neo_pop_71

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  • neo_pop_71
    Member
    Hey Rob,

    Do you recall which decal your frame had before you painted it?

    In a previous reply above, Mark has both types of tubing decals. I also included the decal on my frame. Do either of those look familiar?

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Hi Mark,

    That’s the same decal I have on my A2L… you can barely make it out in the picture taken of the front of the bike, it’s at the bottom of the seat tube (below the front derailleur). I also took a close up shot, so you could see if it matched what you had on file.

    Thanks for the help!

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Hey ‘Cuda fanatics,

    This is my 1996 Smorgasbord Country Style Buffet hardtail, it replaced my 1991 Stumpjumper that I started this thread with. When I stripped down the Stumpjumper, the buyer only wanted the frame, so I hung the grouppo on my 1993 A2L and rebuilt that bike. It’s taken a lot longer than expected to track down the parts I wanted for this build. That said, I’m really pleased with the build, I definitely think the frame design is a classic (can’t forget the Joe BREEZE dropouts). This Smor C.S.B. most reminds me of my brother’s WTB Phoenix, the tight triangles, knife-like maneuverability, and the giant seat post/frame geometry. It does have similarities with others from that era of steel frames like a FAT/I.F., to me those are classic steel frames. I believe Chris Daily (Smorgasbord builder out of Hershey, PA) was really putting out a great frame that’s every bit as good as any other steel frame. It’s a shame he made less than 200 hardtail frames in his short 5 year run!

    Thanks for taking a look!

    Here are the specs:

    1996 Smorgasbord Country Style Buffet

    FRAME – Reynolds 853 double butted
    FORK – White Brothers XC-4
    HEADSET – Chris King “Green Apple” (discontinued)
    REAR DERAILLEUR – Shimano Deore XTR
    FRONT DERAILLEUR – Shimano Deore XT
    HUBS – Shimano Deore XTR (front) & AC/Hugi (rear)
    RIMS – Mavic XC717
    TIRES – WTB Moto-Raptor 2.4 front/rear
    BRAKES – Shimano Deore XTR V-brakes
    BRAKE LEVERS – Avid Speed Dial Ultimate
    CRANK – Cook Brothers Racing 48/34/24
    PEDALS – Time ATAC
    SHIFTERS – SRAM X-Ray
    HANDLEBARS – Cook Brothers Racing
    FREEWHEEL – Shimano Deore XTR 12-32
    STEM – Thomson 130mm x 5 degree
    SEAT POST – Salsa “Shaft”
    SEAT – SDG S-2000 Ti Kevlar
    COLOR – Apple Green Metal Flake

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    This is for Mark and Rob Bell…

    Mark, previously you said, ” I know it’s double-butted, but it’s not Tange.” when referring to Rob’s A2Limited, my ’93 A2L has a “Tange Double Butted MTN Tubing” sticker on the seat tube. Rob, do you remeber if yours had this same sticker before you repainted it (I know it’s been a few years). I’ve been on a quest to nail down info on my A2L Barracuda, it seems to be something of a mystery as it was only made in 1993 and there’s little to no info.

    Thanks,

    -DON-

    p.s. Mark, by no means am I calling you out about your previous posting, trying not to step on toes as I usually do, just trying to get some clear answers as to my A2L.

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Good morning Mark,

    I need the post diameter on my A2Limited, the previous owner butchered the seat post and it’s a little short for my liking. My LBS said it interior diameter of the seat tube was 29.93… can you confirm for me?

    Thanks again as always!

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Welcome Rob,

    I too am a proud owner of an A2Limited, a great frame for whatever parts you hang, I like the black paint job! You had me mixed up when I saw the picture before I read your post, I knew the A2L frames were gold and white. I also gets comments all the time out on the trail. The best one was at my LBS, two of the “kids” (early 20’s) were buggin’ out on it… they’d never heard of Barracuda! I’m turning 40 soon and damn if I didn’t feel old!!! They had no clue about CNC/anodized glory days pre-1995. Every trip I go in there with some other little gem, it usually blows their mind. I miss the innovation and “baby steps” of those days, it had to be functional but aesthetically cool too!

    Anyway, I would upgrade the parts and get it race ready but I would stay with that frame. I say this because there is a good likelihood that ‘Cuda was made by “Yeti” hands. Check my posting from a few months ago about a race jersey I bought off a veteran of the Durango scene:

    viewtopic.php?f=4&t=48

    The seller was a very nice guy named Dennis, Dennis is neighbors with Chris Herting (3D Cycles, former Yeti frame designer), it was Dennis’ understanding that all the early Barracuda steel frames (late ’92, ’93, early ’94) were made by Yeti. When times were slow at Yeti, they’d swap the frame jigs and weld up some ‘Cudas. I think for what you’d spend on a 29’er, ever a used one, you could build your A2L with XTR 9 speed or something nice and still come out ahead. One way or another, I might be biased, you have a cool frame with some great history! Build it, race it, podium on it… do it for all of us Barracuda fanatics!

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Thanks for the contributions, some nice rides for sure! The Stumpjumper I started this thread with is gone, sold it to finish my baby (pics and details soon).

    I’m with Mark, Oldschool’s Merlin is sweet! I’ve always wanted a Merlin… I did own a KGB, a poorman’s Merlin put out by Montrose Bikes in SoCal. I built it up as a get around town single speed with a Bontrager Race Lite carbon fork, a FSA Ti bottom bracket, and some Dura Ace bits, it came in at a feathery 14.2 pounds. I parted it out after awhile, it was a bit too “whippy” for my liking. It’s a good frame if you want Ti and you’re on a budget.

    willywill said, “…best addition is the Fox Shock for the rear. If the front forks are just as sweet I can understand why a second mortgage is necessary to own one!”

    I’ve owned a few Fox forks over the years, they are great forks, spendy with good resale value (used ones can fetch more than a lot of new ones by the other guys). For me, the White Brothers forks are king! They are every bit as good as the Fox forks, that’s how White Bros got started by selling dirt bike gear, and then improved on the design. The W.B. “Factory” forks were all CNC’d in SoCal out of Easton aluminum and their internals were overbuilt and bombproof. The best part W.B used common parts found at your local hardware store, like o-rings, washers, etc., no specialty parts… so the rebuilds are cheap! Used W.B. forks can be purchased cheaply too, I won an auction on Fleebay for a SC70UL air fork and it only cost me $59.00 plus shipping. Only $75.00 for an American made air fork! It even has gold fork lowers to match my ’93 A2Limited (gold/white). White Brothers is now in Colorado, their fork tech has replacement parts if needed or they’ll service/rebuild your fork. Keep your eyes peeled, if you come across one locally, grab it because you won’t regret it!

    • October 10, 2010 at 4:17 pm
    • in reply to: Jerseys
    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Really nice Mark! The threads back then were just the coolest, now’adays the whole industry seems to think black alone is the cool standard. I still remember pulling many rides in jeans and a flannel. My buddy Bill still rides in flannel shirts, other riders comment “nice shirt, kook” when they ride by. Bill, gets ’em back with a smack on the ass as be blows past them… Bill was an alternate on the ’84 US Olympic team that trained in Colorado. Nothing better than that guy kit’ed out in $400.00 worth of threads and body armor, on a $4,000 carbon full suspension ride, as he tries to catch up but Bill just dusts him as he yards out. It’s all about respect.

    Thanks for the post!

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Hey David128,

    Looking great so far ! ! !

    If you don’t mind me asking, where in the world did you find some NOS, period correct, XTR components? Was it crazy expensive or did you come up on a smokin’ deal? I gave up trying to find any of that and what I found was cost prohibitive, so I simply started gathering the “grey” XTR that I loved so much. Do you know (or maybe Mark if you read this) what grouppo came on the A2E? With a $1,299.00 retail price in 1995, I could see the A2E coming with some or all XT grouppo but I remember a price point near $2,000.00 for an “XTR” bike. I upgraded my wheelset on my ’94 Zaskar to XTR hubs with Mavic hoops and it set me back $500.00. I also upgraded my fork Scott suspension fork at the same time to a Manitou, that Mani cost $400.00. XTR was true “race” level and the price alone kept it somewhat exclusive. I know I could only afford to upgrade one piece at a time when my XT got tired. I guess, I’m still green with envy, anyone who’s rollin’ on “silver/gray” XTR has a champ ride in my mind.

    Looking forward to seeing this beauty when it’s all together! I really appreciate you building it and so generous of you to donate it to my stable… I can’t thank you enough. ;)

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Well, it arrived in today’s mail, I’m speaking about the jersey I originally posted about to start this thread. The seller was a very nice guy name Dennis, after we worked out those details, he dropped the bomb on me… Dennis picked up the jersey for his daughter from Lisa Muhich. This is one of Lisa’s racing jerseys, she was having a garage sale, so he figured why not. He’s lived in Durango for years and he had numerous friends that worked at Yeti, so he’s known all about the Barracuda/Yeti connection. He told me that his friends at Yeti, to the best of his knowledge, welded up all the steel Barracuda frames. He said there were slow periods at Yeti and they would swap out the frame jigs and weld up a bunch of Barracudas. If that weren’t enough, he has a bunch of 3D Racing jerseys… (why? you ask) because Chris Herting is his neighbor and friend down the street. He was going to look through things and see if he had any ‘Cuda t-shirts or anything else. I had a bunch of questions for him about those early days at Barracuda but I didn’t want to keep him on the phone. I may email him later with those questions.

    Everyone, I hope you have a great weekend!

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Thats’ funny, Mark, I remember that thread from the prior site you had going. Numerous people weighed in on the fact they/us have never actually saw an Ultimate in person. Nobody ever in all the years… no one ever in person, only the catalog pics. Did the “Ultimate” ever exist? It’s like ol’ Nessy over there in “Glen Mor” Scotland… rumors vs actual sightings.
    neo_pop_71
    Member
    As always Mark, nailing it down… awesome job on everything!!! Thank you for the hard work, your effort is really paying off and I really appreciate and enjoy this site! It’s great to have a place for all Cudaheads to come together, share, and assist others with a like passion!

    Three cheers for Mark!

    hip-hip…

    hip-hip…

    hip-hip…

    Keep up the great work!

    -DON-

    • September 30, 2010 at 2:51 am
    • in reply to: Jon Wege
    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Hey Jon,

    Thank you for going for it and producing some of the coolest steel bikes ever, those early steel frames rocked the scene! I’m with jbstevens from an earlier posting… I miss those early ’90’s, steel was at the peak and nothing was better than hanging some cnc and anodized parts on your custom ride!

    I have a ’93 A2L (Limited), only produced one year and the only other frame other than the Dos XX Team Frame to have the gold/white color scheme. Could you shed some light on why the A2L was done only one year? Any significance to the gold/white being the same as the Team Edition frame? What made it “Limited” and do you have any record of how many were made?

    Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again for creating something special!!!

    Best to you,

    -DON-

    p.s. Thanks again Mark for creating a place where ‘Cudaheads could bounce off one another!

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Terry,

    Can you stretch to a 16″ frame? Check out this one:

    http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/bik/1960037267.html

    It should feel right at home next to your miss’s A2M!

    or this one (doesn’t look much different than yours):

    http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/bik/1950899736.html

    Happy hunting!

    -DON-

    neo_pop_71
    Member
    Terry,

    Mark (founder of this site) may be able to use scans of the brochure. Try PM’ing him, he’s the top of the list in the member catagory.

    -DON-

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