The 1993 Marin Team Titanium is much the same as the 1992 model. The only difference I can note is that the decals on the '92 are bright yellow, and the top tube decal is reminiscent of the decals used across the '92 range. These frames were the third design from Litespeed to be used by Marin. The head and seat tubes are still using the alloy spacers glued in place, but the most notable difference is the finish. Prior to '92, it was customary to polish the frames to achieve the high shine finish, but it was realised that stress at the welds could be reduced dramatically by blasting the welds and dissipating stress. Litespeed's technique was to polish the frames as usual, and then mask the three main tubes to retain their shine before the rest of the bike was blasted. Funny, if you look at the whole '93 range of Marin bikes, they emulated this finish with paint on their steel frames.
This particular frame has been carted around with me for 7 years now, waiting quietly for its turn.
The original advert from 2007 is here...
viewtopic.php?t=17784
The frame was in a pretty sorry state when it arrived, but I knew how rare there are, so persisted in gathering parts ready for the day to restore and repair it. The bottle cage is stuck to the frame, and the bolts just turn as the riv nuts inside are spinning in the frame. The decals are all shot, but at least evidence of their style and size remains so that I can get them copied. The worst part is that there's a seat post rammed down inside the seat tube, and it's been corroding for some time. The trouble with aluminium alloy is that it bonds itself chemically to Titanium. The only logical way to get this out, is to 'corrode' it out using caustic soda. Having no experience with caustic soda, I set about the task naively. It says to mix 250g to 4 pints of water for drain cleaning, so I mixed 250g to a cup full for aluminium killing! Firstly, I didn't know that the water would get so hot so quickly - like, it will melt the plastic cup you're using kind of hot! Anyway, I poured it down the seat tube and gazed on as my own little volcano erupted, spitting and hissing from the middle of the seat tube. This stuff really works! I splashed some on my hand, and then scratched the top of my head without realising it was on my hands - Imagine Ralgex or Deep Heat on your scalp! The acid was burning the back of my head and my hand. I had to submerge my head in the sink while scrubbing my scalp with a nail brush and Fairy liquid; that looked good.
The stuck seat post...
Go on, look a little closer...
The pouring in of the caustic soda (still naive at this point)...
My second attempt was the pack some caustic soda crystals into the seat tube around the seat post and then pour boiling water on them as it gets a better (read:more violent) reaction. Unbelievable display of bubbling grey liquid metal almost. Vesuvius springs to mind, although there's no lava.
The Dremel is next, as I'll need to tackle the stuck bottle cage.
This particular frame has been carted around with me for 7 years now, waiting quietly for its turn.
The original advert from 2007 is here...
viewtopic.php?t=17784
The frame was in a pretty sorry state when it arrived, but I knew how rare there are, so persisted in gathering parts ready for the day to restore and repair it. The bottle cage is stuck to the frame, and the bolts just turn as the riv nuts inside are spinning in the frame. The decals are all shot, but at least evidence of their style and size remains so that I can get them copied. The worst part is that there's a seat post rammed down inside the seat tube, and it's been corroding for some time. The trouble with aluminium alloy is that it bonds itself chemically to Titanium. The only logical way to get this out, is to 'corrode' it out using caustic soda. Having no experience with caustic soda, I set about the task naively. It says to mix 250g to 4 pints of water for drain cleaning, so I mixed 250g to a cup full for aluminium killing! Firstly, I didn't know that the water would get so hot so quickly - like, it will melt the plastic cup you're using kind of hot! Anyway, I poured it down the seat tube and gazed on as my own little volcano erupted, spitting and hissing from the middle of the seat tube. This stuff really works! I splashed some on my hand, and then scratched the top of my head without realising it was on my hands - Imagine Ralgex or Deep Heat on your scalp! The acid was burning the back of my head and my hand. I had to submerge my head in the sink while scrubbing my scalp with a nail brush and Fairy liquid; that looked good.
The stuck seat post...
Go on, look a little closer...
The pouring in of the caustic soda (still naive at this point)...
My second attempt was the pack some caustic soda crystals into the seat tube around the seat post and then pour boiling water on them as it gets a better (read:more violent) reaction. Unbelievable display of bubbling grey liquid metal almost. Vesuvius springs to mind, although there's no lava.
The Dremel is next, as I'll need to tackle the stuck bottle cage.
