1989 Team Marin - The boomerang

[gtturbo]

So what are the chances of this happening. My brother had a 1989 Team Marin which he bought from a friend of ours in about 1990. Around 91/92 a BMW pulled out on him near to the Houses of Parliament in central London resulting in a bent top tube and down tube. The tubes were replaced but he traded the frame against a new Raleigh Titanium with the shop we both worked part time in and never rode the Marin again. Subsequently I broke the Raleigh frame but that's another story and I never told him anyway . The shop would have given the Marin a respray and rebuilt it with pretty much random parts they had and then sold it on.

Fast forward 30 years and Jimmy-s3 posted a mystery bike on Facebook, blimey we didnt even have the internet when I last saw that bike. The first thing I noticed was the pink team stem and then the sticker from the shop we worked in. Could it be ?, well turns out it is and Jimmy was a true gentleman and we worked out a deal. In all that time it had travelled about 250 miles from London up North. Plan is to make it fairly original spec and paint then give it back to my brother to use. Had it not been for that stem and shop sticker I 100% would have missed it all together.

So this is pretty much how my brother had it.



And this is it now..



I've made a start as I want to turn this around quickly. Forks have been taken back to bare metal and are now in primer. Was reassuring to find this bit of overspray which confirms it is the bike.



Gil is sorting me out the decals so with a bit of luck I may have it resprayed and ready to build back up in the next week or so.

The build will be XT as per original but as its a bike for my brother to use I'm not going to be precious about the smaller details such as brake pads, cables, tyres etc.

 

[Lhatch4]

Great story. Cool bike. I love a Team Marin.

 

[27motorhead]

Amazing story. Glad you’ve found it/it’s found you after all these years! Who did the original repair work on the frame? Looks like it has been fillet brazed!

Is that an Egg Rings big ring in the original Photo? Cooks cranks + Egg Rings = Uber cool back then!

 

[gtturbo]

I want to say it was TJ Quick who did the repair but honestly I can't remember for sure now.

As for the chainrings yes Egg rings. All 3 were if I remember correctly. I had that outer on my Fat Chance for a while and whilst it looked cool I seem to recall it didn't shift so great.

 

[27motorhead]

I want to say it was TJ Quick who did the repair but honestly I can't remember for sure now.

As for the chainrings yes Egg rings. All 3 were if I remember correctly. I had that outer on my Fat Chance for a while and whilst it looked cool I seem to recall it didn't shift so great.

That sounds about right regarding repair. Nice job and not fully sanded back either as they are neat enough as they are.

Yep them Egg Rings won’t shift as well Shimano but they were just so cool. I so wanted some, but lacked the funds and... who ever wore out their outer rings to really warrant one?! Closest I got was getting one was owning one of their lovely foil stickers and a catalogue!

 

[Prodigal Son]

Got to love 1989! The vintage from 1989 is outstanding.

 

[pw_pw_la]

Your brother knew how to build up a bike, that's for sure!

Will the Egg Rings and Cooks be returning?

I sure hope that Cooks sticker will join them!

 

[gtturbo]

Your brother knew how to build up a bike, that's for sure!

Will the Egg Rings and Cooks be returning?

I sure hope that Cooks sticker will join them!

He can buy his own if he wants those !. I do have a set of Cooks, with the obligatory crack, so not much use for a rider. As for Egg rings I don't think I have ever seen a set come up for sale.

 

[gtturbo]

That sounds about right regarding repair. Nice job and not fully sanded back either as they are neat enough as they are.

Yep them Egg Rings won’t shift as well Shimano but they were just so cool. I so wanted some, but lacked the funds and... who ever wore out their outer rings to really warrant one?! Closest I got was getting one was owning one of their lovely foil stickers and a catalogue!

Ah yes the blue and silver foil sticker. Think that was on the other side of the frame I think but don't have a picture of that.

 

[gtturbo]

Some progress. Although not as much as I wanted as I have gone and got covid. Everything is twice as much effort at the moment.

Forks were taken back to bare metal and primed and painted. Paint still need cutting back but I will wait until nearer the end of the build to give it ample chance to harden. For some reason my phone camera struggles with the colour but they are very neon pink. Much more so than the picture would suggest which makes them look more red/orange.



So with the forks more or less sorted I started stripping the frame. It's a ball ache but may as well go back to bare metal on that as well. Probably about 70% done now so one more push and it should be done. Remember those repairs I mentioned my brothers frame had. Well if there were any doubts I think this 100% confirms it is his old frame.