Alongside the 2013 road and cyclocross bikes introduced at PressCamp, GT dug out some classic model names for the dirt. Names like Zaskar, Xizang and Karakoram all come back to life or get modern refreshes.
The Xizang (shy-zang) titanium hardtail comes back, but with 29″ wheels. It gets a shaped tapered headtube, hydroformed chainstays and shaped downtube. That shaping makes it laterally stiff, according to GT’s marketing manager Chris Hopwood.
Frameset is in stock now  and retails for $2,000. Available in M, L and XL. If you live in Asia, you can still get the 26″ size, elsewhere, not so much…
The Zaskar Pro LE is a complete remake of the alloy Zaskar line. The new one will come in two models, a base model and the top end LE. It’s a 29er with a lighter 6061 alloy frame that comes in around 1540g for a medium frame. All but the seat tube is hydroformed.
The chainstay are heavily formed, then welded together. Dropouts are cold forged and rear brake posts are formed into the dropout.
It’s spec’d with Easton EA70 wheels and stem, Crank Brothers bar and post, Race Face Next LP carbon cranks, XTR drivetrain and Formula R1 brakes for $3,999. Brake post mounts have replaceable inserts, so the frame’s not shot if you strip out a mounting bolt.
New Karakoram 1.0 Hans Rey bike celebrates 25 years of insane riding by Rey. GT is creating a new bike line that helps raise money for Rey’s Wheels 4 Life charity, which raises money to buy bikes for areas where residents new them to improve their lives. He buys them local to the area that’s getting them, so they’re geared for that area and help the local economy in more ways than one.
This model is a $1,000 entry level 29er that incorporates many of his sponsors’ parts, including Shimano and Crank Bothers.
Not shown, there’s also a $5,500 Zaskar 100 26″ model that’s spec’d like Hans’ own bike with Fox suspension, full XT, 120mm fork, Ergon grips, etc.
For the normal lineup, the Zaskar 100 29er (not shown) has a new Team version with XTR, Race Face carbon cranks, Formula R1 brakes, Kashima’d Fox suspension.