Today I'm going to give you the rundown on my most cherished vintage mtb, a true forever bike. My 1995 Yo Eddy! that I turned into a super sweet townie. Now some may see it as sacrilege, using a high end race frame for such mundane tasks as going to the market, but what I see is a bike that gets ridden almost everyday and is living its best life. I'll take a rider over a display bike any day of the week. It's fast, comfortable, and stylish. 

I purchased it from Craigslist in the Boston area after my buddy Opie passed me the ad. Being connected in the industry is a very wonderful tool so I was able to have it dropped off at Cambridge cycles where they packed it and shipped it my way. 

Here is a photograph of what it looked like when it arrived. 
Not a bad place to start, it had some good parts on it like the Ritchey Logic cranks, the neat wheels with the Ringle Ti Stix front hub, King headset, Royal H fork, etc. 

Of particular note is the rear derailleur which had anodized pulleys and green bolts.
 
This Winter a follower on Instagram, Creepingdeth, reached out to me after I posted a pic of the bike upon arrival...
"Yo! So I'm like 80% sure your Yo Eddy! is my old bike that I sold when I moved out of Boston and have been kicking myself for doing so EVER SINCE." 

"As much as I hated myself for selling it, letting that derailleur go was the stupidest part. I literally had that derailleur since I was 11. It came on my 1998 Kona. I scrounged all those bolts together at Cambridge bikes" 

But as luck would have it, I still had the derailleur kicking around in my parts bins as you don't get rid of a hopped up M737 unit. So I happily gifted it back to him, and it was a real feel good moment for all involved. 

Here's the backstory on the bike that he provided: "Frame was donated to Bikes not Bombs while I worked there. Looked like it belonged to J "The Miz" Mizlow who was a team rider for Cycles Bikyle in PA. Not sure how it made it's way back North and eventually to BNB. I scooped it up the second I saw it."

And here's my initial build

 I should mention that it did come with the rack, which appears to be a Velo Orange rack that has been Plastidipped. 

And five years later, this is its current incarnation

1995 Yo Eddy! - early NY frame, late 1" headtube
Fork: Circle H - made by Bryan Hollingsworth and painted by Dirt Designs
Wheels: Mavic Sunset fade to Ringle Front and XT Rear
Cranks: Shimano XTR M950
Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Shifters: Shimano XTR M950
Brakes: Avid Ultimate Black Ops 
Pedals: ISSI
Post: Riingle
Stem: Salsa
Bars: Surly Open
Skewers: Odyssey