Marin bear valley. Year and spec??
- Thread starter Guiri bikes
- Start date
JonTom
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
Hey mate,
From the style of the decals I'd say that's a 1996 Bear Valley. I know it looks grim but you'd be surprised how they come up with a really thorough wash (or 3 if they're really filthy).
You'll find the spec in the catalogue in the archive (above) or at Bikepedia.
Hey mate,
From the style of the decals I'd say that's a 1996 Bear Valley. I know it looks grim but you'd be surprised how they come up with a really thorough wash (or 3 if they're really filthy).
You'll find the spec in the catalogue in the archive (above) or at Bikepedia.
Guiri bikes
Dirt Disciple
Cheers mate, i'll check out the spec now. Unfortunately, thats not dirt you can see but rust. Its pretty bad in a few places, particularly the head tube. Ive just finished stripping it down now and thankfully the stem, post and bb all came out without any hassle so im thinking of a new paint job.
Just out of interest, the frame itself looks half decent, double butted tange and nice dropouts. Im wondering whereabouts the bear valley came in marins range, top, middle or bottom.
Just out of interest, the frame itself looks half decent, double butted tange and nice dropouts. Im wondering whereabouts the bear valley came in marins range, top, middle or bottom.
JonTom
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
The Bear Valley is a decent bike - an upper-middle range model (you'll see in the catalogues - the bikes are in order).
If you like the look of it, or the way it rides, it's well worth restoring. And it's always good to see another old bike back on the road / trail.
If you want to restore it to original spec the paint should be easy to replicate and Gil is your man for decals. Find him here as Gil_m or search for Retrodecals. The missing components can be found in the RB For Sale section, and on Ebay.
Or you could restore the frame and equip it with modern kit - there's a thread somewhere of an RB member who recently did exactly that.
Have fun!
The Bear Valley is a decent bike - an upper-middle range model (you'll see in the catalogues - the bikes are in order).
If you like the look of it, or the way it rides, it's well worth restoring. And it's always good to see another old bike back on the road / trail.
If you want to restore it to original spec the paint should be easy to replicate and Gil is your man for decals. Find him here as Gil_m or search for Retrodecals. The missing components can be found in the RB For Sale section, and on Ebay.
Or you could restore the frame and equip it with modern kit - there's a thread somewhere of an RB member who recently did exactly that.
Have fun!
Guiri bikes
Dirt Disciple
Thats interesting about the decals, i've seen some on ebay but none for the bear valley. It would be great if i could get hold of the silver tange and head badge.
Hope i can do this project justice although it wont be me that will get the pleasure of riding it as its only a 17.5 inch frame but it will be perfect for my daughter. As for the components that were on it, only a few were original and i doubt i'll be able to get hold of a full stx kit so its gonna be a bit of a mix and match.
Will post some more pics soon
Hope i can do this project justice although it wont be me that will get the pleasure of riding it as its only a 17.5 inch frame but it will be perfect for my daughter. As for the components that were on it, only a few were original and i doubt i'll be able to get hold of a full stx kit so its gonna be a bit of a mix and match.
Will post some more pics soon
JonTom
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
Gil will most likely have the Marin decals you need.
I might have the rectangular metal Tange decal at home - it came off a '96 bike and I'm pretty sure I've seen it recently. It's a little beat up but you're welcome to it. The metal Marin decal for the head tube will take a while to find - and the one for your bike was only around in 1996. But they do come up occasionally on Ebay. If you can reuse the ones you have, you should. They're usually glued on with an elastic-type adhesive like Cow Gum - and not very well. Try prizing them off by running a very thin piece of wire or strong fishing line cheese wire-style between the decal and the frame.
You'll have no problem finding a full STX group set - you just probably won't find it all at once. These things take time. And for some, hunting down the right component is part of the fun.
Gil will most likely have the Marin decals you need.
I might have the rectangular metal Tange decal at home - it came off a '96 bike and I'm pretty sure I've seen it recently. It's a little beat up but you're welcome to it. The metal Marin decal for the head tube will take a while to find - and the one for your bike was only around in 1996. But they do come up occasionally on Ebay. If you can reuse the ones you have, you should. They're usually glued on with an elastic-type adhesive like Cow Gum - and not very well. Try prizing them off by running a very thin piece of wire or strong fishing line cheese wire-style between the decal and the frame.
You'll have no problem finding a full STX group set - you just probably won't find it all at once. These things take time. And for some, hunting down the right component is part of the fun.
aardvarkash10
Devout Dirtbag
Re:
is that the Australian specced model?
is that the Australian specced model?
Guiri bikes
Dirt Disciple
Hi jon tom, that would be great if you still have the tange badge, any chance you could post it to spain if i message you my address. let me know how much you want for it including delivery etc. I've messaged gil about the decals but im still waiting for a reply.
As for the bike itself, believe it or not i couldnt find a grey that closely matched the original. It ended up looking like a world war two tank so ive ditched the grey and im going for green frame and black forks. Pictures to follow.
I might get some stick from the purists for changing the colour but so far it looks good and its gonna get ridden too. Will probably get built up with bits ive got hanging around while i look for some stx parts. Keep you posted
As for the bike itself, believe it or not i couldnt find a grey that closely matched the original. It ended up looking like a world war two tank so ive ditched the grey and im going for green frame and black forks. Pictures to follow.
I might get some stick from the purists for changing the colour but so far it looks good and its gonna get ridden too. Will probably get built up with bits ive got hanging around while i look for some stx parts. Keep you posted
Guiri bikes
Dirt Disciple
Hi aardvarkash10, are the pics upside down again. The first time i posted photos they were upside down. Dont know what im doing wrong, somebody told me it happens sometimes when you post from an ipad, which i am. Thing is, i previewed the photos first and everything was ok. Can anyone help, pleeeease!
JonTom
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
I'll have a look for the decal. I think I know where it is. It won't cost you anything other than postage from Australia to Spain. I can send a photo of it first, just to make sure you want it (as I said, it's 'used').
Lots of early Marins are the same colour as a Panzer - just look around the forum.
I'll have a look for the decal. I think I know where it is. It won't cost you anything other than postage from Australia to Spain. I can send a photo of it first, just to make sure you want it (as I said, it's 'used').
Lots of early Marins are the same colour as a Panzer - just look around the forum.
