)

Cool lookin bike nice work d AC cranks are pretty nice. Thought about this thread when saw this video.

Video: 2012 GT Fury Versus 1998 GT Lobo - BikeRadar


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## Will Goes Boing (Jan 25, 2008)

I remembered when I was 14-15 drooling over those GT STS bikes back in the days, this is the best looking one I've ever seen. Good work sir.


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