Advice on modernising a 90s Marin

[Stanflashm4n]

 

[Stanflashm4n]

I also have these, which I took off a 1997 (I think) specialized hard rock . I have no idea what model/year they are and they are currently not working. I’m also not sure if the steerer is bent or if it is meant to be like this …

 

[novocaine]

115mm will be 100m fork with cleance. Other forks look like 60 mm. They don't look bent To me.

 

[FluffyChicken]

The last forks are the 1996/7 version of the Rockshox MAG21. With a loped of brace one the top cap not screwed on ;-)
They'll be 43mm* and fit perfectly on a 1992 Marin as that's when the MAG series were initially released, designed not to alter the bike too much and didn't really change much other than stiffer and better internals since 1992.


The other are modern 2006ish forks, probably work really well and came in 60 100 and another longer still length, you could look up to see how or if you can alter the travel if you wanted to try different lengths.


Unless when you put air in them and they extend a lot more.
*unless you

 

[FluffyChicken]

The J3 looks to have about 495 A2c (axle centre to headset crown seat) which would make it 115mm travel version, I would honestly say way to long for a 1992 bike.

 

[Bearvalley90]

I have a few early Marin’s; on my 94 I run a 70mm marzocchi bomber and it feels great and not too long; for a 92 though I would say max 50-60mm travel; as someone above said an old rock shox judy or quadra would be just the ticket

 

[Stanflashm4n]

The J3 looks to have about 495 A2c (axle centre to headset crown seat) which would make it 115mm travel version, I would honestly say way to long for a 1992 bike.

Yeah, I compared the J3s to the rigid forks that I took off it and they are miles bigger. The older ones are in a bit of state and don’t move up and down freely , I unscrewed the top caps and removed the brace to see if I could see what was going on but when I saw it was filled with oil I decided it wasn’t the time and that I had no idea what I was looking at haha. Do you think they’re worth trying to sort out?
If anyone has any suitable forks they’re wanting to sell (or see anywhere ) please get in touch! So I’m looking for something 80mm travel and under ?

 

[FluffyChicken]

The MAGs, just change the oil, and pump them up (or pump them up first).

Or if you don't want them, I'll add them to my spares pile or fix them up.

 

[ectoplasmosis]

I resto-modded a 1996 Marin Team Ti, with a 1x11 XT drivetrain. Have a look here:

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/1996-marin-team-titanium-resto-mod.420486/

 

[Stanflashm4n]

Would a set of rock shox Indy C 63mm travel be suitable ? There’s some on eBay with new internals. Also with the mag21s do I need a specific pump and adapter to pump them up?

The MAGs, just change the oil, and pump them up (or pump them up first).

Or if you don't want them, I'll add them to my spares pile or fix them up.