So let’s look at the unique things here to help us classify the bike:
Henry James dropouts. HJ were used on US built GT frames like the Reynolds 853 tubed Edge in the mid to late ’90s. No TW GT would have ever used them, so this is US built.
Curved seat tube. To my knowledge not something GT ever made for commercial production. The only curved seat tube GTs I have ever seen or heard of were made for GT by Yamaguchi, and *those* were pro-level pursuit frames for world championship-level events. With track ends and different geometry.
No matter what this actually is, it is almost certainly one of a kind. It could be someone trying to copy the Yamaguchi style, and applying GT decals came later, or after a repaint? It could be a Yamaguchi with added GT decals (which is sort of the same as…). I’m guessing this is a one-off Yamaguchi made for someone at GT? Very special.
Evidence against would be that the curve does not match the wheel as well as Yamaguchi typically did. Your photo of the top tube end cap is hard to make out, but it may be a bit off?
I’d love to see the BB shell, the dropouts without a wheel in them, and a better photo of the end cap. Also where did it come from and how much did you pay?
PS: don’t let someone buy it off you until we establish what it is. If this is a Yamaguchi, it’s worth quite a lot.
buzzsaw_and_dynamo on
Never have I ever seen a GT like this. But it has the engraving behind the seat cluster. Very strange. Looks like it was a Shimano 600 machine originally but it’s lost a couple bits along the way. But someone took it kinda seriously when it was new. Good luck figuring it out. Don’t let it go to anyone who doesn’t see or care what it is.
Extra_Pilot_1992 on
Iirc, that stamped GT logo style is from the very late 90s early 2000s
BelknapCrater on
Might’ve been built by Mark Nobilette of Colorado. He built some GT road frames.
4 Comments
Holy shit.
Let me just breathe into a paper bag here.
Ok.
So let’s look at the unique things here to help us classify the bike:
Henry James dropouts. HJ were used on US built GT frames like the Reynolds 853 tubed Edge in the mid to late ’90s. No TW GT would have ever used them, so this is US built.
Curved seat tube. To my knowledge not something GT ever made for commercial production. The only curved seat tube GTs I have ever seen or heard of were made for GT by Yamaguchi, and *those* were pro-level pursuit frames for world championship-level events. With track ends and different geometry.
No matter what this actually is, it is almost certainly one of a kind. It could be someone trying to copy the Yamaguchi style, and applying GT decals came later, or after a repaint? It could be a Yamaguchi with added GT decals (which is sort of the same as…). I’m guessing this is a one-off Yamaguchi made for someone at GT? Very special.
Evidence against would be that the curve does not match the wheel as well as Yamaguchi typically did. Your photo of the top tube end cap is hard to make out, but it may be a bit off?
I’d love to see the BB shell, the dropouts without a wheel in them, and a better photo of the end cap. Also where did it come from and how much did you pay?
PS: don’t let someone buy it off you until we establish what it is. If this is a Yamaguchi, it’s worth quite a lot.
Never have I ever seen a GT like this. But it has the engraving behind the seat cluster. Very strange. Looks like it was a Shimano 600 machine originally but it’s lost a couple bits along the way. But someone took it kinda seriously when it was new. Good luck figuring it out. Don’t let it go to anyone who doesn’t see or care what it is.
Iirc, that stamped GT logo style is from the very late 90s early 2000s
Might’ve been built by Mark Nobilette of Colorado. He built some GT road frames.