Hello, have I done something good?

Hello to all. I can't believe this site has passed me by for such a long time but since I discovered it at the beginning of the week I have spent quite a bit of time browsing/reminiscing/drooling... oh, and I might have just thrown myself in at the deep end with my first ever project with an impulse from the dreaded auction site.

So: about me... I'm mid 30s, family man, sensible job. Unfortunately I was 10 in 1990 and my parents bought me a subscription to MBUK. I don't think I need to explain more about how I see all of your bikes, mountain bikes look nowhere near as good now as they did in the early 90's.

So, back in the day I always wanted one of those early Marins, I loved the zolatone look and thought they never quite managed to reach such heights aesthetically with their more modern designs. I was probably about 13 when I was lobbying my parents for a new bike, all my friends had shiny machines and I was stuck with an old lugged Dawes. Well one night, i spotted a Marin Indian Fire Trail in the local paper, I think it was a size too small and it was probably more than my parents wanted to spend (although it was a good price for the time I think) but I WANTED IT SO BAD. Well in the end they persuaded me out of it and I ended up with a (new) 92 or 93 Kona Fire Mountain (which is still probably in my parents garage if anyone's interested?). I loved that bike and it served me well but I never got over the marin that never was.... sob!

Fast forward to three weeks ago. We're round at a friends house helping them pack up for a house move. The man of the house is a proper hoarder, he's got all sorts of cool stuff, in his garages (there were several, all full of stuff) I found a couple of naff MTBs and THREE Raleigh Burners!!! He knew what he had so don't go thinking I tried to 'take them down the tip' for him or anything but seeing those brought back the memories of my years pouring over copies of MBUK, window shopping for hours on end. I've always had bikes since then but none (even a couple of cannondales) have really managed to light my fire. So I started thinking about a retro bike, maybe a single speed commuter based on an old MTB? Could that be possiible?

Well, then I found this
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=
My jaw hit the floor, I immediately jumped on ebay, I had to have one. So I am now the proud owner (or at least I will be when I pick it up) of a 1990 palisades, zolatone and neon yellow. full of rust and neglect. My plan is to restore, sympathetically but not steadfast original. Planning on re-using what I can, building a looker of a singlespeed for getting to work on. I'm confident enough to do the work although I've never restored a bike before. So can anyone give me some advice? I want to do it all myself, I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to do this but I am slightly poor in time, it's going to have to be an evening job over many weeks or months I think. I have general tools but nothing like headset panners or crank extractors. Anyone got any advice for getting these economically? Can I rely on your support?

I plan on making the restore public as i think this will help me get it done. I pick the bike up on monday. I'll post the first set of 'before' pictures then.

Cheers

Yep! Done good welcome brother

Top pass time! Keeps you out of trouble/pub, keeps you fit(ter) costs pocket money (or maybe more), great comraderie... etc

And as for advice and assistance, this forum is first class

You do get some forthright opinion on here though! For instance I personally feel that SS diminishes the usefulness of the mountain bike but hey whatever it's all cool

Get some pics up ASAP at the moment this seems to the germ of a 'build thread' but with no bike!

Thanks hydorah, I thought I might get some 'opinion' on the SS but it will all be reversible, so I don't feel bad. From the pics I've seen the bike is not 100% original anyway.

My current ride to work is flat so SS is all I'll need and I want to keep my first restore simple. But there is a move on the horizon and thatay require gears when the time comes. I guess I've missed the boat on affordable 1990 group sets though!

First question: can someone point me to a thread with good advice for rusty/corroded/seized disassembly techniques? I think that's what I'll need first

Use the Google powered search in top right

Classics like 'stuck bb' and 'stuck seatpost' will get some reads and some horror stories

Most of the time it's *pretty easy* to beat stuck stuff

This site is the only one where I feel I can ask dumb questions and get useful help rather than abuse! So fire away and get some pics up!

I love an early Marin too so am signing up for this!

10 years old in 1990...


<goes off misty eyed at the though of impending 40th birthday>

1990's Neon is where its at!

^^^ The guy above is the chap to ask about siezed parts^^^

His methods are easy to follow and extremely helpful.

Looking forward to watching progress of your refurbishment as i also have a soft spot for early Marins. Welcome to the site by the way and if you need any help or advice, let me know.

Rich

Thanks all for the warm welcomes. Can't wait to go and get the bike on Monday and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into dismantling.

I will get some pictures up hopefully late on Monday so watch this space.

BTW there's currently an 89 pine mountain in London, auction ending tomorrow. I won't be able to pick up as it'd be a 10 hour round trip and £70 in diesel so am not bidding unless I can find someone who I know who lives nearby to pick up for me.... Mentioning just in case anyone here cares to save it.

Here she is.
All solid and still working.

Some non original components as expected but nothing difficult or too expensive.

Rusty spokes, should I replace? Should I also consider hubs/rims?

Forthright opinion welcome!

The hubs and rims should be fine but you don't know how strong those spokes are due to not knowing how long they've been rusty so i'd replace those at least on the wheels ..