1989 (?) Yeti FRO

[Rahbari]

Hi Martin,

I tried the pencil method but I could only make out the last two digits - 35. The digit before 35 was not visible fully as there seems to be some touch-up paint just one the left half. The digit is either a 3 or a 8.

No use making a macro pic of the S/N now because of my unprofessional try to rub of the touch-up (only minor scratches now visible).

 

[Rahbari]

Two Updates:

My mate finished building the wheels. Lovely!

Also, I found a picture on my phone of my pencil rub test a few weeks ago. On this Picture, the S/N looks more like 835 than 335.

Link to hi-res pic: http://fstatic3.mtb-news.de/f3/17/1759/ ... iginal.jpg

 

[mkozaczek]

I wanted it to be 335, because it would fit into my neat little equation better. But, it sure looks like an 8.

So, the frame features are on par with other FROs in that serial number range. Oval top tube, cable stops at 1 0'clock, no reinforcement gussets, BMX headtube, Simplex dropouts. Here is 768:

 

[Rahbari]

Thanks for the Information. My S/N is a bit too high for the "old" features of the frame (# 809 already has 1 1/4" headtube and new style dropouts) but who cares. Maybe it should have been #735 and they got the digit wrong.

Can you or someone else tell me, how a frame from 1988 or 1987 or 1986 would differ from mine?

Even your very early one (#9), probably from 1985, looks the same (edit: now I see, it has a round top tube):

What I read, is, that the first couple had a seattube of 26.6. In 1987 the 2. Generation Yeti Man was introduced.

 

[mkozaczek]

I'll check the seat tube on #1, I think it may have been 26.6.

XR309 is a full fledged FRO is not much different from your bike, in fact most of the first 700 FROs are all identical. With the exception of the round top tube and some variation in cable stop placement they are all the same. Features like portage strap mounts were always optional.

So, unless you (the global you) have a bike that you know is original then it's hard definitively place the year just by the S/N. 1985 and 86 had 1st GEN Yetiman badges, but those were gone by the time they got to XR341, so fewer than 40 bikes had those.

So, for your bike I see the following scenarios:

XR0835 built in say early 89 using a left over Redline BB shell (hence the XR designation)

XR0335 built in 86ish and either repainted later or one of the early 2nd Gen Yetiman

 

[Rahbari]

Edit: mine actually uses a 26.6 seatpost.


S/N 385 still had a 26.6 seattube:
http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro-cl ... 20234.html

 

[mkozaczek]

Negative, XR309 is already 26.8 as is XR314... I think the 26.6 was only for the first 5 or so pre S/N bikes. Like this one:

 

[Rahbari]

Hmmm, bad luck! However, according to this site, 314 has 26.6.
http://fiveandaquarter.blogspot.de/2011 ... o-314.html

Next try: S/N XR [0] 335 would take a BMX-sized stem (21.15mm quill), if it came with the original fork?!

 

[mkozaczek]

I'll measure the OD of the quill on the stem on XR309

I think the OP for 385 has the 26.6 wrong... I emailed him to confirm, same with XR314...

But this has me wondering... I'll double check on XR309.

One thing to note, I have a 26.8 IRD post that's stamped 26.6... it measures 26.8 but fits in a FRO...

 

[Rahbari]

Wheels arrived!

But guess what, Martin: my seatpost tube is 26.6mm!