Welcome to another edition of Rob's Daily Disturbance!!!

Last week, I made a sticky in the Daily Disturbance forecasting a huge announcement for today. I tossed in several obscure clues to what it was going to be and, as I predicted, no one got it (which is great). One member, Digital-World, went to extreme efforts and finally guessed that it had something to do with Lorenzo Music (for those of you who don't know, he was the voice of that crazy cat, Garfield).

Well, try as he might, he wasn't even close but I do want to thank him for giving it a shot.

So, what were the answers to my questions?

An American icon that died a tragic death in 2001.

In 2001, America's oldest bicycle brand, Schwinn, was purchased by Pacific Cycle in a bankruptcy auction (they also bought GT that same year). For those of you unfamiliar with mountain bikes, Pacific Cycle is also the same company that makes the extremely heavy and poor quality Murray bicycles that cause more accidents than they do fun. As a result of this sale, most of Schwinn's production line is geared towards making sub-quality frames to be sold at your local Wal-Mart at a really cheap price.

A name for something for which you produce.

Homegrown. In late 1997, the Schwinn Bicycle Company buys out a small, yet highly sought after company in Durango, Colorado by the name of Yeti. Production immediately begins on a new design of the Homegown but in full-suspension instead of a hardtail (note: hardtail means front suspension only). Handmade and handcrafted by the finest bicycle frames in the world, Schwinn had Yeti produce the Homegrown Full-Suspension in 1997, 1998, and 1999, all composed of 6061 aluminum tubing (the strongest on the market), making it not only sturdy but extremely lightweight.

I was five years old when it all began.

Mountain bike riding was born in Marin County, California back in 1976 with a handfull of crazy daredevils modifying bicycles to accept a larger tire and flying down a back mountain road that was renamed Repack (find out why here).

Not just for dogs anymore.

I threw this one in prematurely as I'm still in the iffy stage of deciding whether or not to set my goals this high. I'm sure that many of you have heard of the dogsled race, Iditarod, which takes place in Alaska every year. Through the course of its history, other "Idita-" type sports were born. Named IditaSport, it now encompasses mountain biking, walking, skiing, and snowshoing. What does this have to do with me? Well, I got a wild hair and thought that it would be neat to run the short Iditabike race (about 350 miles across the frozen tundra of Alaska..takes about 7 days). Not now, but maybe in 2007.

His first love was a snake.

The first mountain bike I ever owned was from Peugeot and weighed about 50lbs (for a mountain bike, that's really, really heavy). I hated the damned thing and wanted to get rid of it so I ran over to the base store and ordered me a REAL mountain bike. This was back in 1995 when I was starting to get into the sport pretty heavily. I did a lot of research and between the three companies that the Navy ordered from, I had a choice between either GT (which I'm not a big fan of), K2 (unknown Euro company), or Diamondback. In 1995, the professional Diamondback Racing Team was riding a new titanium bike called the Vertex. Diamondback sold the same frame, but in cromly-steel, for a lot less price of $1500.

I love this bike and I still own it today...the Diamondback Vertex TR.


Unfortunately, this is the only pic that I have readily available to show you as it's been packed away in a moving box. Sporting a Manitou 4 front suspension fork (with Mountain SpeedSprings) and all XT components (except an LX crank), this baby would slide down a mountain trail on her Continental tires and Mavic rims like a piece of butter off the side of a hot ear of corn-on-the-cob.

She withstood quite a lot of abuse with my amateur level racing in Italy and with her weakened frame, she still begs me to let her get her knobby tires a little muddy every time it rains. Not wanting to lose her to my foolish ways, she has to satisfy herself with a short ride every now and then. I doubt, for fear for her and for my health, that she will ever see the trails she longs for; rather, perhaps a soft, rolling trail will do her nicely.

So why am I talking about her for?

Well, I was lucky enough to snag a 1999 Schwinn Homegrown full-suspension frame in Bass Boat Blue for about $500 back in 2001 while they were being sold to Pacific Cycles. I never had time to build her up before she was wrapped in moving paper and shuttled off to Minnesota where I forgot about her in the closet. I was just cleaning my closet the other day when I found this package and, for the briefest of moments, didn't realize what it was.

Wow. An intriguing read. I can't really relate on hardly any of this post, since I know zilch about biking in any form. I do remember I owned a Schwinn as my first bicycle. Some little miniature, black and white bike. I stil had it, up until about three years ago, when my mother was doing some cleaning around the outside of the house and tossed it out. Rust had eaten away at the spokes, frame, and everything. It was garbage. If it was well taken care of, I'm sure it would be worth some bucks these days.

It's great that you have a project like this. Something with some historical significance to you personally is always something that motivates you (or, myself anyway) through any project. I have a hard time doing random projects, for no real meaning, but when you do something like this and revamp a memory, it is a sweet thing. Have fun with this project and best of luck with it!

By the way, from the hints you gave preluding to this post, I would've never guessed it. I tried to Google the phrases, just to see if I could get some inkling, but I had no idea that most of them were personal stories relating to you. Oh well, it was quite the surprise when I saw this awaited DD post!

Cheers, Rob!

PS - If you're ever anywhere in the surrounding states of Virginia, for any sort of PR business or anything, be sure and let me know. I'd love to meet you! I've yet to meet anyone from PR, but hopefully that will change in September when I go for a LAN Party (my first) with some PR members.

I must admit, you got me with that one. I never would have gotten it. I did some googling to try and figure it out but never got close to matching all the clues.

Hmmmmmm...........j-dogg should've got this one......heh

Quote: Originally Posted by Highperf15 Hmmmmmm...........j-dogg should've got this one......heh

Roger. I was suprised he didn't!

That is an amazing frame...And worthy of all you said it was.....After surgery when my excersise regiment gets heavy again...we can find some time to do a ride somwhere
I have to admit I googled for days trying to find the answer to this teaser...
And Lorenzo Music was the best I could do
Died in 2001
Something you produce
not for dogs....(GARFILED IS A CAT)
and love of a snake...( WELL that one was obscure but I thought you knew something I didn't)
So I get points for coming up with at least something that was close to your hints....
hahaha

As for Hooters today...
Yeah I had fun hearing some of your stories and meeting you as a person and not just the kick ass writer we all enjoy...
The big ole plate of HOT wings I ate didn't like me to well by the time we got home...But hey I was asking for it.
After damn near killing myself in the car to get there..It was a relief to sit eat, enjoy the company and meet new people...
Even $SOLID$ overclocking party hat made for some good fun
Well save that for one of you other posts..
Stompfest is sure to be good fun as we have quite a few that are interested in going.
Crazy J was a little upset at me for not inviting him today...As he lives close by as well...
Looking forward to more good posts....
More fun with a new freind....
and PASTA BABY!!!
I hope it's as good as you say it is....
Peace
Digi

It's way cool to meet people in person that you know online.Makes for a first few anxious moments.

Good read too Rob!

Great write-up, awesome frame! I have a Schwinn Moab, myself. Judy fork, Titec bar and stem, Niterider lights, etc, etc, blah blah blah. I've been torn between selling or getting back into riding. The last time I decided to "go for a little spin," I was about 6 miles into the trek and started to see a large, white light. There were harps playing, the whole deal. Maybe one of these days I'll get my lazy butt out of the chair and back in the saddle, who knows?

Can't wait to see it built, Rob!

Beautiful frame Rob.
I was just chatting in IM with Slak and Flounder about it, and those Yeti-made Schwinns were the height of manufacturing at the time. Sweet frame bro. If you need any help building it up, I am working weekends as a mechanic at a buddy's bike shop, and have access to all kinds of good info. As for the fitness required to ride the beast....you're on your own.

Nice write up Rob, you definitely had me stumped. There is nothing like building your own bike to motivate you to get out and ride it. Makes me want to build a new bike.

My last home built mountain bike was stolen when someone broke into my garage a few years back. Unfortunately I'll never be able to build the same bike again. It was a single down tube, super light, aircraft aluminum Mongoose hardtail painted a sweet metallic blue. This was literally one of the last "good" frames they built before Mongoose was bought out and started making crapcycles for Walmart and others. Bright red metallic Marzochi front forks, G-shok seat post and all XT components. And it weighed about half what my steal framed Jannus weighs. Sigh...I miss old blue.

Good luck with the bike man, you got a great base to build on.

Quote: Originally Posted by AntiM Nice write up Rob, you definitely had me stumped. There is nothing like building your own bike to motivate you to get out and ride it. Makes me want to build a new bike. My last home built mountain bike was stolen when someone broke into my garage a few years back. Unfortunately I'll never be able to build the same bike again. It was a single down tube, super light, aircraft aluminum Mongoose hardtail painted a sweet metallic blue. This was literally one of the last "good" frames they built before Mongoose was bought out and started making crapcycles for Walmart and others. Bright red metallic Marzochi front forks, G-shok seat post and all XT components. And it weighed about half what my steal framed Jannus weighs. Sigh...I miss old blue. Good luck with the bike man, you got a great base to build on.

Haha!

Sorry for laughing but believe it or not, Pacific Cycle also bought out Mongoose, too. Isn't that pretty ironic? Get your spirits up, bro. Who knows? You may run across a nice Klein Mantra frame sometime...that'd be a nice replacement, wouldn't it?

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Digital-World ....and PASTA BABY!!! I hope it's as good as you say it is....

Oh, it is!
What? You don't think a bachelor can cook?

Quote: Originally Posted by godfoot Oh, it is! What? You don't think a bachelor can cook?

Ha Ha SHUT YO MOUTH Mr. Simmons

Mr. Simmons? Whatchu talking 'bout Willis?
I take it you still like your new avatar?

You mean this whole thread is about bikes? I thought it was about Lorenzo Music.....

You do realize Rob that I *really* hate you now, for having that frame, and having neglected it all these years......

If you are ever in the Florida area you are more than welcome to come riding with me. I kneel in thy prescense for thee hast a Homegrown frame

There are several Schwinns on my must have / ride list, that is one of them

However you and I are in the same bike building boat now. Apparently my little brother has snapped the chain on my Sting-Ray......

I don't know how that bike survived 3 almost 4 years of abusive wide-open acceleration, centuries, rain, hail, sleet, snow, glass bottles, bottle rockets, downhill sections, late-night assaults on Downtown Melbourne, the numerous gas scooters and mini-bikes that have felt my wrath, and yet my little brother takes it 3 miles down the street to his school and snaps the chain in half.....

His punk ass can walk to band practice.

You know, come to think of it, I remember that last year I told you about this frame and a possible trade between us.

You must have been recovering from a nasty fall or something, if you don't remember.

Yeah, I love this frame. Nice 17" frame, too. The guy who originally had it needed a 19" frame and let me off with an easy $500 for it back then (this is when it was going for about $1,800, I think). If I ever make it down to Florida, I promise I'll let you ride off-trail away from the manholes, o.k.?

Rob

didnt homegrowns only come in a hardtail?

Quote: Originally Posted by me_john85 didnt homegrowns only come in a hardtail?

The bulk of the Homegrowns that were sold were indeed a hardtail; however, in 1997 through 1999, they were also made in full suspension. Schwinn bought out Yeti in 1997 and had them manufacture the frame for them. Not a lot of them ever hit the market due to their price. I think that the cheapest one available was around $1900 and that was with some extremely substandard parts for a frame of that caliber (think "LX" and spring Marzhocchi suspension).

hey rob----ive got a pile of bike parts. if you need anything.......let me know--and ill see if i have it.

im still on my quest for a front fork tho......