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Yeti Ultimate
- Thread starter gtturbo
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gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
@Proto2000 with the greatest respect can you start your own thread. I put this up here to be a build thread for my bike. Everyone loves an old Yeti so another thread will be more than welcomed I am sure. Thanks Mark
three Options:
1) find Durham bullseye BB- these are shit and will die in seconds
2) Find some Desperado top hat washers that shim from 22.2 to 24mm meaning you can use Shimano outboard bearings
3) get a machine shop to shave .1mm off the axle to bring the diameter down to 22mm so you can then use any Euro 22mm BB which look very similar to the original Durham.
I’ve done all three and my favourite is option three as it futureproofs you as euro bbs are easy to get and fairly hardwearing.
gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
Thanks @pete_mcc. I'm thinking I will probably go the euro bmx bb route but first I need to find a local machine shop who can do this for me. In the mean time I may put out a wanted ad for some of Gil's or Desperado shims as an option.
I mentioned before the Manitous are hopefully just a temporary measure as I would eventually like Accutrax. Still the elastomers were shot so the forks needed a bit of attention. New elastomers from @johndeverill duly fitted. They do need to come apart again as the wipers also need replacing. Whilst they were apart I gave them a clean up. They have quite a lot of nice machining marks on them so as not to remove those I have litterrally just hand polished rather than starting with the wet and dry like I normally would. It's been probably 30 years since I've had a brand new pair in my hands but I seem to recall they were not super super shiny when new so I may have gone too far already. I certainly recall you could see the metal grain in the brace. Still for now I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. In the long run I will probably swap these over for the ones on my CR7 to save rebuilding those as well.
The chap I got the bike from was a bit taller than me and had a 150mm Atac fitted. It was probably going to be a bit long for me plus it had a cable noodle and that looked wrong with these forks as it obvioulsy wasnt required. So I found a shorter Atac and that's currently off being powder coated. New decals from Gil are on hand for when that returns.
Next up is to give the frame a good clean and then get the headset fitted.
I mentioned before the Manitous are hopefully just a temporary measure as I would eventually like Accutrax. Still the elastomers were shot so the forks needed a bit of attention. New elastomers from @johndeverill duly fitted. They do need to come apart again as the wipers also need replacing. Whilst they were apart I gave them a clean up. They have quite a lot of nice machining marks on them so as not to remove those I have litterrally just hand polished rather than starting with the wet and dry like I normally would. It's been probably 30 years since I've had a brand new pair in my hands but I seem to recall they were not super super shiny when new so I may have gone too far already. I certainly recall you could see the metal grain in the brace. Still for now I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. In the long run I will probably swap these over for the ones on my CR7 to save rebuilding those as well.
The chap I got the bike from was a bit taller than me and had a 150mm Atac fitted. It was probably going to be a bit long for me plus it had a cable noodle and that looked wrong with these forks as it obvioulsy wasnt required. So I found a shorter Atac and that's currently off being powder coated. New decals from Gil are on hand for when that returns.
Next up is to give the frame a good clean and then get the headset fitted.
gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
Small update the stem is back from the powder coaters. Not that impressed with the finish to be honest but I suppose it was fairly cheap to have done. Some new decals from Gil are now fitted and it looks OK as the decals hide quite a bit. Hopefully one day I will get a proper Yeti stem and forks from FTW anyway. I forgot to order a ti bolt for the handlebar clamp so will get that done and fit the ti expander bolt as well. Every little helps as they say.
gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
It's all about the marginal gains. Not so sure about that but for anyone interested swapping the steel expander bolt and handlebar clamp for Ti on the Atac stem have saved a whopping 18 grams, yes that is a tongue in cheek comment. Still this being a dream bike of mine back in the day I want to make it as close as possible as to how I would have had it. Being young and living at home in the early 90s, plus getting parts at trade prices helped, meant I wouldn't have thought twice about spending money on all sorts of ELS.
Weight for the stem and uncut Hyperlites is now bang on 450 grams. Sure I could get a lighter combo but aside from a Yeti/FTW stem I don't think there is anything much more fitting for an Ultimate than a Atac and Hyper/Taperlites.
I've done a deal with another member for a Bullseye BB and some more Ti bling so next up to get the cranks powder coated whilst I wait for those to arrive. Then we can start getting this built up properly.
Weight for the stem and uncut Hyperlites is now bang on 450 grams. Sure I could get a lighter combo but aside from a Yeti/FTW stem I don't think there is anything much more fitting for an Ultimate than a Atac and Hyper/Taperlites.
I've done a deal with another member for a Bullseye BB and some more Ti bling so next up to get the cranks powder coated whilst I wait for those to arrive. Then we can start getting this built up properly.
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Regarding weight loss options I'd look at new wheels (as previously mentioned), often overlooked lighter tubes (often 160-170g but sometimes over 200g, 120g name brand versions - Maxxis - can be had on Aliexpress for not much) and folding lighter weight tires. You get way more bang for your buck here compared with Ti bolt options. Not to mention reduced rolling weight = better ride.
Super nice bike BTW, love the Bullseyes
Super nice bike BTW, love the Bullseyes
gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
I know what your saying about wheels. I've got some really nice rims and hubs here I could build up into some pretty light wheels but again, to me anyway, it comes down to Bullseye's fitting hand in hand with this particular bike. I may rebuild the current wheels with DT Revolution spokes and alloy nipples as that would shed a bit of weight. I've yet to weigh the Bontrager tyres currently fitted and I'm secretly hoping they are stupidly heavy as they will be replaced with Smokes most likely. Sure I could get lighter but for something period'ish correct Smokes arent bad and also ride pretty well. Tubes will probably be some sort of lightweight butyl ones like you mention. I could go tubolito but that's just cheating and I've found latex tubes in the past somewhat unreliable. The whole weight thing is all in my head anyway. I guess it started back with my first proper bike where we would be swapping stuff out to make it better, lighter. My fairly modern 29er is only 20lbs and I'm slow enough on that so I don't think it would hurt for this one to loose a bit of weight. Heaven forbid I should actually loose weight and get fit !.
gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
Some more bits have arrived. Thanks to @Tomato for sorting me out with a nos Bullseye BB and SRP Mani 1 bolt kit, much appreciated.
I couldn't face stripping the forks this evening to fit the bolts that go through the elastomer stack, I may as well wait until I fit some new seals anyway. However a quick swap of the crown and brace bolts gives a 31 gram saving but hey its SRP which is super cool so that's the main thing right
. Comparison pics in thumbnails for anyone interested.
I am now tempted to see if I can get a ti steerer.There is a seller on ebay but unfortunately they dont seem to have any 1" 1/4 left. Still I may enquire as that could save a chunk of weight out the forks.
Now I've sorted a BB I can get the cranks mounted and see what I need spacer wise. Those are the remaining parts I need before I have a complete crankset ready to fit.
Hopefully more updates soon..
I couldn't face stripping the forks this evening to fit the bolts that go through the elastomer stack, I may as well wait until I fit some new seals anyway. However a quick swap of the crown and brace bolts gives a 31 gram saving but hey its SRP which is super cool so that's the main thing right
. Comparison pics in thumbnails for anyone interested.I am now tempted to see if I can get a ti steerer.There is a seller on ebay but unfortunately they dont seem to have any 1" 1/4 left. Still I may enquire as that could save a chunk of weight out the forks.
Now I've sorted a BB I can get the cranks mounted and see what I need spacer wise. Those are the remaining parts I need before I have a complete crankset ready to fit.
Hopefully more updates soon..
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gtturbo
Senior Retro Guru
In my head I had set myself a deadline of the end of August to have this done. Me and a mate normally do a yearly 100 mile offroad loop early Sept before the weather turns and it would have been cool to use the Yeti. After spending far to much time on my brothers Team Marin ,and catching covid, that deadline came and went so I havent really touched this bike. Still it now means I can really go to town over the winter and have it ready for spring.
The cranks have been back from the powder coaters for a while, again not overly impressed with the finish like the stem. I have silver rings currently but I'm thinking black may look better so will have a look what I have spare.
The original plan had been to fit some Critical Racing cantis as I already had those. However on reflection, to me at least, they were possibly a bit new for an Ultimate so that left one choice. A few emails to John Grafton later and these turned up super quick.
I still have a few bits left to sort. I can't decide on brake levers but I'm definately leaning towards Graftons now to match the cantis. The Kookas I already have can go on something else along with the Critical cantis.
The cranks have been back from the powder coaters for a while, again not overly impressed with the finish like the stem. I have silver rings currently but I'm thinking black may look better so will have a look what I have spare.
The original plan had been to fit some Critical Racing cantis as I already had those. However on reflection, to me at least, they were possibly a bit new for an Ultimate so that left one choice. A few emails to John Grafton later and these turned up super quick.
I still have a few bits left to sort. I can't decide on brake levers but I'm definately leaning towards Graftons now to match the cantis. The Kookas I already have can go on something else along with the Critical cantis.
