bilko6
Dirt Disciple
Many moons ago I, a committed roadie, thought I’d try what was then the brash young sport of mountain biking. I was in the right location, the Scottish Borders, so all I needed was a bike and I duly purchased a 1993 Marin Bear Valley as, not only was I a roadie but I was also a disciple of “steel is real”. Long before coloured trails, I happily blundered my way over hill, dale and mud.
Many years past and I guess that, like a lot of people, I thought back to those days and wondered what had happened to that first “velo tout terrain”. Enter the Retrobike site: a body of people dedicated to, amongst other things, bringing old bikes back to live useful life’s again.
So, having been bitten by the bug, I purchased a 1993 Marin Bear Valley which was for sale on the Retrobike site and took delivery of a rather tired old girl who had been sitting around gathering dust and which was in human terms, comatose.
Firstly, a full strip down and clean. Then off to get the frame sandblasted and powdercoated. Trying to get the original Zolatone finish was futile so a matt, dark grey was organised. As for the components; most of the original stuff stripped from it was way past its best so, as I had a definite budget, I decided that I would not try to replicate exactly what was on the original. Instead, I imagined what upgrades I would have bought at the time if I had held on to the bike So, trying to keep everything within 1993-1997 period, I got the following:
Brake/Shifters Deore XT M737 (NOS on Retrobike)
Wheels Mavic 221 with Deore XT Hubs and M737 Cassette (eBay)
Chainset STX-RC MC40 (Retrobike)
Front Changer XT M739 (Retrobike)
Rear Changer XT M735 (eBay)
Handlebars originals stripped to the chrome
Stem Tioga T-Bone Avenger (Retrobike)
Tyres Panaracer Fire (new)
Decals Gil (Retrobike)
Saddle & Pedals are post ’97.
The before and after are photographed below and I’m a happy man.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to get it covered in mud.
Many years past and I guess that, like a lot of people, I thought back to those days and wondered what had happened to that first “velo tout terrain”. Enter the Retrobike site: a body of people dedicated to, amongst other things, bringing old bikes back to live useful life’s again.
So, having been bitten by the bug, I purchased a 1993 Marin Bear Valley which was for sale on the Retrobike site and took delivery of a rather tired old girl who had been sitting around gathering dust and which was in human terms, comatose.
Firstly, a full strip down and clean. Then off to get the frame sandblasted and powdercoated. Trying to get the original Zolatone finish was futile so a matt, dark grey was organised. As for the components; most of the original stuff stripped from it was way past its best so, as I had a definite budget, I decided that I would not try to replicate exactly what was on the original. Instead, I imagined what upgrades I would have bought at the time if I had held on to the bike So, trying to keep everything within 1993-1997 period, I got the following:
Brake/Shifters Deore XT M737 (NOS on Retrobike)
Wheels Mavic 221 with Deore XT Hubs and M737 Cassette (eBay)
Chainset STX-RC MC40 (Retrobike)
Front Changer XT M739 (Retrobike)
Rear Changer XT M735 (eBay)
Handlebars originals stripped to the chrome
Stem Tioga T-Bone Avenger (Retrobike)
Tyres Panaracer Fire (new)
Decals Gil (Retrobike)
Saddle & Pedals are post ’97.
The before and after are photographed below and I’m a happy man.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to get it covered in mud.