Just bought a Trek Y bike...

[JoeG]

...less than an hour ago from CL.

Seller said it was a '97, but I couldn't find one the same when I looked in the Trek catalog in the archive from '95-'99. So I meet the seller, and its yellow on the drive side! :shock:

Apparently a VW Team Edition!

I don't know how much is original; most of the components are XT or XTR. Shock and fork need a service at a mimimum, and fork probably needs bushings.

:?: Anyone know anything about a Strata Shock? :?:

 

[Osella]

Re:

s'far as I know; all of the components are/are not original. These were not sold as complete bikes, only as framesets and built up by owners or by dealers. The frame itself however is the same as the Y33, and the spec on yours looks very much like the catalog(ue)-spec Y33 from '97 with a few differences, like the fork.

No idea on the shock specifically, but it did come with a remote cable lockout. I'm guessing that the dial adjusts the rebound damping, and a multi-position lever would have adjusted the compression damping from the bars; you'll get a lot more info here: viewtopic.php?t=153141

Aside from the foibles of a URT; that's a damn nice bit of kit! You can save about 8Lb of weight by swapping the saddle Then just hope that the shock's holding air..

 

[JoeG]

Re:

Yeah, I've come across some info that the Team ones were not sold as complete bikes, but frame only. I think that this is a good thing as I won't feel any pressure to not deviate from the factory build. And with the shock and fork, I may be forced to. :|

Big thanks for the link to the shock manual! And the shock does hold air! The seller said that he didn't have a shock pump, so he couldn't have just topped it off. I just pumped it up to 100 psi as an easy to remember number when I check it again. But it feels like it has little to no damping, maybe due to lack of oil. :| There is a thumb shifter remote lever on the bars, but the cable has been undone from the shock.

I don't think that I'm going to swap the saddle. But I already removed the ginormous POS gel paddy seat cover thing and threw it in the trash! :mrgreen:

 

[JJW501]

Re:

I like it!

I had a strata shock on my DBR V-Link back in the day. It was really good!

Only problem was, after some time, it developed some slack. I sold it like that, I do not know the exact cause, but this was in the days when a shock pump was $350 so servicing was done on a needs basis only.

Otherwise, I like the 2-tone.

Are those D521 rims?

With that pant scheme, it is easier to talk your girlfriend into buying another one.

"Baby, I always had a yellow one and a black one! Don't you remember?"

Jeffro

 

[JoeG]

Re:

Jeffro - the wheels are mismatched; the rear is a Rhyno Lite rim with an XT hub, the front is a Mavic X517 rim with maybe an XT hub (markings worn off). Skewers are mismatched as well, front is an old generic skewer, rear is XT. Bearings both feel smooth, so hopefully a strip, clean, and grease will keep them rolling. And I'll also keep an eye out for a nice used wheelset, too.

Cranks and chainrings surprisingly didn't seem to have much wear. Cassette appears to be a cheapy, maybe SRAM. :| But I have a horde of 8 speed XTR cassettes, and I think an XT one as well. Chain is Sachs, but a bit rusty, so will replace.

Hopefully in the next day or two I'll get the shock and fork off and try to figure out if they are salvageable. And I'm going to get some long bolts to thread into the BB spindle to hold the BB tool on tight since I'm concerned that using penetrating oil may hurt the carbon.

Great point about being able to pass off one bike as two because of the paintjob. However, its not a problem at all as there is no Mrs or GF. :cry: Maybe because I have too many bikes...

 

[saccades]

Re:

Nice, prefer the yellow side tbh - I've just been given a Y3 (and hahanna) which was way down the bottom of the "Y" pile.

 

[JoeG]

Update

Tuesday, I got most of the bike taken apart. Pretty much everything but the BB. :x

As Osella says above, the components are pretty much the same as a '97 Y33. The Manitou Mars C fork is newer (2000?), but the components are almost all XT, but the V brakes are XTR. Unfortunately, the right rear came apart when I took it off of the bike. So I'll probably look for some XT ones to replace and keep a consistent group. Cranks were in real nice shape, though the sachs chain is a little rusty and the cassette is a cheaper Shimano one (no aluminum spiders) so both will be replaced.

The rear derailleur is in good shape, but needs a new lower jockey wheel. Bushing was rusty, and somehow the end was deformed (flared). Never seen that before...

While cleaning up the front derailleur, I heard something small fall in the sink. I figured that it was the cable clamp bolt, but it was 1/2 of the cast aluminum part of one of the pivots! So I need a new front derailleur... :roll:

Wed eve I got the BB out; it was a MF!!! :x Probably torqued way too tight as there was a huge amount of red grease on the threads that was pushed into the BB shell. BB feels like new.

A LBS may have a set of main pivot and swingarm bushings in their old parts pile; we'll see next week. They're no longer available through Trek.

I cleaned the frame and swingarm with a water based degreaser, and they cleaned up better than I expected. So I need to figure out how much (if any) touchup to do.

When I bought the bike, the fork was a mess. It held air, but had no rebound damping. The right rubber boot was slid up on the stanchion, and held there by the seal which had been removed from the lowers (see 2nd photo on my original post). And there was a bunch of dirty, thick, black grease smeared around inside. :cry:

Tonight I tore apart the Manitou Mars C fork. It cleaned up really well! I can't see anything wrong with it at all. There is a little bit of discoloration on the right (formerly greasy) stanchion, but nothing looks like a problem. The elastomer was petrified, but I found 2 small urethane ones in the spares box that fit. I guess that I need to buy some 5wt fork oil and see how it goes!

More pics in a day or two...

 

[JoeG]

Re:

Looonnnngggg overdue update!

Everything is disassembled and cleaned up.

Fork all appears to be in great shape inside, and a few normal scuffs and scratches to the paint on the lowers. Only issues were a rebound damping knob that broke when I removed it and a fossilized MCU elastomer. I found the knob from an ebay seller hrothgarbike and its on the way. I had a couple of little blue elastomers sitting around that are the same length but smaller diameter than the original, but they'll have to do. Fork is reassembled, greased and filled with Maxima 5wt, and appears to work just fine based on the squish it on the floor test. The seller said that there was no rebound damping, but when I turn the rebound up to the max, the fork rebounds very (too) slow.

I called around to find out if anyone could service the Stratos Strata Shock. Risse Racing said that they were successful about 50% of the time with fixing them; so I sent mine off. THEY FIXED IT!!! Its on its way back now, $80 + $10 return shipping. So, I'll be able to use the thumb shifter on the bar to control the shock damping, which is one of the little unusual quirks that this bike has. VERY HAPPY! :mrgreen:

But the local Trek chain (5 stores) didn't have pivot bushings. I also went to another local shop that's been around for a while and they couldn't find any, even after thoroughly looking through their misc parts bin. :| Next, I went to an industrial bearing supplier. They think that the bushings are custom made; they're not off the shelf DU bushing that they can order. For instance, the tubular bushing that goes in the frame doesn't have a seam like the regular DU bushing do (i.e. shock eyelets). And the outside diameter is slightly different. And its not a metric/inch thing either. So, right now the pivot bushings are stopping this dead. :cry:

 

[Retro Spud]

Re:

love it.... so glad you found a good home for it.

there doesn't seem to be that much love around these parts for a Trek especially one sporting a URT

I never managed to find anyone willing to have a go at my Strata shock on my Orange X1 and ended up replacing it with a Alps 4r.

anyway keep the updates coming would love to see this back together and shinny once more

 

[saccades]

Re:

Are the bushings interchangable between the different "Y's"?

Maybe pick up a cheapo Trek Y and swap over?


I've some jones original tyres (from the Y3 I just picked up) that you can have first refusal on.