1987 Marin... Done or not? Comments welcome.

Hey guys, I built this 1986/7 Marin 'flying armchair' for slicing through traffic and running errands. It looked like crap, so I stripped it and powdercoated the frame and assorted parts, and then added the decals and striping. It's a blast to ride, but I keep thinking the front triangle looks unfinished, but can't decide exactly what it needs. My mates say to leave it alone, it looks fine as is. All the parts are original 'Mountain LX' stuff, everything works great, all I need for practicality purposes is a rear rack. The stripes aren't paint-they are vinyl decals that I custom cut and fit by hand. I need to clearcoat the whole deal when it's complete so they don't start to peel away. Any suggestions?

Ignore the seat and tires, just oddballs from my pile....

ha! looks smart.

any before pics?

Sure...




Looks like the seat is the one that it came with! :shock:

Spot on! Leave it like it is and enjoy it!

I really like it!

stumpjumper1990":131gjn4e said:

Spot on! Leave it like it is and enjoy it!

I really like it!

Click to expand...

I agree - really nice

Step away from the bike

It looks fine chap I'd leave it as is

is that a designed by joe murray sticker? if it is i never knew he did work for marin too.

oh and bike looks v nice too

some nice amberwall dmr's and a brooks would be perfect.

great as it stands!......good job well done to my eyes.....enjoy!

Thanks so much guys, I guess I'm too critical of my own work-I started to wonder if it looked better in battleship gray! I was mostly worried the striping made it look too 'roadie'.

I've seen a few early Marins with a Joe Murray sticker-I saved the originals, at some point I'd like to get that one redone and find a proper pink 'Tange MTB' tubing decal for it. The red Marin head badge decal (and the one on the seat tube) were actually black and transparent-I cut out a square of red vinyl and laid the black decal over it. The yellow on the fork and bars is actually a blend of translucent red and solid yellow powder, it looked a bit more orange before it went in the oven, but I still like the color.

jamabikes, good idea about the seat, and amberwalls of some sort are a must-I wish Maxxis made an amber 2.5 Hookworm.. those tires rock.

sylus-great advice and well put! Now I have to pull a few parts off to clearcoat, but at least I won't be second guessing.

Beautiful job with the resto! Don't change a thing (except maybe the tires) You really did a great job. I love the color scheme. Has a good German feel to it!