Bike Check: Orian’s Gutterball
I’m pretty sure that you all know what a GT GTB/Pulse/Kinesis is. I would say it’s part of the holy trinity of the late 90s’ most collectable track bikes along the Cannondale track and the Bianchi Pista Concept. For that exact reason, they are also extremely expensive, and once again, it seems like prices are getting out of hand.
So let’s do a little experiment today. You’re representing the GT bicycle company and you’re thinking about your next track bike. You have a great heritage of making fixed gear bikes which got an awesome reputation as a training bike in many United States velodromes but also in the streets. It’s now 2010 and it’s time to create new stuff. Should you make a re-issue of a bike that so many of your customers love with passion, by using modern standards and technologies? Or should you just forget about your amazing aluminum engineering and knowledge, making world-winning MTBs and BMX that people will collect relentlessly for the next century? Yes, you should just start from scratch, reduce costs drastically, put a lot of colors on it and make a “fixie”!
Seems like the choice was easy since the little brother of our beloved GT GTB ended up a little bit….challenged. People at the R&D development probably got lost and gave us…. The Gutterball. (They also made a re-issue of the Pulse, but only ten or so were ever produced and I’ve never seen one in real life)
What you’re seeing here is a very large improvement of what a Gutterball originally looked like. Look for yourself, it’s heart-breaking.
So what’s my point here?
Well, it appears that the Gutterball had just some really ugly makeup on, but is still a real street machine underneath. For a few years now, I’ve seen some people giving it a second chance with some decent parts and a fresh coat of paint.
And this! Is why we’re here today! Because if you look at it from a certain angle, it’s a cool aluminum frame, nice to ride, and easy to find used on a low budget.
What else could you ask?
Orian decided to give it a shot, and as you can see, his GT is dramatically different than the way it rolls out of the factory.
To quote him,
“It wasn’t that hard or challenging to give it its actual look. It’s a good Sunday bike that I’m happy to ride and not worried about scratching up. The Previous owner, already had it repainted in black so I just added the GT decals and looked around for parts I already had”
In this article, I wanted to share that there are still gems to be found if you use your brain to make them shine to today’s standards. You don’t need an eight-hundred euros Vigorelli frame when you can probably find something cheaper and make it into something with a lot of character and personality.
For the parts, Orian could have gone bonkers but we’re still aligned with the simplicity of this project. Easy to cope components with a touch of fancy because we like it that way. Miss-matched wheels and tires, with An archetype on the back and a Miche Pistard in the front. Carbon flat bar and long stem since it makes you look faster. And good gear ratio for a Sunday bike and we’re here to have fun.
Finally a nice coherence between everything with a little bit of bling from that pair of Sugino 75.
Special bonus points go to the GT BMX badge on the head tube. Neat detail, I like it!
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
GT Gutterball Custom Painted
Columbus Fork
Chainring and Cog Miche Advanced 49T. Miche Ergal 16T
Crank Sugino 75 165mm
Seatpost and Saddle
Thomson Elite, Cosine
Stem and Handlebar
Ritchey classic 130mm, Neatt Oxygen
Wheels Archetype lace to Poloandbike hub, Miche Pistard
Tires 25c Continental 4 seasons,
28c Schwalbe Durano
The GT GTB is a legend, its ugly lil’bro never made the headlines and you know why just by looking at it. But when I saw Orian on this bike, I immediately thought I had to share it.
Yes, everything has been changed, down to that Columbus carbon fork and there is only the base frame left. But you have to admit that it’s a damn good-looking bike! And if you wanna make one for yourself? Go for it, there are at least five for sale in France at the time I’m writing this! All under five hundred euros…complete!
Unique people make unique bikes, and even if all the Gts are black, this one, just, isn’t the same.
Following the hype is cool, creating it is cooler.
Orian got this one right, so you can do it too.
