Marin Rocky Ridge 1994 - Finished!

[gmtfd]

That looks like a sweet bike, your brother must be very happy with it. Good to know the 1x10 isn't going to cause any problems. I have chainring spacers on hand to adjust the chainline if necessary.

 

[gmtfd]

M737 brakes cleaned up and ready to go. The biggest problem I had with these was tracking down replacement 10.5mm ID washers. Found them on Amazon of all places! Slightly thinner than the Shimano originals though.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07LB2TJSC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[gmtfd]

I was lucky enough to find a '94 Indian Fire Trail frame for sale nearby, so it looks like this is going to be an IFT build rather than a Rocky. Unfortunately the frame is a bit of a mess cosmetically, with areas of bare aluminium and yellowed clear coat. Also the decals (which sit on top of the clear coat) are disintegrating in places. I was wondering what (if anything) people think I should do to prepare the frame? I like a patinated look, and I also don't think I can face the hard graft involved in getting it nice and shiny again, but on the other hand it really does look a bit of a state. Maybe strip the clear coat and leave it at that?

 

[nporternz]

Stripping the clear is a harder job than polishing the frame. You might as well polish it up if you are taking it back to aluminium.

 

[gmtfd]

Stripping the clear is a harder job than polishing the frame. You might as well polish it up if you are taking it back to aluminium.

After a bit of thought and advice from people on here, I may be sticking with the RR frame, since it’s more my size. Anyway, I found an alloy wheel place prepared to dip and strip both frames for the very reasonable sum of £72. This is how they came back - next step sticker removal.

 

[gmtfd]

Is there a finer way to spend a Sunday morning than polishing an old bicycle? This is the RR frame. I used MAAS metal polish and a rag, then cleaned the residue off with WD40 and shop towels. Some areas need a bit more attention, but on the whole I'm pleased with the result. The shine is back, but the battle scars remain, which is important to me.

(Edit: Forgot to mention that because the decals sit on top of the lacquer, when I took them off there was a layer of lacquer underneath ... oops. It was easy enough to remove using Nitro-Mors, but I wouldn't want to do a whole frame this way.)

 

[gmtfd]

Beautiful stainless steel mech hanger reinstalled.

 

[Rotorhead]

Is there a finer way to spend a Sunday morning than polishing an old bicycle? This is the RR frame. I used MAAS metal polish and a rag, then cleaned the residue off with WD40 and shop towels. Some areas need a bit more attention, but on the whole I'm pleased with the result. The shine is back, but the battle scars remain, which is important to me.

(Edit: Forgot to mention that because the decals sit on top of the lacquer, when I took them off there was a layer of lacquer underneath ... oops. It was easy enough to remove using Nitro-Mors, but I wouldn't want to do a whole frame this way.)

Looks good and satisfying. I've got something similar in line. How did you remove the bulk of the lacquer?

 

[gmtfd]

The bottom bracket shell was a bit of a mess, so I decided to face it ... which of course meant buying another expensive tool . I really enjoyed the process though, and I think I did an OK job considering it was my first attempt. I also installed the BB and headset cups.

 

[gmtfd]

Looks good and satisfying. I've got something similar in line. How did you remove the bulk of the lacquer?

I got an alloy wheel place to chemically strip the frame for me, saved a lot of elbow grease!