New to retrobiker - Marin Rocky Ridge ...

[JohnMarin_77]

Hello all, so I have been lurking away on these forums, remembering bikes of my youth, remembering that longing for cool stuff I couldnt afford and the total uncomprehension of my parents! I always liked Marins ... the cool kids at school rode them. Now, turns out I can but the bike of child hood dreams for less than my wife spends on shoes!

So, I saw this advert: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=351579&p=2622312&hilit=rocky+ridge#p2622312 (thanks Racin'snake!)

I bought it - I remember all that stuff, XTR / XT / bouncey seat post / Hope hubs / oh wow purple anodised bits ... I realised when I bought it that there was a serious problem with the headtube, but all the bits seemed a good deal in any event and ... my 18 year old self was cheering me on.

Anyway, I need a new hobby, DIY on the house is all done for a while. I would love some help with the following:

1. Any idea what year it is? I thought 1999 but none of the stuff helps me date it. Are there meant to be serial numbers somewhere?

2. Where can i get new decals (and are purple right? I was thinking of stripping them off and recolouring the bike with black decals)

3. What are my options with the headtube? Roughly how much would it cost to get it rewelded (if possible).

4. If I stripped all the parts off and just bought a new frame is it likely one will come up (w/o a head tube crack...) What other options have I got?

I would love some input chaps, I can feel a whole new passion coming back to me. And this time I can afford it - even if I am 3 stone heavier than my teenage self!

Thanks
John

Hopefully I have worked out to insert 4 pictures ...

 

[Thias]

It seems to me that this bike was stolen at some point and someone removed the serial number...

1. Its a 95 Model, but heavily upgraded. I really like it.

You can find the 1995 catalogue in the archive section: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/12577-2/1995.pdf


2. I would leave those decals as they are. Most retrobikers prefer originality over pinkphobia...

3. What is wrong about your head tube? I cant see any problem on that tiny pic...
Is it really a crack and not just dirt? Those frames were said to be quite reliable. If you buy a new one, you should be fine. Or ask the seller to look out for cracks before you buy it.

 

[whayne]

Re:

Hi,

if it is a rocky it would have black decals.

I have some newer 94 style here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=342498

Regards

 

[Thias]

No, it wouldnt. Just look into the catalogue link, I posted.

 

[JohnMarin_77]

Re:

Hello chaps, thanks for the replies. I am loving this new hobby - its a really nice mix of fitness (cycled 20 miles today to work and back), engineering (took apart the drive train on the weekend to clean it all up) and history. It really helps that my 18 year old self thinks I am cool again!

I suspected the bike was older than I was initially told; I thought 1999 but it has a rear brake pull - which isnt in use as it has been upgraded to v-brakes. I am cross with myself for not realising it was nicked - I cant believe how naive I am in my old age. How can you be so accurate on 1994, or is that a feeling?

I knew the head tube was cracked when I bought it. I will post some more pictures. I am easy about this - it didnt cost me much, it has already given me a bunch of entertainment and I will enjoy the whole process of finding a new frame to put all the new stuff on: hopefully I will learn new skills while I do it. When i bought the bike it came with a full set of lycra (that I would never have bought - but is strangely comfortable) and ... a set of purple frogskins. I also was given all the spares (2 sets of XTR cables in bags and a Daves Chain Device - that takes me back)

Regarding decals - I have already taken off the purple ones. I plan to strip the whole bike down and buff it up, then reapply. Like you Thias I dont mind pink (purple) - purple ano was the dogs danglies when I was a kid - and you cant remove these things from your psyche; they are hardwired in at 17. So I need to replace them with something purple - but the magazine link you posted shows a completely different graphic set to my ones. I have hunted around on this site and found references to "Gil does decals" - what does that mean - can someone prod me towards this nice person called Gil?

Regarding welding the frame - I have some seen some here talk about welding alu frames. I really need to get an idea of price. I dont really mind paying (almost) as much as a new frame, if it were going to repurpose a lovely bike, I just need pushing towards the right people with the skills and who can quote. If its impossible then I do heed your advice - I wont buy another with cracks.

Finally - I am likely to look for some bits from my youth that I really drooled over. Starting with Pace RC35s. I know, but I have liked the carbon cross weave look ever since. Also, I dont like the seat post - what I really want is a shiney XTR one. Do I just hunt around on the WTS board until someone comes up trumps?

All advice gratefully received!

John

 

[gil_m]

I think it will need more than new decals to bring that back to life...

The front end is about to fall off...don't ride it anywhere!

 

[Minifreak]

You might be better off striping the bike down and hanging the frame up on the wall polished up a bit, as art. Keep the bits you want and that will fit on your next purchase and sell the rest on.

Some great parts on this

 

[T'boo Ted]

Yeah, don't ride that.
It's usually easy to date stuff, so long as there is info floating about. Things like brake cable routing will give you an age range, then other details as some things change over the years, you just look up the catalog (like the one linked to in post #2) and match the materials, spec, add ons and most easily the decals which usually change year to year... so looks like yours in a 95

 

[JohnMarin_77]

Re:

Oh dear. Well I have been riding it to and from work (about 18 miles a day). There is a funny creaking noise coming from the headset. I think I will pull out my hybrid again then and go on the look out for a new frame.

Thank you very much for your replies all, much as I don't like the news I am loving rediscovering an old hobby

 

[JohnMarin_77]

Hello chaps, thought I would update this.

I got concerned by the creaking noise so I parked the Rocky Ridge and I hunted around for a similar frame - the thinking being to get an identical frame and practice my ancient bike skills in transferring all the stuff from one to the other.

I lucked out and a nice chap called Darren sold me a similar frame (he and I thought it was an Indian Fire Trial but damn it looks identical to the bike that I have currently labelled as a Rocky Ridge). I then had a wierdly fulfilling afternoon polishing it. My kids thought I was crackers.

So now I have two frames a bag of bits and a head set and bottom bracket to swap across. I will post some pictures soon - it has been a great journey so far