I brought a Marin off here about 5+ years ago perhaps 7, I am not 100% sure… a bloke from Bristol, it was ok but the frame had over 100 chips and scrapes, it was VERY well used as it should have been. below is how it was but the photo makes it look 100% better than it was… anyhow it is my wife's bike and she wanted a makeover…. this is where it was

This is where it's at!.. I'm rather happy and pleased with the paint job, I personally sprayed it with 5 under coats, 4 top coats, 3 protective coats….

like it!!!ps what is your f/s bike in first pic?

what is your f/s bike in first pic?

commencal furious

it was a commencal furious, I now have an intense 5.5 evp… my wife is chuffed with the finish on the frame, just need to strip the wheels and clean then up then it's done…..

Is that a Bobcat Trail?

Looks like a 92 or 93 Eldridge Grade or Pine Mountain. They shared the same frame, just variationa in paint & finishing kit. There should be a serial number on the underside of the BB. There was a thread over on Retrobike which listed how to decipher it.

Nice job, good choice of colour. But just look at the length of that stem! Things were certainly different back then, that's for sure.

What paint did you use and what preparation did you do to the frame?

I fancy having a go myself but don't want to make a worse job than the existing tatty paint

Does the Mrs like her new pink floor and skirting boards aswell….? 🙂

its my 30ft shed and will be knocked down in a few years to make way for an extension 🙂 I used nitromorse, then sanded the frame to ensure the paint would take… I used plasticoat undercoat, then the pink main coat, finished off with the clear top coat… same on the forks and stem.

Not sure which model it is but it is VERY light, I think about 22-23 lbs. I normally run a 50mm stem but for some reason the set up on this just works, it pedals just so well. I will post some pics when it is fully built!

Got the wheels and rear mech cleaned up, stripped them all down, now running very smooth!.. just need to get the gearing and brakes on and some new grips!

really like it.

Pink, sacrilege!

It does look like an Eldridge Grade – or any other Marin from the period. They built them solid but reasonably light back then (unlike later offerings) which is probably why there are still so many around.

I've taken the mudguards and rack off mine (owned since new…cough) to go play in a retro bike race; tempted to take the big ring off too, but maybe that's getting too serious?

how have you got a normal stem on what would have been threaded forks which would have been flush to the top of the HS?

I cheated (and will probably make my dentist happy come raceday).

It's a Kalloy adapter, basically a chunk of Al that has a quill-style bottom and a modern stem-friendly top end. Reknowned for breaking under stress, but hey it's a commuter bike. I've packed it with spacers and the canti hanger, which (I'm guessing, hoping and praying) will limit the bending.

Your local product liability lawyer will get a warm wet feeling if you choose to ride with one.

Google turned this up:-

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productDetail.asp?ProductCatalogue=SYSTHBSZ200

Thank you squire!! I may give that some thought and get some new bars and stem on there..