97 mount vision re-birth

[..lee..]

Having not ridden my 97 MV for a while since I've bee putting some miles in on a modern 29er I took the old MV for a blast expecting to be disappointed.

Totally fallen in love with it again. I loved the 29er but there's no way I'd swap the MV for it

Trails have changed a lot since the 90's and more travel is needed I feel to cope with the modern trail. How different is the b16 frame can the MV be converted to 6" Im half guessing it's a no ??

Cheers Lee

 

[doctorstewie]

Nice to see someone else getting bouncy on a Marin
Hi lee, do you mean a B17 frame? It had a different shock placement, so I am thinking it can't be done. Benandemu is the real expert here, perhaps he'll be along shortly. I have seen people run 100mil forks on the bikes with a very short stem and get away with it, though I haven't done it myself: I use 80mm Bombers ( just changing to them is a huge improvement over the Manitous of that time )

 

[..lee..]

Re:

Yes sorry B17 is what I meant. I had the original forks swapped out for pace rc36 when I bought it. X country the bike is awesome but it was a bit stretched last weekend and I bottomed out often. Really hard twice. I just wondered what a 6" version of the bike would be like

 

[Benandemu]

Not sure I'm the expert!

Anyway, the B-17 differs in three main ways...

It uses a 200/57mm shock which gives the 6inches of travel.

It places the shock further forward on the frame, so the front triangle is different from the shorter travel models.

The rear swing arm is the beefier and reinforced one, and also 4cm longer in length.

The combination of the above give a longer wheelbase and more travel for a more stable journey downhill. On cross country it can be a bit tiring if I'm honest; the bottom bracket is elevated quite a bit because of the front fork height, and makes for an odd position. This can be both uncomfortable and inefficient out on the trails. Having ridden mine a few weeks ago in Gisburn using 130mm forks I felt it was heavy and sluggish on the uphill stuff, but when I pointed it downhill through all the rough stuff, it was pretty quick. Strava put me quite high on the leaderboards which really surprised me as my Mount Vision Pro feels a bit quicker, but clearly isn't! The B-17's ability with modern shocks is impressive - the old ones it was supplied with are junk! It's just that the geometry isn't great for all day riding.

I'm about to start a rebuild on my Mount Vision Pro which you may find interesting ( I will update my original build thread). Having ridden it comfortably for many years, and taking in all of its feedback, both good and bad, I've decided to address its opportunities in an effort to perfect that platform.
Primarily these are its requirements...

Disc brakes for improved stopping, especially in the wet
100mm front fork for a tad more travel as I'm bottoming out an 80mm SID
Wider bars for improved control (580mm to 620mm)
Tubeless tyres for better traction
A general reduction in weight, and a move to modern components

 

[RickTheUncivil]

I have a 2000ish mount vision (currently in pieces) and a 2000ish B17 (currently fork - less). Not had either for very long but both are surprisingly different to each other. Weight is one issue but it's not massively noticeable on normal trails, more so when climbing. I wasn't too bothered about the longer travel but used the B17 more as it was a tidier build. Plus the disc mounts on the swingarm meant I could fit proper brakes. I think the type of shock made a big difference to the ride, and I reckon a decent modern shock would transform either frame.
Thinking of getting shut of one or other of the marins so if you are after a b17 frame I know where to find one ;-)

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

You can run 100mm upfront easily on the 97 MV, early 2000 air forks should do fine
Air shox on the frame or the naff shockworks one still.
Just changing the shox to a light air fork will do wonders.

Then if you only bottom out twice, your riding perfectly, most wrong with bottoming out, but if it worries you you may well be fatter, carrying more of just riding harder and it's time to retune your shox/shocks pressures/spring rate and progression and damping. Travel is not always the answer.

 

[legrandefromage]

As Fluffy's mangled tablet response says, change the shock to an air shock and tune it to your weight. Your shock will be 165mm eye to eye.

The country side hasnt changed, the arrival of trail centres has brought different expectations. It feels like if you dont have 8 inches of travel there must be something wrong with you. Having ridden some very old bikes around those centres, brakes are where its at and discs are cheap but you'd have to swap the swing arm out for any sort of disc mount. Its easier to swap the whole frame out.

I'm on frame number 3 after resurrecting my interest in the first 'proper' Marin full suspension, its frame number 7 overall, and a steep learning curve to service rear air shocks.

The 1st gen Whyte FRS frames are better than the later versions but then the adjustable Tara frames are best overall.

A former squeeze:

Current build

Which morphed from:

 

[legrandefromage]

Wheel rolling diameter helps too. Big volume lightweight tyres increase the diameter instantly transforming into a 650b or 29 style ride.

I run some big 2.3 on my Raleigh that have transformed the ride adding more of the sitting on a sofa style found on modern rigs.

 

[..lee..]

Re:

WOW. Awesome response from all thanks. Don't think that leaves me with any questions really. I 100% don't want a bike that sucks at going up hill just to get better downhill performance. I spent a while in the lbs yesterday. Mainly looking for something for my boy and was surprised the new XC bikes still only run 100mm. Probably cheaper long term to leave the MV as it is and mayb buy something used but not over used to bridge the gap. Thanks again. Lee

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

Where do you ride, remember alot of us still ride trail centres on rigid bikes ;-)
Or the modern boys ride 45mm of suspension up front!