1992 Marin Indian Fire Trail - Upgraded!

Once A Hero

Old School Grand Master
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Collection Bike #3

Following another bike theft (my ProFlex 550, see here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=384557), early in ‘92 I found myself in Cycle Care High Wycombe drooling over a replacement. This time it was a Marin Indian Fire Trail, purple fork/stem/decal variant, which was in stock and in my size. After a brief test ride on this super light race ready machine, the deal was done and I was all set for the racing season.
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‘92 was a good racing year, competing in some much larger events - the Cheddar Challenge being the most memorable highlight (1st place Youth!). Here’s a shot of the bike post race.

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I held on to the IFT throughout the year, and following a successful but hard year of use, I set about the plan of some significant upgrading in preparation for the ‘93 season.

Out went the tired stock DX/XT components, and in came the likes of XTR, X-Lite, Nukeproof, Royce and Flite parts. By Spring ‘93 the bike was transformed from a super light to an ultra light race ready machine!

And then it got nicked.

Shear bad luck (stupidity), as from of a choice of unlocked bikes outside Fat Tracks in Maidenhead, the IFT was ‘on top’ and ergo the first and easiest to grab. Gone. Never to be seen again.

So here we go with another revival build. A complete IFT was found (eBay), and stored whilst I prepared to move house.
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The original plan was to go back to factory spec, so I started sourcing the missing bits - 750g Rockstar forks, and matching stem being the key items. The bike has the correct seat post and binder, but condition isn’t great. No Marin saddle, just a shabby but period(ish) correct Flite, and no Marin tyres.

The front hub was M737 XT, and the bars (although Answer Taperlites) were set to be replaced with spec correct items. And the sorry looking XT rapidfire shifters were to be replaced with much tidier examples.

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But then I changed my mind.

I want the ultra light bike that some toe rag deprived me of. So the build is going much higher end! Here are the some the parts that I’ll be applying;

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The decals were terrible reproductions, and the frames lacquer was failing, so I’ve had the frame polished to remove the deteriorating lacquer (it’s still not perfect but it’s certainly been improved).

Before:

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After:

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And new decals were sourced via gil_m.
 
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There are a few things I’m not entirely happy with, the X-Lite Ti bars which I had laying around are a bit sorry looking, as is the Marin Lite seat clamp, plus I think it deserves a better seatpost than the OEM item, and the pedals are a bit shabby, so those items may get changed over time.

Here’s the finished spec:

Frame: 17.5” Marin Indian Fire Trail, 7000 series heat treated Aluminium

Fork: Marin Rockstar Cromo 750g

Headset: Shimano M900 XTR
Stem: Marin Lite Cro-Mo
Stem Cap: N/A
Handlebar: X-Lite Titanium
Grips: ODI Attack (NOS)
Barends: N/A

Brakes: Grafton Speed Controllers with X-Lite bolts
Brake Pads: Dia-Compe
Brake Cables: Shimano XTR
Cantilever cable hangers: Avid Tri-Dangle
Brake Levers: Dia-Compe SS5 MkII

Shifters: Shimano M900 XTR on X-Lite perches
Front Derailleur: Shimano M900 XTR
Rear Derailleur: Shimano M910 XTR
Derailleur Cables: Shimano XTR
Cassette: Shimano M900 XTR
Chain: Sachs
Cranks: Middleburn RS-3
Crank Bolts: Royce Titanium
Chainrings: Middleburn 44-32-24
Chainring bolts: Middleburn
Bottom Bracket: Royce Titanium
Pedals: Onza HO Ti

Rims: Campagnolo Atek (NOS)
Hubs: Nukeproof
Hub Skewers: Nukeproof
Nipples: Sapim
Spokes: Sapim
Tyres: Ritchey Z-Max 1.7 (NOS)
Tubes: Continental

Saddle: Flite Evolution Carbon
Seatpost: Marin Lite Alloy
Seatpost Binder: Marin Lite Alloy

Weight: 9.69kg / 21.36lbs

And here are the finished pics, hope you like it.
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That is a beautiful bike. Excellent job. Hope you've got a good bike lock, too, for this one! :D
 
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CassidyAce":3vjik4kr said:
That is a beautiful bike. Excellent job. Hope you've got a good bike lock, too, for this one! :D

Cheers :)
I’ll be keeping a watchful eye on this one!
 
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enc":y8qiplh6 said:
lovely job on the polishing :cool: ... what was your method ?

Specialist bike painters weren’t interested in doing anything to a polished ali frame, so I took it to metal polishers who used various belt sanders.
It’s not the best job - they didn’t get right in to all the small spaces, so I was a little let down to be honest. Apparently the lacquer was very hard to remove so I am glad I didn’t tackle it by hand however.
 
Absolutely cracking bike. Interested to know if you had it re- lacquered. I’ve heard it’s difficult to do but not sure how the decals would stay on otherwise?
 
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