Yeti DJ (2004)

Conception

In 2005 I purchased a Yeti DJ frame and built up a bit of a dogs-dinner of a bike. The DJ was dismantled in 2006. Some parts being donated to a Cove Handjob. Other parts languishing in storage. In the back of my mind I envisaged re-using the DJ frame at a later date rather than selling it.

What prompted the rebirth of Yeti DJ?

I live in a town blessed with two cycles shops; AD Cycles and Freeborn (the Ellsworth distributor). Both are traditional shops; i.e. not part of a franchise or national chain. It just so happens that AD Cycles is a few hundred metres from where I live, and also on my route into town. You might say I am indeed fortunate that Freeborn is on the opposite side of town to where I live. Otherwise there would be even more temptation...

So it came to pass that I was passing AD Cycles and saw some nice wheels in the window. Specifically white Halo Combat rims on gold Spin Doctor hubs with black spokes. Very nice too they looked and just right for the Yeti DJ I thought to myself. What followed was a long and sometimes bitter discussion on the "right" way and "wrong" way to build a Yeti DJ between my son and myself.

A tale of three cycles

Initially, a basic build was established from the stock of spare parts accumulated and new parts required. However, this build list was continuously revised, often accompanied by acrimonious debate. What had happened was a failure to define to from the outset the type of bike being constructed. i.e. dirt jumper, 4x or "trail". "Trail" meaning all manner of things and possibly different things to different people. But I think it's veering on the freeride. [I found this wonderful explanation of bike types on the Marzocchi website. According to Marzocchi, freeride means "This riding style is for skilled riders and involves aggressive slopes, large obstacles, and moderate jumps." So now you know!]

One frame, three build opportunities

The next three pages list three possible builds using the DJ frame; dirt jumper, 4x and trail. These three specification lists were intensely debated. Whilst you may argue they are purely theoretical - I haven't owned or used hundreds of bikes and thousands of different components, I don't work in a bike shop - and to a large degree incorporate certain components selected for their ascetic value, they do I believe represent viable builds.

Dirt Jumper

The dirt jumper build was an attempt use the frame for it's true intended purpose. The problem being that I didn't really want or need a dirt jump bike. However, the following component list was drawn up. It must be noted that each of the builds is constrained by budget. None of these builds were fantasy builds; they were all within the proposed budget. Where possible, spare components are used to keep the costs down.

4x

Since seeing an original Yeti Special Projects 4x I'd always fancied one. It seemed to me that the DJ had the possibility of being built up as a 4x. But again, the problem being that I didn't really want or need a 4x. Be that as it may, I was more keen on the 4x than dirt jumper, so the following component list was drawn up. Again the build is constrained by budget.

Trail

I think I realized all along that a "trail" build was the most likely outcome. Whilst again a compromise from the intended use of the frame, (i) there are enough examples in the wild to see that such a build is possible, (ii) the DJ Patriot wasn't a disaster, (iii) there was an unspoken desire to have a bike of heavy weight components to be used alongside my son's custom Specilialized SX Trail (albeit a hardtail not FSR).

It must be noted here that all three builds utilize the Blackspire Badger cranks originally fitted to the DJ Patriot. They were an unhappy budget compromise on the Cove Handjob and they needed to be repatriated to a more suitable bike. [So lucky son finally got to choose a XC crankset for the Cove.]