Once A Hero
Old School Grand Master
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Collection Bike #3
Following another bike theft (my ProFlex 550, see here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=384557), early in ‘92 I found myself in Cycle Care High Wycombe drooling over a replacement. This time it was a Marin Indian Fire Trail, purple fork/stem/decal variant, which was in stock and in my size. After a brief test ride on this super light race ready machine, the deal was done and I was all set for the racing season.
‘92 was a good racing year, competing in some much larger events - the Cheddar Challenge being the most memorable highlight (1st place Youth!). Here’s a shot of the bike post race.
I held on to the IFT throughout the year, and following a successful but hard year of use, I set about the plan of some significant upgrading in preparation for the ‘93 season.
Out went the tired stock DX/XT components, and in came the likes of XTR, X-Lite, Nukeproof, Royce and Flite parts. By Spring ‘93 the bike was transformed from a super light to an ultra light race ready machine!
And then it got nicked.
Shear bad luck (stupidity), as from of a choice of unlocked bikes outside Fat Tracks in Maidenhead, the IFT was ‘on top’ and ergo the first and easiest to grab. Gone. Never to be seen again.
So here we go with another revival build. A complete IFT was found (eBay), and stored whilst I prepared to move house.
The original plan was to go back to factory spec, so I started sourcing the missing bits - 750g Rockstar forks, and matching stem being the key items. The bike has the correct seat post and binder, but condition isn’t great. No Marin saddle, just a shabby but period(ish) correct Flite, and no Marin tyres.
The front hub was M737 XT, and the bars (although Answer Taperlites) were set to be replaced with spec correct items. And the sorry looking XT rapidfire shifters were to be replaced with much tidier examples.
But then I changed my mind.
I want the ultra light bike that some toe rag deprived me of. So the build is going much higher end! Here are the some the parts that I’ll be applying;
The decals were terrible reproductions, and the frames lacquer was failing, so I’ve had the frame polished to remove the deteriorating lacquer (it’s still not perfect but it’s certainly been improved).
Before:
After:
And new decals were sourced via gil_m.
Following another bike theft (my ProFlex 550, see here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=384557), early in ‘92 I found myself in Cycle Care High Wycombe drooling over a replacement. This time it was a Marin Indian Fire Trail, purple fork/stem/decal variant, which was in stock and in my size. After a brief test ride on this super light race ready machine, the deal was done and I was all set for the racing season.
‘92 was a good racing year, competing in some much larger events - the Cheddar Challenge being the most memorable highlight (1st place Youth!). Here’s a shot of the bike post race.
I held on to the IFT throughout the year, and following a successful but hard year of use, I set about the plan of some significant upgrading in preparation for the ‘93 season.
Out went the tired stock DX/XT components, and in came the likes of XTR, X-Lite, Nukeproof, Royce and Flite parts. By Spring ‘93 the bike was transformed from a super light to an ultra light race ready machine!
And then it got nicked.
Shear bad luck (stupidity), as from of a choice of unlocked bikes outside Fat Tracks in Maidenhead, the IFT was ‘on top’ and ergo the first and easiest to grab. Gone. Never to be seen again.
So here we go with another revival build. A complete IFT was found (eBay), and stored whilst I prepared to move house.
The original plan was to go back to factory spec, so I started sourcing the missing bits - 750g Rockstar forks, and matching stem being the key items. The bike has the correct seat post and binder, but condition isn’t great. No Marin saddle, just a shabby but period(ish) correct Flite, and no Marin tyres.
The front hub was M737 XT, and the bars (although Answer Taperlites) were set to be replaced with spec correct items. And the sorry looking XT rapidfire shifters were to be replaced with much tidier examples.
But then I changed my mind.
I want the ultra light bike that some toe rag deprived me of. So the build is going much higher end! Here are the some the parts that I’ll be applying;
The decals were terrible reproductions, and the frames lacquer was failing, so I’ve had the frame polished to remove the deteriorating lacquer (it’s still not perfect but it’s certainly been improved).
Before:
After:
And new decals were sourced via gil_m.
Last edited:
