State of the Collection - December 2011

Complete bikes:

1989-90 Yeti C-26
1991 Yeti Ultimate
1993 Slingshot
1993 Trek 7000
1993-94 3D Racing Rover
1994 Ted Wotjik Softrac
1994 Kona Lava Dome
1994-95 Yeti ARC

Frames:

1993 Klein Attitude
1990? Aegis Aro Svelte
1994 3D Racing Rover Ex-Team Frame
1992? Supergo Access XTR
1998 Fat Chance Yo Eddy Restomod

Modern:

2005 3D Racing Crossfire
2005 3D Racing Rover XC [w]
2009 Yeti ASR
2009 Yeti ASR [w]
2009 3D Racing Road-E [w]
2011 Orbea Orca GDR

1993-94 3D Racing Rover

in 1992 Chris Herting left Yeti Cycles in Durango to form 3D Racing. He continues to operate 3D to this day. I came across this frame in Durango and couldn't pass up a vintage 3D in my size. I struggled with build options for awhile, and ultimately I let the 1993 catalog pick it for me. You can see many Yeti ARC-like details with riveted cable guides and Easton varilite tubing. Very cool early nineties race machine.





Right when I was finishing up this bike, another Rover popped up locally on Craigslist. It was a former race frame from someone else I knew in Durango. Too big for me unfortunately, but its cool to have pairs!

1994-95 Yeti ARC

Team edition with HED wheels & blue Ringle. Pure mid-nineties race bike porn.

1991-92 Yeti Ultimate

No surprise to see this one in my garage. The classic Yeti Ultimate. One of the most recognizable frames to come out of the mid-nineties in a classic Yeti paint scheme. This thing is heavy and handles like a shopping cart. Its such a fun bike to ride. A

1993-94 Specialized S-Works Epic Ultimate

This is one of my favorite bike projects. Specialized had been doing the carbon/steel Epic thing since late 1989. In 1992 Specialized commissioned Merlin Metalworks to craft titanium lugs that could replace the steel ones to make it even lighter. I think this frame would have cost like $4,000 in 1994.

The frame was an ebay purchase in Vail, and amazingly the guy was kind enough to drive it all the way into Denver to my house. This was no garage queen, but it was in decent enough shape. This project originated as a weight weenie vintage bike that, while it ended up light enough, was never really that light. 20lbs I think it came out to with the rigid Direct Drive fork.

If you were building a bike from scratch, in 1994 this thing would have set you back a few years financially. Carbon and titanium everywhere. The lack of color anodized anything just makes this thin even cooler: a serious race machine.

95 Catalog photo:

1992 Klein Rascal

I was never a big Klein fan as a teen. For some reason they just weren't that prevalent in New England, and all the rumors I heard and magazine reviews I read said the same thing: pretty to look at, expensive, harsh, fragile, etc. I bought this on ebay mainly to flip, as stayed cheap yet came with some real nice parts. I ended up throwing some period-correct stuff on for just one ride. Pretty fun! I decided another Klein purchase was around the corner with an Attitude or Adroit.

This is also my first real example of the photo studio set up. I had yet to get the lighting results I wanted, but we all have to start somewhere.

1992 Grove Innovations X-Frame

This is the only bike to date that I'm embarrassed to have put effort towards. I was impatient in looking for a Ritchey fork for the Breezer and ended up getting the fork with this frame. I had some XC-Pro parts laying around and decided to see how it rode. It actually handles nicely but its heavy and ugly as sin. I ended up taking this to Keyesville as nothing else functioned at the time, and although it performed well, I regret "showing" it.