This frame marks the beginning of Marin's Titanium frames being made in Taiwan. I've ridden them extensively in the past, and they're a really good bike - lively, and not too sluggish at slow speed like so many Ti frames can feel. I'm sure they were bike of year in 1995/96 as well, at a point when Marin tried hard to bring the exclusivity of Ti closer to the ordinary man by dropping the price down so low, that the step up from their steel frames wasn't too unrealistic or unaffordable. Hence why these are by far the most common Marin Ti frames out there.
Anyway, on with the build. I wanted something a bit different from the others with this one - I almost had a rule in my head that I would ban the colour Black from this build, and focus on Silver components instead. It's harder than you think to avoid using Black, especially tyres. So, for those interested, I'll let it unravel...
The frame itself was an eBay find some time ago. It was cheap because it had hit a rock at the bottom of the down tube, which in turn had fractured the bottom bracket weld, causing a hairline crack. The frame had been given to specialist titanium aerospace engineer who lovingly welded it back up. After welding it, the engineer said it would now be stronger than it was originally! This kind of repair would put a lot of people off, but if you understand titanium, then you'll appreciate that it's fine.
When I got the frame it was scuffed, and generally very tired looking. I was in two minds whether or not to replace the decals, but I actually like the originals as it gives validity and honesty, like the visible over-weld repair. In fact many of the parts I'm planning on using are actually old parts I've been hammering on other bikes for years, so they'll be a nice patina about this build. I did decide to polish the frame up a little with fine grade emery cloth, as they always look better for it. No matter what their story, titanium always comes up so well with a polish, and then a wipe down with GT85 after.
Close up of the weld...
The gentle polishing work starting to show the frame off...
The chainstays were in a rough place until I went to work on them. Took a bit of time, but the end result is amazing...
First component to add in is a logo-less Chris King in Silver...
I'd bought some rough looking Pace RC35 MXCD forks a while ago. They looked bad, but the internals had been recently overhauled, and their price was reflective of this. Externally, they were missing a decal (and the other had been stuck on with superglue), and missing a brace. Furthermore, the brace that they had wasn't right for my use, and nor were the brake mounts. Some bolts were absent, and the rest were just rusty!
These needed stripping, and starting again. So, I took them apart, cleaned, and then polished everything before reassembly. I even flatted the carbon legs with emery cloth as I wanted a duller look to match the chosen rims closer.
Ready to go back together, but with all new bolts...
Stem received the same treatment as the frame, so that they'd match. Also, I was struggling with a decent spacer that would match the thin titanium stem clamp. But, I found a really nice chamfered spacer in my spares bin, and I'm really pleased with it...
Fuselage together...
Next up are the wheels. They are my age-old Middleburn hubs (which I've had since almost new) on Mavic 117 Ceramic rims. The spokes are DT DB, and the nipples are DT alloy. They've seen an incredible amount of use by me over the years, but just keep on going because they're so serviceable and easy to maintain. I think they've had two sets of Pawls and springs, several tubs of grease, and near countless annual bearing changes.
Front hub had the same clean up process...
X-Lite titanium bolts hold the hubs in place...
Right, that's enough for one night, I'm tired now. I'll post back with some more bits tomorrow.
Anyway, on with the build. I wanted something a bit different from the others with this one - I almost had a rule in my head that I would ban the colour Black from this build, and focus on Silver components instead. It's harder than you think to avoid using Black, especially tyres. So, for those interested, I'll let it unravel...
The frame itself was an eBay find some time ago. It was cheap because it had hit a rock at the bottom of the down tube, which in turn had fractured the bottom bracket weld, causing a hairline crack. The frame had been given to specialist titanium aerospace engineer who lovingly welded it back up. After welding it, the engineer said it would now be stronger than it was originally! This kind of repair would put a lot of people off, but if you understand titanium, then you'll appreciate that it's fine.
When I got the frame it was scuffed, and generally very tired looking. I was in two minds whether or not to replace the decals, but I actually like the originals as it gives validity and honesty, like the visible over-weld repair. In fact many of the parts I'm planning on using are actually old parts I've been hammering on other bikes for years, so they'll be a nice patina about this build. I did decide to polish the frame up a little with fine grade emery cloth, as they always look better for it. No matter what their story, titanium always comes up so well with a polish, and then a wipe down with GT85 after.
Close up of the weld...
The gentle polishing work starting to show the frame off...
The chainstays were in a rough place until I went to work on them. Took a bit of time, but the end result is amazing...
First component to add in is a logo-less Chris King in Silver...
I'd bought some rough looking Pace RC35 MXCD forks a while ago. They looked bad, but the internals had been recently overhauled, and their price was reflective of this. Externally, they were missing a decal (and the other had been stuck on with superglue), and missing a brace. Furthermore, the brace that they had wasn't right for my use, and nor were the brake mounts. Some bolts were absent, and the rest were just rusty!
These needed stripping, and starting again. So, I took them apart, cleaned, and then polished everything before reassembly. I even flatted the carbon legs with emery cloth as I wanted a duller look to match the chosen rims closer.
Ready to go back together, but with all new bolts...
Stem received the same treatment as the frame, so that they'd match. Also, I was struggling with a decent spacer that would match the thin titanium stem clamp. But, I found a really nice chamfered spacer in my spares bin, and I'm really pleased with it...
Fuselage together...
Next up are the wheels. They are my age-old Middleburn hubs (which I've had since almost new) on Mavic 117 Ceramic rims. The spokes are DT DB, and the nipples are DT alloy. They've seen an incredible amount of use by me over the years, but just keep on going because they're so serviceable and easy to maintain. I think they've had two sets of Pawls and springs, several tubs of grease, and near countless annual bearing changes.
Front hub had the same clean up process...
X-Lite titanium bolts hold the hubs in place...
Right, that's enough for one night, I'm tired now. I'll post back with some more bits tomorrow.
