[Serial Midget]

I’ve been a road biker for most of my life and know what I am doing in that department.

In the last few years I have taken mtb’ing more seriously. None of my mtb buds think I have the right bike. I personally think I just lack skill and experience but most of they guys I ride with think my bike sucks.

When I purchased my mountain bikes I knew next to nothing about the sport. My first purchase was a Trek Y3 with the URT design. After awhile I decided it was too heavy to move real fast so I bucked up for Trek Y-22 of the same basic design. For several years I just used the Y-22 in the winter on fire roads to build strength for climbing, any off road I did was your basic XC and I was always climb oriented. Both of these bikes have been significantly upgraded and between the two I’ve spent a buttload of cash. I tried to turn Y-3 into a ‘free ride’ type of deal and just rebuilt Y-22 for continued XC and climbing.

The Y-22 is not a good DH bike and was never intended to be one, as an XC ride I am pretty happy with it.

The Y-3 is the same frame as a Y-Glide so I got it in my head to convert it. I searched out an Eric Boulton rear triangle, stripped the fame and had it rebuilt from the ground up with good bits that work great. I have no issues with the any of the parts but I have serious control issues on intermediate DH trails. I have no real trouble on small drops, roots, large loose rocks and your typical stuff. I do have serious control issues on hairpin turns in combination with the above mentioned trail conditions. Some guys I know blame this on the URT design but I am not convinced – I think my LSB sold me a bike that was too large. I think he wanted to sell off the floor instead of making a special order.

I now know that I was sold a large frame instead of a medium, the frame size was not in the paperwork or on the bike at the time I purchased it. I was under the impression that I was buying a medium frame at the time. When I compared the frame to one that is actually a medium I found no real standover height difference but there is a 4” top tube difference. My wheelbase is 4” longer then a typical medium sized frame.

So how bad is the URT design compared to a single pivot? (Please do not compare 4 bar designs.)

Trek Y-frames are old news but I am not really swayed by the latest anyway. I have no desired to do stunts, large drops and air is something I breath. What I would like is to get around the tight, techincal corners in a controlled manner at a reasonable speed. I am 5ft7 and 155lbs and take a 53cm road frame. Would switching to a smaller Y-frame help with my control issues?

The Boulton rear triangle is fits a variety of mid 90s single pivot frames but treks Ys sell pretty cheap used and I am now on a budget.

SM thanks you.

 

[Surly]

Well, several things--first of all, a 4" difference between a medium and a large frame seems like way too much. Are you sure you don't have an Extra Large? Regardless, At 5'7", you should be riding a medium. And yes, switching to a medium frame will help in tight switchbacks.
As for the overall usefullness of the URT design, I've heard it said that it can decent. But I've never heard anyone claim that Trek's version is one of the decent ones. Some companies--Santa Cruz, Marin-- have great single pivot designs w/ more travel than you're getting out of the Y bike. I would look to move into some other frame, rather than upgrade to a smaller Y bike.
Not to change the subject, but there are some NEW 4 bar frames, and some single pivot frames to be found on a budget. JensonUSA has Jamis Dakar frames under $350 that perform much better than your Y bike. Supergo had(has?) K2 Evo's that are single pivot freestyle bikes around $350, and I think somebody else has KHS frames for around $500 (FSR style). Plus, there is always the used market.
Hope that helps a little. Good luck with your seach.

 

[Serial Midget]

All excellent points... at this time my bike has 6 3/4" of rear travel. At the time I made my upgrades a Boulton Jackrabbit rear triangle was pretty had to get - Eric sold them to DH racers in the mid 90's for $350.00. Since Jackrabbits have bearings instead of bushings I do notice the full range of travel is very smooth on the rough stuff as compared to my Y-22 that has bushings...

Boutlon Jackrabbit Link

I'm looking for other frames that might be compatible with the swing arm...

All the 4-bar frames in my price range have teflon bushings... I just don't think that's good.

 

[stevethetree]

urt is dead. the bitch of it is the fact that when you stand up you lose all of your suspension. you would be better off with a hard tail if that were the case. you should see if damon would loan you his medium evo. just to set it up and get a few rides to get a feel for it. there is no way you will be that far of the back anymore. get em midget master

 

[Surly]

6 3/4" Travel? That's a pretty good amount, I gotta say. Definately in freeride territory. The welding/machining work on that rear end is gorgeous, btw.
I think bushings/bearings is a personal thing. I know companies like Turner use bearings, but I also know a guy who builds custom bikes over at Chumba Wumba who has expressed a preference for Delrin bushings. I would guess that there is world of difference tho between good and bad bushings, just as there is for bearings (aircraft grade--I 'm guessing those are good)? due to factors like material and tolerances.
I notice the website had pictures of custom Boulton frames--would it possible to get one of those? Good luck!

 

[Toshi]

You should definitely be on a medium. That large looks incredibly long and stretched out, which is far from ideal unless your going for aerodynamics, or you're built like a baboon.

 

[Ventanarama]

Originally posted by Surly
I think bushings/bearings is a personal thing. I know companies like Turner use bearings, but I also know a guy who builds custom bikes over at Chumba Wumba who has expressed a preference for Delrin bushings. I would guess that there is world of difference tho between good and bad bushings, just as there is for bearings (aircraft grade--I 'm guessing those are good)? due to factors like material and tolerances.

Actually Turner uses bushings, one of the last holdouts among the high-end builders. You are absolutely correct about there being a big diffrerence in execution though. There's only a handful of companies that have done bushing pivots really well(primarily Ventana and Turner). Typically, a well done bushing design will have better lateral stiffness than the same design done with bearings. But, bearings are smoother.
Larry Mettler
http://www.mtnhighcyclery.com