Scott T.
The Bicycle History of Scott’s Bikes
Scott’s first bike that was his was a Schwinn Predator 20″ BMX with Mag wheels. It was chrome with futuristic yellow and green decals. It was also set up with super tall riser bars and a coaster brake. He bought it from The Great Escape in Greenville, SC. They talked him into the racing pad set and a pump. He rode that bike all the time, making jumps in the woods and having skidding contests against Doug, his neighbor.
The second bike also from The Great Escape was a Sterling Road bike. It was light blue, had 12 speeds and foam grips. No upselling this time. He ended up going to another local shop for a handlebar bag and that was all that was needed. This bike took him to the corner store that was up Deadman’s hill. It took him during Boy Scouts on a 25 mile trip (he quit Boy Scouts shortly there after because he didn’t like being told what to do).
The next bike took him on a different turn, a Trek 930 (AGAIN from the Great Escape). This was a fully rigid steel mountain bike with Shimano STX everything. The bike was a Green faded to Purple pain machine. It was his high school graduation present, given a little bit early. He figured out people didn’t understand him when he rode over to his girlfriend’s house (about 5 miles away) and people freaked out that he RODE A BIKE! Oh, well.
The Trek 930 did get one mountain ride. It sucked. Not the bike, the ride. Scott was shown a trail system in Clemson, SC called Issaqueena Trails. Scott didn’t get physically hurt, just his ego. He could not ride down stairs or keep up with Todd at all. He ended up getting pissed and rode back to the cars on the road instead of the trail.
At College, Scott was shown a trail system called Archer Hills in Florida by Ben K. Love was found. The trails were fast and short and fun and tricky and challenging. It turned Scott right on his ear. His passion had been found.
The next bike was more of a side step than an upgrade, but Scott didn’t know any better. He bought a Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo. It had V-brakes (which was THE big deal at the time) and a Rock Shox Judy C suspension fork. The parts were a mix of mostly Shimano STX. The bike also was a little bigger than the Trek 930.
Scott went home to SC for X-mas break and brought his Fisher with him to ride at Issaqueena again. He had a blast because the trails were doable, even the stairs. Upon coming back to Florida, he found that his house had been broken into and his old friend Trek 930 had been stolen. Broken hearted.
The last summer in Florida, Scott manned up to his obsession and bought a frame from a tiny shop in Gainesville. The frame was a Mountain Cycle San Andreas. (Hold your applause, please until the end.) He also bought a Marzocchi Z-1 Alloy Fork to match. He didn’t have the proper parts to build it, so he had to wait a bit. He had decided to wait until he went out to Golden, CO to build it up.
Upon moving to Golden, Scott found himself at Big Ring Cyclery to build up his Mountain Cycle. They worked with him to make a very cool, very light and burly machine. It went through stages of having disc brakes and even Spin wheels (now applause is allowed). Lots of attention was had for this motorcycle looking machine. Some highlights of the complete bike: Hugi Hubs, Hayes disk brakes, Answer ProTaper bar, Stratos Helix Pro Shock and a huge amount of eye catching shininess. Scott’s attention soon became more of the urban mountain riding instead of trail riding, so his bike needs changed.
After much deliberation, Scott made up his mind to buy a Brooklyn Machine Works Park bike (which he still has and loves). He moved over the parts from the Mountain Cycle to the park bike and had a 24″ wheel built up at Big Ring. The BMW has seen a huge number of changes over the years: A Hanebrink Z-6 fork, a multitude of stems, BMW Shinburger pedals, Bombshell brakes, BMW Snotrocket V-brakes, Arrow tires, Nokian tires. As the bike is now, it has a Fox Vanilla fork, a Kore B-52 stem, Atom Lab Pedals, Shimano DX brakes, and Maxxis/ Arrow tires. It is “the most fun play bike available.”
Scott then bought a Surly Steamroller after a messenger forced him to try out his track bike. It wasn’t particularly nice, but it worked really well for getting around from home to work to bar to home. The bike ended up at the end of its life having a really deep drop bullhorns and a high saddle. The last ride for the Surly is a memorable one. A tow truck going well over 40mph missed Scott by about 6 inches, because Scott swerved at the last minute. He traded that bike for a BMX bike, which that same old bike messenger made fun of him for.
The traded bike was an S&M BMX bike with a lot of swanky tough parts. This bike was pretty short lived, however, because a Brooklyn Machine Works Chesta Cheetah came up for sale on eBay. All the parts went over to the Brooklyn and happiness spread throughout the land. The Brooklyn was upgraded to Atom Lab wheels that make the bike load and flashy. Scott still loves/has this bike.
In 2000, Scott bought a BMX Cruiser from the shop he worked at called The Spin Cycle in Cary, NC. The bike was a Kona 2-4. Nothing to change about the bike, because it rode (rides) perfectly. All steel frame and nothing but love. Scott took it dirt jumping with a bmx kid named Nick where he quickly learned how to break a fork. Oops. He cased the biggest jump in the park on his first try, but he cased it with his front wheel. BOOooOOOooom. Broken. He since has replaced it with a plain old black fork and replaced the headset for good measure.
A coworker told Scott that her dad had an Eddy Merckx classic bike that may work for me. She brought it in and Scott fell in love. The bike was equipped with Shimano 600 all the way around. The paint was a little messed up, but mostly just lovely white with red accents. Scott commuted everywhere on that lugged steel bike, but soon figured out that it was a little too small for him. Picky picky.
Scott started Salvagetti in 2004.
He bought a Heron “Race” which he built up with Campy Centaur. The bike didn’t work for him in the way he wanted, so he slowly got rid of it, piece by piece.
An Eastern Ace of Spades was the next bike on Scott’s list. The bike is perfect for Denver’s Skate Park. It is balanced well for the air and has nothing but nice parts on it. Due to several injuries obtained in the park, Scott let the bike go to a good friend for a more regular schedule of lovin’.
Next he bought a Kona Howler frame and built it into a crazy machine of machines. On one of his first rides in the mountains, his front wheel slipped out on some ice and he careened down a bank flipping repeatedly. He broke the Fox Talas fork and his brake lever. Oops. He eventually fixed it, but could not get back on that horse the same way again.
Scott then took everything he knew and poured it into a Ground Up 29er Single Speed. He helped design and build it with Eric Baar. Eric fillet brazed the whole steel bike together. It was a totally enlightening experience. Seeing how the bike was designed and built from the GROUND UP was Earth shattering. While the bike was being painted, Phil Wood Wheels were built with Salsa Delgado Cross rims. White Industries ENO cranks rounded out the drivetrain. The bike was painted based on the socks that Scott was wearing during the design stage. It was certainly an attention grabbing paint job (done by Spectrum Powder Works of Colorado Spring, CO).
Knowing what Scott knew from the design of his Ground Up, he approached Black Sheep with an idea of the changes needed in his 29er frame. James obliged and built up a butted titanium frame with the intention of nailing the geometry. It was nailed. It dropped about 2 pounds off of the steel frame and gave some much needed “suspension” to the bike. We made it as flexy and it was sexy. Scott opted to leave it without paint and moved the parts from the Ground Up over. Love love love.
The next bike built up is a Frankenbike. It is an Xtracycle built out of an old frame Scott’s neighbor gave him. Everything on it is scavenged or rebuilt. That is everything, except the wheels. The wheels have to be nice so that you can carry big loads and small people around. The bike has recently gotten a rigid fork and the biggest basket available for a bike from Wald. It hauls.
Scott then decided to jump back into the road bike market. He built up a SRAM Red equipped Giant Advanced TCR Team bike. It weighed less than 16 lbs. And it could’ve been lighter, but that would’ve given up some of the toughness. Scott used Easton bits where he could, including the EA90 SL wheelset. The rest of the parts were to increase comfort and speed.
After a number of rides, Scott decided he better go back to his roots. He went back to steel. The bike that was chosen was the Jamis Eclipse. It is Reynolds 853 steel. Not nearly as light as the full carbon Giant, but the ride was more in line with what Scott needed. For style points, Scott does admit that he changed the saddle to a white one, but don’t tease him for this.
And the latest bike in Scott’s entourage is the Titus FTM, but it has not been built up yet. The wheels are being picked out and the brakes chosen. We will keep you up to date as it happens.
