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I picked this 97 Schwinn Homegrown factory Team FS in “Bass boat” Blue sometime ago when a friend of a friend told me he knew someone who had a Yeti built frame for sale, of course the Yeti connection to this model is complete guff, it’s actually a cooperation with Control Tech and built using 6061 Aluminum, for a very short period of time Control Tech marketed the design under their own name and sold them as “Control Tech Team Issue Full Suspension” ….as far as I’m aware the only thing connecting this model to Yeti is the nod Schwinn gave them by using a Yeti branded handlebar 
I’m hoping some of YOU guys will be able to shed more light on this one, for me part of any build is finding out and understanding how it came about, the evolution of the design and the thought process’s of the day that guided it, which is one of the reasons why I’m an avid reader/follower of the -->97 Section as I find the info surrounding many builds a real education,
anyway right or wrong this is what I know so far, I'd certainly be interested to know your thoughts
Most notable thing about this frame is the use a URT backend,(however Schwinn refer to it as an I.D.T or Isolated Drive Train) in the early to mid 90’s URT’s were a perfectly plausible design however they're now very much maligned as being an evolutionary dead end... like Neonatal man :? , this particular URT billed as “Sweet Spot® Suspension System” is the work of John Castello of Castello Designs which were used by a number of different manufacturers however Schwinn’s marketing must have been well stoked about its use and made a big thing about the Sweet Spot and billed the complete package as the Ultimate XC full Suspension race bike….
One Hell of a claim to make considering the XC Version won absolutely nothing of any significance :shock: ! however the DH version was ridden to victory in the Hawaiian Tour by no less than Tammy Jacques, and in Germany Jurgen Beneke at the National downhill Championship… :facepalm: Not excatly in the same league as the Reebok Eliminators or Kamakazi and Jurgen Beneke isn't exactly Bernard Unnassoblsay let alone someone who's actually famous
Here’s some pictures of the frame from back in the summer prior to cleaning/polishing
The full Metallic effect doesn't come across in the pictures, but if I said it looks like someone has managed to spray a clear coat over a ton of childs glitter I'm sure you'd get the jist
Having looked on line at Schwinns Home Grown models mines a little different as it’s rear end has provision for a disc brake which didn’t come in until the following year, however Bass Boat blue wasn’t available as a 1998 model, perhaps a very late 1997 cross over model or a warranty/upgrade rear end
Compared to my Orange X1 (also URT) the pivot point on the Schwinn is in a radically different place being high above and a long way in front of the crank compared with the almost inline/touching position on the X1, so I’m looking forward to having this built and being able to judge for myself if the Sweet Spot is truly the sweet spot (G-Spot) for URT design… then again maybe you can’t polish a turd :shock:
Control Techs version… showing high/forward pivot point for URT
My Orange X1 with low pivot point for URT
I’m hoping some of YOU guys will be able to shed more light on this one, for me part of any build is finding out and understanding how it came about, the evolution of the design and the thought process’s of the day that guided it, which is one of the reasons why I’m an avid reader/follower of the -->97 Section as I find the info surrounding many builds a real education,
anyway right or wrong this is what I know so far, I'd certainly be interested to know your thoughts
Most notable thing about this frame is the use a URT backend,(however Schwinn refer to it as an I.D.T or Isolated Drive Train) in the early to mid 90’s URT’s were a perfectly plausible design however they're now very much maligned as being an evolutionary dead end... like Neonatal man :? , this particular URT billed as “Sweet Spot® Suspension System” is the work of John Castello of Castello Designs which were used by a number of different manufacturers however Schwinn’s marketing must have been well stoked about its use and made a big thing about the Sweet Spot and billed the complete package as the Ultimate XC full Suspension race bike….
One Hell of a claim to make considering the XC Version won absolutely nothing of any significance :shock: ! however the DH version was ridden to victory in the Hawaiian Tour by no less than Tammy Jacques, and in Germany Jurgen Beneke at the National downhill Championship… :facepalm: Not excatly in the same league as the Reebok Eliminators or Kamakazi and Jurgen Beneke isn't exactly Bernard Unnassoblsay let alone someone who's actually famous
Here’s some pictures of the frame from back in the summer prior to cleaning/polishing
The full Metallic effect doesn't come across in the pictures, but if I said it looks like someone has managed to spray a clear coat over a ton of childs glitter I'm sure you'd get the jist
Having looked on line at Schwinns Home Grown models mines a little different as it’s rear end has provision for a disc brake which didn’t come in until the following year, however Bass Boat blue wasn’t available as a 1998 model, perhaps a very late 1997 cross over model or a warranty/upgrade rear end
Compared to my Orange X1 (also URT) the pivot point on the Schwinn is in a radically different place being high above and a long way in front of the crank compared with the almost inline/touching position on the X1, so I’m looking forward to having this built and being able to judge for myself if the Sweet Spot is truly the sweet spot (G-Spot) for URT design… then again maybe you can’t polish a turd :shock:
Control Techs version… showing high/forward pivot point for URT
My Orange X1 with low pivot point for URT
