The latest bike to arrive in the rattan showroom is a 1991 17.5" Marin Team Titanium (Litespeed). Bike was purchased from a retrobike member and it was rarely ridden by the original owner. This is a unicorn bike for me and I'm looking forward to building this up. This is also a bike I'm going to ride, so I'm going for enjoyment over perfection.
The main frame is in really good shape and all original at this point. Some of the decals are slightly peeling off. The forks need some love, but are due to be replaced with Manitou 1s so the original fork refurb will be put on the back-burner but I'll have them blasted, painted and with new decals.
I know its a litespeed as they will confirm for $15 and I wanted the 100% history and size check as I'll be hanging onto this bike.
I have started picking up some of the parts already in advance. You can see the crank (which is super shiny) and a 91 Marin Ti Saddle that I have to think @Tootyred for. He came up with the goods! I'm happy with the XT items on the bike with a little cleanup. I have some XT pedals and I'm going to use the 92 seat clamp as I just like them.
I'm going with black accents to stay true to the original design. There are still some things I'm looking for:
- Black Ringle Skewers: Black holey
- Black seatpost (ideally XT)
- I'm looking for the black XT hubs on black rims long term but no rush
- Smoke and dart arrive tomorrow
I need some input and help:
- I'm also looking for suggestions on the stem as I'm going with Manitou 1s in the picture below so don't need a jockey wheel. I have two NOS marin stems that I could use.
- The Manitou 1s but I'm not sure the steerer is the right size and I need to test it out over the next few weeks but I'm sure I'll need a 1" crown
- Suggestions on new bars. I have the Hyperlight bars on but they need quite a big cleanup and I'm open for trying some others
I might swap out the XT for XTR over the long term but this would be a vanity change and certainly not a priority.
This is going to take some time to build up and this thread might take a while for final shots.
Thanks @Tootyred ! The Ti saddle is good enough condition to ride but not good enough for a museum so ideal! I've been shaving in those XT cranks for a few weeks now.
@fguki I might need some help with decals if I can't get them to stick again
The Manitou 1s I'm going to repurpose that I think I need a new crown for if anyone has a 1"
I'm not 100% sure they are period on the 1991 as I think it came with the beartrap version, but close enough. Nice used, but not museum quality again so good for riding.
I have about three of these seat post clamps in great condition so I'll repurpose rather than split off another bike.
Current wheelset in good condition but I'd like to swap for black hubs and black rims for the aesthetic.
This build isn't going to be a record breaker, but I'm going to enjoy this unicorn build and then ride it hard.
ML
The main frame is in really good shape and all original at this point. Some of the decals are slightly peeling off. The forks need some love, but are due to be replaced with Manitou 1s so the original fork refurb will be put on the back-burner but I'll have them blasted, painted and with new decals.
I know its a litespeed as they will confirm for $15 and I wanted the 100% history and size check as I'll be hanging onto this bike.
I have started picking up some of the parts already in advance. You can see the crank (which is super shiny) and a 91 Marin Ti Saddle that I have to think @Tootyred for. He came up with the goods! I'm happy with the XT items on the bike with a little cleanup. I have some XT pedals and I'm going to use the 92 seat clamp as I just like them.
I'm going with black accents to stay true to the original design. There are still some things I'm looking for:
- Black Ringle Skewers: Black holey
- Black seatpost (ideally XT)
- I'm looking for the black XT hubs on black rims long term but no rush
- Smoke and dart arrive tomorrow
I need some input and help:
- I'm also looking for suggestions on the stem as I'm going with Manitou 1s in the picture below so don't need a jockey wheel. I have two NOS marin stems that I could use.
- The Manitou 1s but I'm not sure the steerer is the right size and I need to test it out over the next few weeks but I'm sure I'll need a 1" crown
- Suggestions on new bars. I have the Hyperlight bars on but they need quite a big cleanup and I'm open for trying some others
I might swap out the XT for XTR over the long term but this would be a vanity change and certainly not a priority.
This is going to take some time to build up and this thread might take a while for final shots.
Thanks @Tootyred ! The Ti saddle is good enough condition to ride but not good enough for a museum so ideal! I've been shaving in those XT cranks for a few weeks now.
@fguki I might need some help with decals if I can't get them to stick again
The Manitou 1s I'm going to repurpose that I think I need a new crown for if anyone has a 1"
I'm not 100% sure they are period on the 1991 as I think it came with the beartrap version, but close enough. Nice used, but not museum quality again so good for riding.
I have about three of these seat post clamps in great condition so I'll repurpose rather than split off another bike.
Current wheelset in good condition but I'd like to swap for black hubs and black rims for the aesthetic.
This build isn't going to be a record breaker, but I'm going to enjoy this unicorn build and then ride it hard.
ML
