It is indeed an interesting frame... The decals are not standard, though they were factory supplied.
Once it arrived I set about mulling what to do with regards a fork and also making sense of when/how it came to be.
With regards to fork I wanted an accutrax, but getting one that was long enough for the 6" headtube proved difficult, especially in 1-1/4".
I accumulated various 1.25" stems and headsets in various guises, but no fork.
Manitous were an option, but having ridden on rubber bung forks in the early 90's I didn't really have much desire to do it again.
I bought a steel legged Pace RC30 fork. It had a nice Manitou-like machined AL crown. I figured i would Yetify them by painting the legs in Turq, and seeing as it was now residing in the UK maybe a little new/old world interaction was justifiable. I mulled some more and decided there was nothing else to do but contact a welder extraordinaire:
While Frank was busy welding, I went back to figuring out what to make of the frame. It had no visible serial number.
The auction listing noted the following about my
awesome frame:
"Here's a very rare and awesome frame for you taller riders. This is a 1992ish Yeti Pro FRO custom made for a taller rider. I bought this from the original owner, and his explanation was this:
In 1991, he was semi sponsored by (more likely friends with) the Yeti team. He wanted to race an ARC but was concerned that he was too big for the 20" frame, so he had a steel Pro FRO welded up. In 91-92, Yeti had just begun using the double butted Tange tubing instead of the heavy Patco tubing. This frame measures 21.5" center to center and has a 23.5" top tube, making it a bit bigger than the standard 20" Large frames Yeti usually made.
I don't know if any of that is true, but this frame does have the rare lighter dropout normally found on team frames (as opposed to the solid plates) and the frame decals are similar to team bikes of the time. 1-1/4" headtube, 26.8mm seatpost, 68mm bottom bracket...just like all other Yetis of the period."
I asked some questions to the seller who added:
The original owner introduced himself as Skip but I never did get a last name. He was about 45 or so, looked like he'd been riding bikes his whole life. I didn't pry any further, but had no reason not to believe him.
I forwarded that to Frank who had little think.
"The way John advertised the products was to hand them out to various "professionals" be it high profile lawyers, the wealthy or professional athletes. He paid carpenters to do renovations with bikes. We did have a Skip at the shop but he is a small dude but no one else stands out. The only time someone would get custom geometry is if they were a professional cyclist and couldn't ride our standard, somewhat slack geometry."
He asked me to send some more detailed photos and followed up with:
The frame is unique for sure. The seat tube binder welded on is also something we usually didn't do. The story seems pretty logical. Are you planning a respray? The only reason for no serial number was that it was passed on to someone without the owners of Yeti being involved. All the BB shells that came into the building had serial numbers unless they came in the pocket or lunch bag of a worker. Once it's built you may find that the seat tube angle is 73 and steeper than normal. If you have an angle finder you can compare the seat and head angle.
The other option is, from time to time someone (like me) would put a BB shell in reversed. We would re-tap correctly but put it in the blem rack for trades etc. If you remove the paint you may see some digits on the top of the BB shell. it's not a flaw and won't cause problems but it's not "proper" so wasn't sold retail.
The main yeti decal is of the style that appears in the '93 catalog so it's looks to be from round about then.
I did have the frame stripped and recoated. No serial number was to be found anywhere. Hence, the asterisk in the thread title. I think Skip's FRO may very well be an after hours special. Regardless. It's perfect for my long legs so I'm exceedingly happy.
A few months later a brown box showed up from Frank with a brand new Yeti Design, FTW manufactured Accutrax and peace descended on my frought mind.
Next up. Bits and bobs and asterisks.
!
