The Radavist

Second Spin Cycles’ 1985 Yeti Built and Sold by John Parker
Photos by John Watson and words by Martin Kozaczek

Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the past 30 years you’ve probably heard of Yeti Cycles. Not much has changed in that time. The bikes are still turquoise and still made to go fast. Yeti has always stuck to its foundation in racing, and the alumni roster reads like a list on the wall in the Hall of Fame, with names like Tomac, Furtado and Graves just to name a few. Yeti outlasted most of its competition during those years as their bikes have evolved only enough to ensure they are as fast as their racers. Unlike some bike companies that either don’t embrace their past and culture or don’t have one to really rally around, Yeti is all about their history and more importantly, their tribe. If you’ve been to their HQ or one of their annual Tribe gatherings you’re likely to see some of the more significant bikes from their past. That lineup is soon to be joined by the bike featured here, which is the first Yeti ever sold!!! The story goes a little something like this. John Parker bought out the tooling for 26” BMX “Motocruiser” stalwart Bicycle Bob Wilson and his Sweetheart Cycles brand, and welded up 3-5 bikes. Needing a new name to distinguish his new bike from a Motocruiser, he chose Yeti, named after a sleeping bag he liked. This is the first bike he sold under the Yeti name from the storefront window of Emily K’s bicycle clothing store in Santa Barbara, CA. It was purchased by a young woman who owned it until just a couple years ago when a chance encounter with John at a motorcycle show reunited the bike with its maker.

This bike has a rich history and for vintage MTB collectors like Martin of Second Spin Cycles, it was a must-have for his extensive catalog. You see, Martin is a curator of sorts. Up until recently, he was commissioned by other collectors and hobbyists to build their dream bike. Whether it was a Yeti or a Yo Eddy, Martin had a knack for finding even the rarest components or accessories to top off a vintage build. Now Martin’s life is too busy to spend time for other people and has began focusing on his own bikes, which he actually rides quite frequently, whereas most collectors just display.

Now, back to this special Yeti ARC. A little while ago this frame popped up on eBay. It had a Johnny O’Mara decal on the toptube, signature hand-machined cable ferrels, FTW welds and a serial tag of number 90. All the signs pointed to this being an actual Johnny O’Mara bike, but there was one thing that threw Martin off: the bike was in Germany. The vintage MTB world is a strange one. Collectors scour the internet all over and if someone really wants a bike, they’ll pay top dollar for it. That said, Martin wasn’t too surprised to see the frame overseas. Who knows, maybe the owner was a Johnny fan?

After acquiring it, he began looking at some of O’Mara’s signature build details. With this particular pedigree of Yeti, Johnny was known to mis-match the hubs and cantilever brakes. So Martin did just that. One black Shimano XT hub on the front, one silver Shimano XT hub on the rear. He also had a penchant for purple, so on went the ever-so-classy Cook Brothers cranks, ODI grips and Ringlé skewers. Onza tires and a Manitou fork finished off the build, resulting in one pristine Yeti ARC. So pristine that the heads at Yeti want this bike for their home office, which is where it’s heading next week…

Martin was kind enough to bring this bike to the Cub House in South Pasadena yesterday for me to photograph and if vintage MTBs are you thing, I’d suggest giving him a follow at @SecondSpin.

This bike is pretty damn old and you’d think that the stem and fork were too, but they’re not. Anybody wanna try and guess who built them?

Everything else on the bike is very period correct, my favorite part is the NOS Onza Racing Porcs though. Those guys are probably the best looking tires ever made!

The owner of this bike is probably one of the funnest customers to work with here at Golden Saddle Cyclery, because all the bikes we build for him are BANGERS!

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Follow Kyle on Instagram and visit Golden Saddle Cyclery in Silverlake, Los Angeles.

The Yeti. A mythical beast, said to inhabit the Himalayan mountains, sought by Westerners with cameras. Or in this case, an American MTB company that began by selling hand made frames in the USA. The first frames of this purebred brand were crafted by Frank the Welder (FTW). Yeti’s early bikes are very much sought after by Westerners, much like their namesake spirit animal. But unlike blurry photos shot in snow-capped mountains, I managed to document one sharply in sunny Los Angeles.

This bike in particular is part of an ongoing collection from a Los Angeleian who knows where to take his bikes. His collection spans a few Chris Chance MTBs, various Yetis and this yellow Yeti Ultimate. Spec’d with period correct parts, a FTW stem and yes, built with care by Golden Saddle Cyclery, this beaut stared me down all last week while I was in LA…

See more in the Gallery!