1996 Homegrown Sweet Spot

Rusty16

Retro Newbie
So, time to jump in and post a bike! This is a 1996 Schwinn Factory Homegrown XT with the well-known Sweet Spot URT rear suspension in 19" large. IMG_1552.JPG I bought this bike as a frame only and built it over the last year. For those unfamiliar with the Schwinn Homegrowns, this bike was welded by Anodizing Inc. in Portland, Oregon, and was assembled in Durango, Colorado during Schwinn's famous collaboration with Yeti Cycles in the mid to late 1990's. The Homegrown's of this era were well thought of by the mountain bike community at the time and were considered high-end bikes. 1996 was the first year of the Factory Homegrown XT's. I wasn't looking to build a catalog bike, but I did use Shimano m739 XT derailleurs, crankset and brakes. It still has the original White Industries bottom bracket. I also had the original Fox Alps 4R shock rebuilt by Risse Racing. Risse tuned the shock to slow the rebound with a slightly heavier oil. IMG_1556.JPG Instead of the usual period Rockshox fork, I found a really clean 1996 Marzocchi XC700 that works really well with the bike. IMG_1543.JPG I wanted something kind of off beat for the wheelset, and finally found a set of hardly used gold anodized Mavic 217s laced to Hadley GT hubs in the right color. The gold rims tie in nicely with the forks, the Alps shock and the pivot bushing. IMG_1555.JPG IMG_1559.JPG I had an original Homegrown embroidered saddle stashed away for this build, and also found an unobtanium Homegrown neoprene chain-stay guard, the only one I've ever seen. IMG_1544.JPG IMG_1545.JPG Titec Ringleader bars and stem make the bike a little more comfortable, and Ergon grips with Schwalbe 2.1 tires add a little contemporary touch. IMG_1547.JPG IMG_1557.JPG Wider tires won't fit past the brakes with this frame. The bike is light at 25 lbs, is a great climber with the URT suspension, and always gets compliments.
 
Nice build indeed- quite a rare old beast love the fact you’ve got the period saddle, chainstay protector etc

I’ve got a slightly later version and love it and there are a few different version kicking around on here but not many - and as you mention Sweet spot it’s not actually a Schwinn design* as Ibis WTB, Rocky Mountain, Breezer, Control Tech and Barracuda all had Sweetspot frames in their line up and by enlarge most look identical clones.
Ibis TI bow is just jazzed up SweetSpot tech


* SweetSpot being a patent belong to John Castellano and still being used today in various guises by Ibis (Sinnerman educating me on that one)
 
A very nice build, and may give me the impetus to get mine done....but I'm a slack-arse!

al.
 
Thanks for all the kind words! I actually own three URT bikes now. I have a Gary Fisher Joshua F3, similar to the Trek Y bikes, that has the pivot low and just behind the bottom bracket. It doesn’t have much noticeable rear travel and is on the heavy side. I also have a Klein Mantra Race that is the opposite…very high pivot with way too much rear travel (5.5”) for the frame, and very light. I had to totally replace the suspension with a Rockshox Monarch shock (4” travel) and Rockshox Recon 100mm fork to make it safe to ride downhill. All three of these URT bikes have very short wheelbases, making them a handful in certain conditions. The Schwinn seems well balanced with the Alps shock and Marzocchi fork.
 
That looks fantastic. I've always had a soft spot for Homegrowns, as I had a '96 hardtail. Your DS is one of the few full bounce setups I would be interested in.
 
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