SilverCycle
Retro Newbie
Lack of space in the garage dictates sale of my Y5. Dragged out of retirement during lockdown, serviced and great for blasting across the S. Downs. Not so brilliant at steep trail centres, hence its re-retirement.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134249560375
Classic 1990's early full suspension MTB. Mine is in good condition, ready to ride, and also mostly original with some original parts available too.
The running gear is original, so that's 3x8 transmission, and a mix of LX, XT, STX RC transmission, with Avid rim brakes.
I bought it as a last year's model in 1999. Rode it a bit, then mothballed it. Dug it out for lockdown exercise and used it until now. However, the wife's developing interest in trail centres has pushed me into buying a more suitable bike (slack'n'fat). Although the Y5 is a full suspension model, it is designed for XC, and certainly feels lighter, faster & nimbler than my new bike. Blasting across the S. Downs it's ideal, steep & technical less so. There's plenty of discussion of these bikes (Y3, Y5, Y7, Y11, etc) online, it seems to be a love or hate configuration.
I'm not sure of the mileage, but that's the original front tyre, it's never run another. The rims, cassette & rings are fine. The chain (I think the original) is reading <0.8mm wear & runs fine. During lockdown, to revive it, I stripped & greased the rear suspension pivots, lubed everything & freed up the LHS STI which was sticky. I replaced the rear brake cable twice (this California design is vulnerable to rain getting down that cable, I made a fabric cover for it (included but not pictured)). I replaced the brake shoes and the BB. And replaced the forks, as they felt kinda loose and won't dismantle (There's a thread on this forum about exactly that problem with those forks - they're included if you fancy trying again).
Paintwork is ok (it was never a priority for me), there's big (fingernail sized) chip on the top of the top tube (no dent), and a few corrosion blisters on the mucky bits of the ally rear triangle, and a few scratches.
The front tyre is still tubed. The rear is converted to tubeless: It works fine for day rides, but loses pressure quicker than it should, and on technical trails at low pressures, has burped all its air twice riding along 45 degree slopes.
If you're a collector & interested in originality, I still have the original Trek/Icon stem (the one fitted is a little shorter, happy to swap it back), Trek/Icon SPD pedals (one is broken, so included), may be able to find the saddle, and the jolly orange Manitou Spyder fork. Possibly a better mechanic than me could repair said fork, Hayes did try to help, but suggested that plastic bolts inside might have degraded such that they can't undo. Wouldn't matter if bike just displayed.
If you just want it to ride, but consider upgrades, the replacement fork does have disk mounts, whereas the old fork didn't. The rear triangle has obsolete Hayes pattern disk mounts. SJS Cycles have listed an adaptor for that, although it's debateable if a caliper would fit in the space. Obviously new hubs would also be needed. I did wonder if I could fit a dropper post, given there's access to the bottom of the seat tube - but it's kinda missing the XC point of the bike.
The front & rear guards in the photos are included. As are the fairly battered, but fine to use, SPD pedals (they have their own history), if wanted.
Location is Sussex, collection preferred, or I could deliver (after payment) reasonably locally.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134249560375
Classic 1990's early full suspension MTB. Mine is in good condition, ready to ride, and also mostly original with some original parts available too.
The running gear is original, so that's 3x8 transmission, and a mix of LX, XT, STX RC transmission, with Avid rim brakes.
I bought it as a last year's model in 1999. Rode it a bit, then mothballed it. Dug it out for lockdown exercise and used it until now. However, the wife's developing interest in trail centres has pushed me into buying a more suitable bike (slack'n'fat). Although the Y5 is a full suspension model, it is designed for XC, and certainly feels lighter, faster & nimbler than my new bike. Blasting across the S. Downs it's ideal, steep & technical less so. There's plenty of discussion of these bikes (Y3, Y5, Y7, Y11, etc) online, it seems to be a love or hate configuration.
I'm not sure of the mileage, but that's the original front tyre, it's never run another. The rims, cassette & rings are fine. The chain (I think the original) is reading <0.8mm wear & runs fine. During lockdown, to revive it, I stripped & greased the rear suspension pivots, lubed everything & freed up the LHS STI which was sticky. I replaced the rear brake cable twice (this California design is vulnerable to rain getting down that cable, I made a fabric cover for it (included but not pictured)). I replaced the brake shoes and the BB. And replaced the forks, as they felt kinda loose and won't dismantle (There's a thread on this forum about exactly that problem with those forks - they're included if you fancy trying again).
Paintwork is ok (it was never a priority for me), there's big (fingernail sized) chip on the top of the top tube (no dent), and a few corrosion blisters on the mucky bits of the ally rear triangle, and a few scratches.
The front tyre is still tubed. The rear is converted to tubeless: It works fine for day rides, but loses pressure quicker than it should, and on technical trails at low pressures, has burped all its air twice riding along 45 degree slopes.
If you're a collector & interested in originality, I still have the original Trek/Icon stem (the one fitted is a little shorter, happy to swap it back), Trek/Icon SPD pedals (one is broken, so included), may be able to find the saddle, and the jolly orange Manitou Spyder fork. Possibly a better mechanic than me could repair said fork, Hayes did try to help, but suggested that plastic bolts inside might have degraded such that they can't undo. Wouldn't matter if bike just displayed.
If you just want it to ride, but consider upgrades, the replacement fork does have disk mounts, whereas the old fork didn't. The rear triangle has obsolete Hayes pattern disk mounts. SJS Cycles have listed an adaptor for that, although it's debateable if a caliper would fit in the space. Obviously new hubs would also be needed. I did wonder if I could fit a dropper post, given there's access to the bottom of the seat tube - but it's kinda missing the XC point of the bike.
The front & rear guards in the photos are included. As are the fairly battered, but fine to use, SPD pedals (they have their own history), if wanted.
Location is Sussex, collection preferred, or I could deliver (after payment) reasonably locally.
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