WIP Yeti Ultimate

[Ferry]

I was looking for a Yeti Pro FRO or Ultimate and came across this Yeti Ultimate here in the Netherlands. The price was very reasonable so I decided to buy the bike. This is what it looked like when I picked it up:

Some small changes:

It seems to have been repainted once and not very well. The decals are not right either and seem to be located wrongly aswell. I was considering a repaint when last week I discovered a crack in the seat tube. It's located just above the bottom bracket. So, first of all I will get the frame, fork and stem stripped of all paint and than decide the game plan depending on the condition of the seat tube. I will probably have it completely replaced and subsequently have the frame repainted or powdercoated RAL 5018 and the fork and stem RAL 1026. I will contact Gil for the decals.

I have already started collecting replacement parts. Instead of a full Shimano XT build I want a full Suntour XC Pro build except for the hubs (Bullseye) and cranks (Bullseye). The current specifications (and in bold the parts I have collected thus far and I will replace once the frame is repaired)

Frame: Yeti Ultimate 19"

Fork: Answer Accutrax

Headset: Cycletech still looking for a Chris King or similar replacement
Stem: FTW
Handlebar: Answer Taperlite 2 black still looking for a Answer Hyperlite black
Grips: unknown brand Oury or ODI
Barends: Ritchey these will be removed

Brakes: Suntour XC Pro (SE rear) NOS Suntour XC Pro SE rear still looking for NOS front brakes
Brake Pads: Kool Stop
Brake Cables: unknown brand Dia Compe
Cantilever cable hangers: Suntour XC Pro rear / unknown brand front Suntour
Brake Levers: Suntour XC Pro

Shifters: Grip Shift NOS Suntour XC Pro thumbshifters
Front Derailleur: Suntour XC Pro
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT Suntour XC Pro
Derailleur Cables: unknown brand Suntour
Cassette: Shimano XT
Chain: Sachs Saedis
Cranks: Cook Bros Racing dog bones still looking for Bullseye cranks
Chainrings: Shimano and Onza buzz saw Suntour
Bottom Bracket: Cook Bros Racing
Pedals: Shimano PD M747 Suntour XC Pro

Hub Skewers: Shimano Suntour
Front wheel: Bullseye front hub Campagolo rimBullseye Araya RM17
Rear wheel: Huge Compact / Mavic Bullseye Araya RM17
Tyres: Bontrager Tioga Psycho

Saddle: Selle Italia Fite Transalp Selle Italia Turbo
Seatpost: Shimano XT reproduction IRD
Seatpost Binder: Ringle Suntour

 

[bartsince1975]

Re:

Very nice Ultimate, not many around in our country. Good to see you have the original fork and stem. Who will you use for the seat tube replacement?

 

[Loungekabouter]

Nice Yeti! It's always unsure what you are going to get when buying old metal ;-)
But it will sure be worth fixing

I hope to see more of this project

Cheers
Jeroen

 

[felixdelrio]

Checked the serial number?

 

[Double-E F]

Great make over, Ferry: well done !

Shame about the crack, but it seems you have sufficient funds and patience available to get that fixed.
Anyway, that will make you enjoy this project much longer, thereby preventing a new itch to arise ..
Will your Ultimate be a rider ultimately?

 

[Ferry]

@ Bart, I know Georg Blaschke (http://www.gebla.de) has replaced a seat tube of a Yeti Ultimates before, see this link: https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/ultimat ... 493/page-3. However, if I want him to do the repair I have to wait till 2018. So I was also in contact with a Dutch framebuilder. There's one issue this Dutch frame builder will not weld the tubes but uses a technique called "hardsolderen" I think it's fillet braze in English. Any thoughts on this? It's not going to remain original with the seat tube replacement but I want it to be as good as it can be....

@ Jeroen, It was a calculated risk and always at the back of my mind seeing it had a bad repaint. Can't complain for the price I paid for it though. I will keep this thread up to date with pictures etc. First off all, I have to wait till the painters are back from holidays. I want to bring the frame, fork and stem to Unlimited Colors who seem to do a lot of bikes. They also sprayed the racebikes for Giant Sunweb (Giro d' Italia and Tour de France).

@ Felix, is there anywhere I can check the serial number. I will need to wait till the frame is stripped of it's paint though. Can't read it at the moment.

@ Eef, thanks. That wasn't the hardest part though. Those other tires made a huge difference. I will be riding this for sure. If it wasn't for the crack I would have entered the retro ride a couple of weeks ago in Landgraaf (25 years Parkstad route). I have already got a second wheelset with some Onza Canis skinwalls to (ab)use.

 

[Loungekabouter]

Hey, If the price is right, you can sure take a risk ;-)
And the good thing is, now you have to do it right.

I have a couple of projects that I was planning on having re-painted, but in the, just built up as is, with just a moderate result!!!

Good luck and keep posting pictures

Jeroen

 

[pete_mcc]

I had the seat tube on my Ultimate replace by a builder in the UK called Kevin Winter, he uses TIG welding rather than fillet brazing so the original look is maintained. He also does RAL matched resprays:

This one was more badly damaged than yours with heavy rust, cracks and plates welded on so Kevin had to use a 31.8mm seat tube to replace the 27.2 but otherwise it looks like new.

Kevin used to build frames for the UK track team, Hardisty and others.
He's not got a big web presence but you could phone him on 01740 652281, or his email might work: kevin@winterframes.orange.co.uk

 

[felixdelrio]

Again, love your build, Pete. Especially the campy parts!

 

[bartsince1975]

Re:

I have good experience with m-gineering (Marten Gerritsen) who ussually brazes his frames. If you need the whole tube replaced I would choose someone who can Tig weld the replacement, same as used on the original. For a spot repair brazing would also work, and you would not see the difference. If you want I can ask around for a Dutch builder thay could Tig weld a complete replacement tube. Send me a pm if you like, I'm prety sure there's some good builders with the right skils around.