Original or not original....that is the question.

[yakboy]

Getting a bit off topic. I was really interested in why people do what they do. I find it fascinating. I have my reasons, I'm just interested in what other peoples are....discussion being a great way to understand and expand your understanding.

It's been discussed a few times before but we are all fulfilling teenage dreams. Bikes and components we all lusted after in our youth but could never afford. That is also why I don't do catalogue builds as there are so many parts I wanted when younger.

The other day I was waiting for my daughter to finish her tennis lesson and one of her year mates turned up on his Focus full suss and I was listening to his conversation with one of his friends, he was discussing what he wanted to change on his bike and knew in so much detail the difference between his Sram Guide brakes and all the other specs of Sram brakes and their merits, just as we geeked over Grafton vs Machine Tech vs Magura's etc. I think when you are young you have the thinking space to geek over components but never the money, as you get older your brain fills up with day to day worries and you have less time to geek out as you did when younger but you retain that geek knowledge from your youth so now we are all chasing dreams..and long may it continue

 

[The History Man]

Most build with a story be it brand related or specific to a unicorn or desired back then bike. There are some great tales.

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

I'm up for keeping that original, as to me that period of genesis is important.....and I'm a Marin devotee.

Doesn't this answer your own question? The history of Marin is more important to you in this case than comfort, weight, etc. And that's what you want: a piece of history. Essentially, a specific type of antique collecting. That might not be the case with any other bikes you build but it is in this case by the sound of it. So, go for it.

I'm not sure that your 'cash is king' comment is entirely correct but it is perhaps true that the more rare and/or expensive a bike is, the more attention and commentary it gets on here, and that could give a 'cash is king' impression. But isn't that the same with vintage cars, works of art, antiques, etc. too? It doesn't mean that these bikes are either ridden or enjoyed more than more common models though. Retrobike word counts probably don't correlate with miles ridden and enjoyed. So you will find plenty of love on here for a mid-range Marin, even if some obscure, probably over-priced, scarcely ridden garage queens get more commentary.

 

[Bimly]

For me it's part engineering and part building what I want. Weirdly, the bike I'm actually about to rebuild, I have owned since new in 89. I worked in a lbs, so essentially had keys to the sweet jar! I have toyed with the idea of putting it back to standard, but I have realised over the last couple of months, that the only reason to do so would be for other people! I NEVER had it original to start with.

I cant stand seeing good kit go in the tip. Sadly it happens all the time. It's also left me a little jaded towards the retro bike world as I've experienced it. I'm glad to hear that not everyone is just looking for bikes to strip and sell off or as a "status symbol garage queen". It's also nice to hear that guys and girls are doing the miles still, regardless of ride, like me, just for the love of it.

 

[Once A Hero]

Re:

I have a few in original spec or as close to as possible, and few more in non-standard spec. Take a look at the build threads in my signature below, particularly the Muddy Fox - which I had intended to build as factory spec, but due to it's low end nature meant finding low end parts in good quality a bit of challenge, and ultimately an end product that I felt would not be too all that rewarding, so it went higher spec for effect

 

[raidan73]

I've built catalogue spec bikes and I've built bikes to my personal taste. I built up a bike that hardly anyone had ever seen outside the catalogue - I felt that 100% catalogue was the only way to go with this, and it was a labour of love. An 87 Bear Valley is quite a rare bike, regardless of perceived value. Personally I'd be inclined to go catalogue spec because of it's rarity, though I'd have no issue going with personal taste. One thing I always like to do is build my bikes with period correct parts, within a couple years of manufacture date of the frame anyway. Saying that I've seen plenty of builds on here where people have built their retro frames with more modern parts and have done a great job. Build it the way YOU want it, that's my advice