1992 Marin Eldridge Grade - 7 Day Rebuild

This is my first post on here, and also my first rebuild so please don't shoot me!

The story behind the build is that I recently took part in a leg of the WRC - BRC bike ride that Welsh rally drivers and co-drivers took part in to rise money for the Welsh Air Ambulance and Spinal Research. It was a 6 day event, starting in Holyhead in Anglesey on the monday morning and finishing in Swansea on saturday afternoon, covering some 300 miles and raising money along the way by holding nightly forums and auctions. Last year, they raised around £20,000 - this year maybe a bit more.
The leg that I did went from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen - a total of 54 miles, and because the first 10 - 12 miles of the ride was on the Ystwyth Trail, I could'nt use my road bike, therefore I had to do something........fast.

My mate bought this bike about 8 years ago, and it's been sitting in my shed ever since, so a deal was made and the bike is now mine........

The stem and seat have been changed sometime during its life, and the black paint on the frame has been touched up by brush. A few spots of rust were also coming through, so I decided to strip it completely.

The bike was put in on a stand and all the old stickers were peeled off, stem removed, complete with front and rear brakes and derailleurs, the seat post and stem, chain and chain rings. Nitromors was then used to strip the paint off and cleaned with wet - and - dry and scotchbrite pads.











After the frame and forks were stripped, they were degreased and painted with 3 coats of etch primer, 5 coats of colour and 5 coats of lacquer.

Replacement outer and middle chain rings couldn’t be sourced in time, so my local bike shop fitted a new bottom bracket and SRAM Truvative chainset. Not my choice as I think the Shimano chainset looks much better, but with 24 hours to go before the bike ride, I had no choice.

The bike was then reassembled with new wheel bearings, new headset bearings, new Shimano SPD pedals, new chain and a Selle San Marco Race Gel seat instead of the sofa that was on it!!

I found a company on eBay that made stickers for Marin, and a set was bought for £11 inc delivery. The only thing thats missing are the "Eldridge Grade" ones on the top tube.

So........what's the verdict???









There's only one colour for a rally based bike - Subaru World Rally Blue Metallic

The bike ride went very well with around 20 of us taking part, and over £4000 was raised in a forum / auction on the night for the 2 charities.....

Lovely finish on the paint fella. Looks nice.

If you are keeping it long term for aesthetics I'd go for a shimano chainset but like you say, for timing etc that was fine.

Goog build mate, and congratulations on the fund raising.