Trek Y-22

My current MTB, probably will be for some time. A solid machine, smooth riding, a bit heavy but not bad for FS, and reasonably priced on the used bike market these days. As with most MTB's, the nut on the seat is the greatest limitation.

Yes, I own two Trek Y bikes, this one and the Foil. Am I fascinated with the design? Not particularly. The Y MTB is a good buy in a lightweight full suspension MTB, while the Foil is just plain beautiful.

Note that I've removed the bar ends. Where I ride, it's fairly dense forest. I've come very close to hooking the bar ends on trees several times, so I took them off before I had a real bad crackup.

This was an education in how to get a MTB, or more correctly, how not to.

As my farm is rather rocky, with lots of steep hills, I decided to go for a full suspension MTB. Turned out to be a wise choice, for the sort of terrain I cross. I've run my trails on a hardtail, and getting your fillings rattled out is not fun. Occasionally run the very challenging single track at Frankfort, KY, where FS is probably overkill, but sure feels good. I settled on the Trek Y bikes, because they were the least expensive carbon framed bikes out there. No longer state of the art, and except for the aluminum Y-3, no longer being made, due largely to the frame design that is cursed with bobbing. As a result, they have become relatively inexpensive. So I acquired a used Y-11 from ebay.

And I also acquired a bit of experience. When you buy a used MTB, you're getting a frame, seatpost and handlebars. Everything else is suspect. In this case, everything else was pretty much shot. Rideable, but the crankset didn't shift well, the front shock rattled, the wheels were uneven, one shifter was cracked, and the old canti brakes weren't being made any more.

So I began replacing parts. The front shifter was cracked, and since they were one piece lever/shifters and not being made anymore, I had to replace shifters and brakes. Shimano XTR, not cheap but they will last.

My LBS had the Deore wheels cheap, and the old LX/Mavic wheels wobbled like a drunken sailor, so on with these. Improvement? Braking seemed a bit smoother.

Next was the crankset, old Shimano SG, and getting toothless. Got the RaceFace crank fairly cheap ($140) from ebay, because it used a square spindle BB, out of style, and it has 8 speed chainrings. A splined spindle didn't seem to be worth another $180. Is it stiffer? I can't tell. It does shift well. Sadly, the paint scratches easily.

That front shock had to go before it broke and pitched me into a tree. By this time, I had wised up, and learned not to buy used MTB components, especially those prone to hard use. I was warned off of air shocks due to high maintenance. I'm not a pro rider, so the last bit of performance isn't an issue. Hence, the Marzocchi Atom 80, an oil/spring shock that is fairly low maintanence. How does it work? Very well, like the crank, I don't notice it at all, until I look at the fork after ride, and see how far it compressed. I don't recall hitting anything that hard, so the shock did it's job.

Derailleurs were still working okay, so no point in replacing them. That left the rear shock. It worked, but always seemed either too stiff or too loose. Not the end of the world, but I'd sure like to have a locking shock for that section of my farm I refer to as Death Hill a 3/4 mile uphill that has worn down many a MTB rider who has tried it. What should turn up on ebay, but a Fox Air RC shock, with a nice clean Y-22 frame attached to it. I'm going to break my rule against buying used MTB gear, because the whole thing was $250, which is less than what the shock sells for by itself, and it sure would be nice to have a spare frame if I lost it and cracked the frame on a rock.

It worked out very well. The frame was extremely clean, looked a lot better than my Y-11 frame, which had become rather scruffy by now. Moved the components over, only to notice that the shock was 1/2" short, making the back of the bike sit down a bit. Too much invested now, run the seatpost out a bit. The air shock made a dramatic improvement, much better ride, yet stiffer. Unlike the spring shock, it has a rising rate of stiffness to it. The first bit of travel is easy, but it stiffens up quickly if you run 200 pounds air in it. Haven't had a chance to try the locker yet, I don't have the cable.

I also replaced the pedals, but with a set of cheapo clipped pedals. I'm not quite ready for clipless pedals on the MTB.

So there it is, about the only components that weren't replaced were the handlebars, seatpost, and derailleurs. Everything else went. If I had it to do all over again, I'd have bought a bare frameset and put on what I wanted. Which is what I did for a road bike.

What did all of this end up costing me? I don't know, and don't want to know. I'll eat my mistake in silence. What I do know is that I have a rugged, light, full suspension bike with new components that aren't about to fall off the bike. I got the components I wanted, and it rides good now.

Riding lessons.

I've learned a few hard lessons along the way, and offer up this experience to those just starting out.

Used MTB gear. Very suspect. Outlined in painful detail above, but don't forget it. This can get expensive.

Hydration. Another hard learned lesson. Drink regularly, or fade out. I had a particularly hard ride at the Frankfort trail, and just fizzed out in the middle of it. Hadn't carried any water with me, and was just plain dehydrated. I tried the trail a few days later with a Camelbak, and there was a very large difference. Don't neglect the water. If your mouth is dry, you need water, it's a sign that your body is pulling moisture for use elsewhere.

Fuel. Eat well before you hit the trail. Sounds silly, but I also faded out on a ride when I hadn't eaten all day. Big difference.

Practice, practice. The first few times I ran a tight single track, I hated it, a nerve wracking experience. After a few runs, it grows on you.

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